Appropriates $14,131,500 to the Office of Species Conservation for fiscal year 2018; and limits the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions to 12.63.

This bill appropriates $14,131,500 to the Office of Species Conservation for fiscal year 2018 and caps the number of authorized full-time equivalent positions at 12.63. The mission of the Office of Species Conservation is to coordinate policies and programs related to the conservation of threatened, endangered, and candidate species in Idaho. The bill includes funding for the increased costs of employee health insurance and a decrease in statewide cost allocation. It also includes an ongoing 3% merit-based increase in employee compensation for permanent employees to be distributed at the discretion of the administrator. There is funding for one line item. It includes $750,000 from the General Fund to support the Governor's Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Initiative. Funding will be allocated toward sage-grouse population surveys,makingstocktankssafeforsagegrouse,creatingfuelbreaks,usingotherfiremanagementpractices, assisting rangeland fire protection associations, and continuing rangeland restoration projects on state and private lands. Moneys will also be used to complete the mitigation strategy for sage grouse and transition to an ecosystem-based conservation approach. The total budget is a 1.8% increase in all funds over the FY 2017 budget.