BOISE, ID – The Idaho state government pays governors a housing stipend.
That’s because Idaho is one of five states without an official residence for the governor.
After expressing interest in buying or building a home for the governor last year, a panel of state lawmakers briefly revisited it on Wednesday.
But for now, the Governor’s Housing Committee voted to keep the governor’s monthly housing stipend at $4,551 each month, which is roughly $54,600 a year.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little earns $151,400 each year as governor. He lives in a home in Emmet, but also owns a condo in downtown Boise.
At the end of the meeting, Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, asked the Department of Administration to prepare a list of state properties that might work to remodel or reuse for a governor’s residence. He floated the Alexander House near the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, which is just by the Idaho State Capitol Building.
“I know that the governor may not want to live there. He may want to actually use his personal home. I don’t blame him for that. But I guess my question was, could that be in consideration for a property as maybe a governor’s mansion, for more of a permanent residence that he could have hosted” U.S. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Crane asked.
Idaho Department of Administration Director Steve Bailey said the agency could get started on a list.
“I know that’s a discussion that comes up just about every year, is having a permanent residence for the governor. And for one reason or another, you don’t seem to get traction on it,” Bailey said.
Only two of the four lawmakers on the committee were present for Wednesday’s meeting. Crane and Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, attended virtually.
Rep. Brooke Green, D-Boise, was appointed to the committee late Tuesday to fill in for former Rep. Todd Achilles, a Boise Democrat who resigned from the Legislature to run as an Independent challenger to Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch. The committee’s other member, Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa, did not attend.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun. Reporter Laura Guido contributed reporting to this story.