LEGISLATIVE UPDATE | WEEK SEVEN
FEBRUARY 17 - 21, 2025
The tension meter at the Statehouse noticeably escalated this week. Don't worry, as this is par for the course any time the second month draws close. Budget setting, longer floor debates on high-priority items, and a looming deadline are all factors in pushing the needle. Suffice it to say, week seven of the Sixty-Eighth Idaho Legislature’s first regular session brought some things into sharper focus and set an intriguing course for the coming weeks, and here’s why.
The Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee set several “Enhancement Budgets” this morning, while five “Maintenance Budgets” were swiftly passed by the House mid-week and sent to the Senate. Taking this step is good for JFAC and everybody else as these budget bills are the key to making other policy and spending decisions and ultimately winding things down. The new budgeting process implemented last year and in play again this year has yet to yield any measurable results in speeding up the budgeting process or toning down the political bickering.
There is progress to report on a pile of tax-cut bills. This includes legislation authorizing a $250 million income tax cut, another proposing $50 million worth of rebates on sales tax paid on groceries, and a measure for $100 million in property tax reductions. The math on those cuts totals $400 million in tax relief. You can take it a notch higher by factoring in the $50 million child tax credit/private school bill to get to $450 overall in relief. The child tax credit has already cleared both chambers and is now on the way to the desk of Gov. Little, who is expected to sign it after President Trump tweeted his endorsement of the measure. The others are working through the Senate floor, though the property tax bill was tweaked this morning, moved out of committee, and awaits a vote on the House floor.
For those scoring at home, combined tax bills would account for the largest tax cut in Idaho history. The big key here, in many ways, is the income tax cut, HB 40, because, in our view, no other piece of legislation wields the same clout to determine when the session ends. As the top priority of House Speaker Mike Moyle, HB 40 has already been greenlighted by the House and is on the Senate floor. Should the Senate approve without tinkering and the Governor sign it, we would not be shocked to see the session begin to wind down.
On Wednesday, the House took steps to reform – and possibly bring an end – Idaho’s Medicaid Expansion program. Long, impassioned debate on HB 138 forced members to skip lunch and delay afternoon committees before voting 38-32 to approve and send to the Senate. A similar scenario played out at the exact same time as the Senate debated HB 93, the private school choice tax credit. The bill was approved 20-15, giving outside interests a return on investment for the significant sums of cash spent pushing this policy shift for the last five-plus years here in Idaho.
Things to keep an eye on as we set our sights on March. Committee agendas are starting to swell as chairmen strive to jam as many bills to the floor as possible. This push is a hallmark for late February as the March 3 deadline approaches for transmitting bills from one chamber to another. With so many policy bills on the table and with dozens of new ones introduced this week, committee work will intensify next week. Additional afternoon floor sessions will no doubt delay committees as well, turning up the pressure inside the Capitol another notch or two.
One housekeeping note to keep in mind going forward. As bills are signed into law, we’ll note that on your bill tracker in the header portion of each bill summary for that week’s report. In subsequent weeks, we will strip the summary to save space on the report. Clicking the bill number will help refresh the purpose and impact of each new law.
