House members take up collection, donate to Arts Commission programs as they re-set budget
After the House earlier rejected the budget for the Idaho Commission on the Arts in an unrelated dispute, it’s now voted 51-17 in favor of a new version with just one difference: There’s an extra $200 in the budget for private donations for arts education projects. Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, in an unusual move, announced to the House, “I’m taking up a collection.” She brandished a stack of cash. “Members of JFAC have already been very generous, as well as many members around me,” she told the House.
Horman said, “I’m putting it in there and inviting you to join with me in supping the Arts Commission’s $200 increase in dedicated funds for art programs for children in our communities. I want to thank those who have contributed. Good ladies and gentlemen of the House, please help me put to rest the worries of the Arts Commission.”
With that, the House approved the new version of the budget; it now moves to the Senate.