LEGISLATIVE UPDATE | WEEK TEN
March 10 - 14, 2025
Week 10 brought high drama, ego, good old-fashioned politics, horse trading and major wins and losses – depending on one’s perspective. Plain and simple, lawmakers delivered a little bit of everything this week. So much has been accomplished, and yet, there is so much left to do.
Frustration reached a boil several times this week, most notably when a handful of members of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee (JFAC) walked out of the meeting, momentarily leaving the budget-setting panel without a quorum. The walkout came days after a publicly frustrated JFAC co-chair put the committee at ease and left his seat, prompting House Speaker Mike Moyle to pay a visit and admonish members to get back on track. Amid the tensions and disagreements on processes and procedures, JFAC reached an agreement on some of their enhancement budgets. Despite the progress, the committee kicked dozens more into the coming weeks, sinking plans to meet a deadline to have all budgets wrapped up this week. The delay all but assures the session will continue well beyond the hoped-for March 21 end date and stokes rumors the session will spill into April.
There were also chaos and confusion on the House and Senate floors. A rare and successful procedural motion resurrected a bill dealing with wildfires and utilities after it was amended and killed. It’s now awaiting a second round of amendments in the Senate before another Senate floor vote. In the House, a botched attempt to execute a “call of the house,” a maneuver that would force every house member to return to their desks, resulted in an early adjournment and a heated caucus meeting the next day. The antics and growing bitterness reveal a general lack of decorum and statesmanship that defined late-session dynamics in the legislature for decades. In spite of it all, some big steps were taken. The House and Senate successfully negotiated a Medicaid compromise. In just seven days, a reform bill moved through both chambers and was sent to the Governor’s desk. The legislation reforms Medicaid, adds work requirements, and introduces the managed care model into the state system.
Here’s some other highlights from the week: The Governor signed legislation increasing the grocery tax credit. He also endorsed the firing squad as the preferred method for execution, making Idaho the only state in the nation to do so. Two resolutions calling for Idaho to support a Convention of States (ConCon) as a means for tinkering with the U.S. Constitution failed. This marked another rare moment when a measure backed by House leadership was called up for a vote without a caucus and lacking support to get the bill across the finish line. The Senate is poised to debate HB 304, which cuts an additional $100 million from local units of government for property tax relief.
We singled out a bill that enables foster care recipients to receive support and services until they are 23 years old cleared the Senate and awaits Gov. Little’s signature. This represents another success from the new leadership team at the Department of Health and Welfare to bolster the foster care program in Idaho.
At this point, the most significant lift heading into Week 11 is getting the agency budgets in order. It’s important to note that the challenge in establishing these budgets is one that lawmakers created, thanks to the massive tax relief approved so far. As a result, JFAC members are looking for loose change between sofa cushions, and GOP leadership, at least at this point, is showing no mercy for budgets they believe don’t trim enough to meet the lower revenue target. See the rejection of Department of Finance and State Liquor Division budgets as proof.
