After 10 years in the post, State Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, has chosen to step aside as House minority leader.
Jaquet, who won re-election to her seat on Nov. 4, said she will focus instead on a new post on the powerful Joint Finance Appropriations Committee, also known as JFAC.
"I think it will be very beneficial for my district to have me on JFAC," she said in an interview with the Idaho Mountain Express.
Sen. Clint Stennett, also a Ketchum Democrat, will remain Senate minority leader. Democrats are outnumbered by majority Republicans. The Legislature now has 80 Republicans to 26 Democrats.
The Joint Finance Committee, which combines members of both the Senate and House, wields significant clout in the Idaho Legislature. The budget-writing committee helps determine which agencies and programs receive state funding, and how much.
"These funding decisions are critical to the success of many issues that concern us all, and I'm looking forward to this new challenge," Jaquet said in a prepared statement.
Her move couldn't come at a more significant time for the budget committee. Just this week, Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter ordered an additional 3 percent state budget "holdback," citing continuing economic uncertainty and a further decline in state tax collections.
In ordering the additional holdback, Otter directed state agencies to further reduce their spending in light of forecasts showing the 1 percent holdback he ordered in September would still leave this year's state revenue significantly short of what was projected last winter.
Cuts for fiscal year 2009 include more than $60 million from public schools and more than $21 million from the state Department of Health and Welfare, among many others.
Jaquet said her position on JFAC—which she referred to as a legislature within a legislature— will give her a powerful voice on budget matters during what will likely be very trying times for Idaho.
"For the next couple years it will be very important," she said.
Jaquet said she's especially concerned about calls for across-the-board budget cuts at various state agencies. She said she would prefer to see targeted, thoughtful cuts that prioritize where the reduced revenue should go.
"I'm especially concerned about education," she said.
State Rep. John Rusche, a Lewiston Democrat, will replace Jaquet in the House leadership role. Rusche had been the House caucus chairman for the Democrats.
The decisions were made in a Monday night meeting of the Democratic caucus. In addition to Rusche, the House leadership will include James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, as assistant leader and Bill Killen, D-Boise, as caucus chairman.
Jaquet, who was re-elected to her House seat with 63 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Jeff Faulkner, predicted her district won't lose out because of her move. She said the decisions made by the Joint Finance Appropriations Committee are typically rubber-stamped by the larger Legislature.
Jaquet represents District 25, which includes all of Blaine, Camas, Lincoln and Gooding counties.
The Legislature is set to convene in Boise on Jan. 12.
Wendy Jaquet
