Treasurer to appeal after judge sides with Idaho lawmakers in battle for office space
This story has been updated with comment from Treasurer Julie Ellsworth.
The Idaho state treasurer plans to appeal a district judge’s decision that would require her to vacate office space in the Statehouse in Boise.
Last year, House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, and Senate Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, sued Treasurer Julie Ellsworth when negotiations broke down and she refused to move from her office on the first floor of the Idaho Statehouse. Lawmakers wanted the space so they could expand their own offices.
District Judge Nancy Baskin ruled in the lawmakers’ favor Monday, ordering Ellsworth to vacate her Statehouse office, according to a press release from the Idaho House Republican Caucus. Baskin said Idaho Code gives the Idaho Legislature sole control and authority over space on the first floor of the Capitol.
“We never wanted it to come to this, but our hand was forced,” said Speaker of the House Scott Bedke in the release. “The treasurer has wasted an incredible amount of taxpayer dollars, and we applaud the decision by Judge Baskin and hope to move forward without further delay.”
Ellsworth had previously called the move to claim her office space a “constitutional invasion.” In a statement released Monday afternoon, Ellsworth criticized Bedke and Hill for trying to “evict the treasurer’s office from its 120-year-old historic location” and “spending taxpayer money on private offices for legislators” during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I will continue to resist this effort and remain hopeful this conflict will be avoided either by a successful appeal to the Supreme Court or by a change in the legislative approach,” she stated.
Before negotiations broke down, lawmakers said they had previously offered to allow Ellsworth to remain in her current suite with a few staff members. It’s unclear when Ellsworth would need to vacate her office, if the appeal isn’t successful.
Ellsworth was elected Idaho’s 24th State Treasurer in 2018 and took office in January 2019. Before that, she served in the Idaho House of Representatives for 12 years.
“The Idaho House Republican Caucus hopes that the treasurer accepts the decision and abides by it, so that we all can move forward,” the release said.
This story was originally published July 20, 2020 at 1:29 PM.
