Even as the House Education Committee is meeting downstairs to hear a new version of education legislation, JFAC is meeting this morning to fund the already-passed bills, as amended in the Senate, which include doing away with the phase-out of an early retirement incentive program for teachers. The House already had unanimously agreed to concur in the Senate amendments, though it's not yet given the amended bill final passage. The new House bill being heard downstairs would eliminate the program retroactive to March 1, while the original bill would have phased it out over the next two years. The amended bill leaves it in place.

Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, moved to re-fund the existing program by taking $2 million from the public education stabilization fund. "The House has concurred on the amendments, so this is the action that we need to take, in a trailer appropriation to plug this hole," Keough said. "It does seem appropriate to have continued discussions over the interim to take a better look at this program, what the benefits are and what the costs are." Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, seconded the motion, and it passed the joint committee on a 17-1 vote, with just Rep. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, objecting.