The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee took a closer look at Gov. Brad Little’s spending agenda Tuesday, kicking off a monthslong process of budget-setting, and previewing debates over the governor’s priorities. 

Little laid out his budget recommendations in his annual State of the State address Monday. The second-term Republican called for $150 million in new spending on public schools, and he proposed $100 million in tax relief. Lori Wolff, administrator for the Division of Financial Management, parsed the governor’s “Keeping Promises” agenda Tuesday and answered questions from JFAC members.

Executive branch analysts project the state will have $6.36 billion to play with in Fiscal Year 2026, which starts July 1. Little proposed spending $5.66 billion, a 4.6% increase in expenditures from the current fiscal year, and transferring $477 million to reserve funds and to targeted funds for transportation, fire suppression and workforce housing, among others. 

Hardline committee conservatives signaled that they plan to push for tighter spending and more significant tax relief. Rep. Josh Tanner said Little’s spending plan seems “bullish,” and he asked why the governor called for “such a low tax cut versus spending.”

“Why isn’t that a reverse?” said Tanner, R-Eagle. “Why aren’t we looking at more of a $400 million tax relief and $100 million of new spending?”

Little likely wouldn’t agree that $100 million is a “small number,” Wolff responded, and she pointed to $4.6 billion in tax relief already provided under the governor’s administration. Little is “very supportive” of additional relief while also balancing necessary spending on services, she said.

“Not only do Idahoans expect to have money back in their pocket, they expect the government to operate and to take care of the things that we need to take care of.”

Major education line items from Little’s budget include:

• More than $83 million for K-12 teacher, administrator and staff pay raises at 5%.
• $28.1 million for K-12 teacher, administrator and staff insurance benefits.
• $50 million in “gap funding” for rural school facilities, mental health and safety services and literacy.
• $50 million for a private school choice program.
• $25 million to build workforce training capacity.

JFAC’s consideration of these expenditures will be shaped by a potential tax relief bill and revenue projections, both to be determined. On Monday, House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, called for a tax cut three times greater than Little’s proposal.

The Legislature’s Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee will provide JFAC with a recommended revenue target in the coming weeks. The committee meets Thursday.

Lawmakers take a first look at raises for teachers and state employees

Legislators face a “critical” decision this year on state employee pay, Wolff told a second legislative committee Tuesday afternoon.

Little’s proposed 5% raises won’t come close to matching state employee pay in Washington and Oregon, Wolff told a House-Senate panel looking at pay raises. But the raises could narrow the gap between state salaries and local governments and the private sector.

In 2024, state salaries lagged about 25% below the labor market, and state government had a turnover rate of 19.2%, said Frances Lippitt, a budget and policy analyst with the state’s Legislative Services Office.

Little has proposed a 5% raise for state employees and teachers, known in Statehouse lingo as a “change in employee compensation” or CEC. A CEC does not translate into an across-the-board raise; administrators can award raises based on merit.

This year’s committee votes will take on added importance, because they will make recommendations for state employees and teachers alike. Since 2015, Idaho’s teacher career ladder law determined pay raises, but now, raises will be set through the CEC process.

A 5% raise for teachers, school administrators and classified employees would cost more than $83 million. A 5% raise for state employees carries a price tag of about  $47 million.

The committee took no votes on the pay raises, but is scheduled to meet again Thursday afternoon.

House committee introduces BSU volleyball resolution

The Legislature took a first step into the national debate over transgender athletes in women’s collegiate sports.

Without debate, the House State Affairs Committee introduced a nonbinding resolution praising the Boise State University women’s volleyball program — and criticizing the NCAA’s transgender athletics policy.

Boise State forfeited three matches last fall, including a match in its Mountain West Conference postseason tournament. The three forfeits involved San José State University, which reportedly had a transgender athlete on its roster.

“Boise State made a courageous decision,” said the resolution’s sponsor, Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls. Ehardt, a former women’s college basketball coach, accused San José State of “cheating,” and creating an unfair and unsafe competitive environment.

A resolution does not change state law. Still, the resolution calls on the NCAA and the Mountain West to rescind their transgender athletics policies. The NCAA policy “directly discriminates against female student athletes … and ultimately placed the Boise State University women’s volleyball team in this position,” the resolution says.

The committee’s unanimous vote means the resolution will come back for a full hearing. The committee took no testimony Tuesday, but Ehardt said she expected Boise State officials and athletes to speak at a later hearing.

Two Boise State lobbyists attended Tuesday’s hearing, but the university had no immediate comment on the resolution.