The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee has voted 17-1, with just Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, dissenting, to deposit another $2 million in state general funds into the Constitutional Defense Fund, which largely covers attorney fee awards for the winning side when the state loses lawsuits, as directed by the Constitutional Defense Council. Gov. Butch Otter requested the $2 million; it’ll be transferred in the current budget year, fiscal year 2016.

Idaho’s Constitutional Defense Fund is overseen by the Constitutional Defense Council, which consists of the governor, the Attorney General, the House speaker and the Senate president pro-tem. Legislative budget director Cathy Holland-Smith said the fund currently has a balance of $230,394, but there are outstanding bills totaling $535,292. Those are for $280,000 for Idaho Building Trades Council v. Wasden, and $255,292 for Animal Defense et al v. Otter.

Holland-Smith said the fund was created in 1995, and the state has deposited $2.5 million into it prior to today’s appropriation. “There also has been a contribution of two citizens of $50 each,” she noted. Initially it was used for litigation related to the Idaho National Laboratory, Holland-Smith said, but more recently it’s largely gone to settlements or court-ordered attorney fees. The fund is designed to address constitutional issues or defend state sovereignty.