Budget battles boiling in Boise as lawmakers tighten the belt
David Pace
BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) – Idaho lawmakers from both parties are sounding off about the budget at the Idaho Statehouse.
In a press conference Thursday afternoon, Democratic leaders warned that Idaho has a revenue problem, not a spending problem.
“Over the last five years, the Idaho Legislature cut income tax revenue by like $4 billion. Last year alone, it cut taxes by $450 million,” said Idaho’s Assistant Senate Minority Leader James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.
GOP Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby, who serves on the state’s budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee agreed that this year’s cost-cutting measures have led to a tight situation.
“Last year, we lowered the tax rate. We increased the grocery tax credit. And then we didn’t know that the Big Beautiful Bill was going to come, and that was another $155 million hit to our budget,” Furniss said. “With that, we’ve had some increases in expenses. So we’ve had to be really careful.”
Those revenue reductions lead to difficult decisions as elected officials continue to cut back on state agencies and programs – with an additional one and two percent cut passed by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Friday.
“Each year moving forward, we have 1.1 billion fewer dollars to spend on our public schools, our universities, our roads, our courts, our law enforcement and our prisons,” Ruchti said.
In a press release, Democrats also recommended “reexamining expensive giveaways, pursuing targeted tax conformity reforms, reinstating a child tax credit, bolstering the Idaho Child Care Program and reindexing the homeowner’s exemption.
But Furniss reiterated Idaho’s state constitution’s mandate to not spend more than it takes in.
“Idaho does not print money like the federal government. We have to balance our books every single year,” he said.
Citing Ronald Reagan’s economic philosophy, Furniss stated. “If you reduce taxes, the revenue will increase. You give the money back to the people, you’ll see a better day, and you’ll actually see more taxes in the future. I believe that to be the case, and our projections show that over time.”
Both Furniss and Democratic lawmakers proposed dipping into Idaho’s rainy day fund to provide money for essential services facing cuts – including firefighting.
“We just need to get through a hard time that we’re having now,” Furniss said. “I know that a lot of people are concerned about it, but we’ll get through it. Idaho will be better for it.”
Idaho Democrats disagreed strongly with that fiscal outlook.
“Who is going to pay the price for that bad fiscal policy?” Ruchti said. “You will – your school district, your kid’s classroom, your neighbor who’s going to lose their health insurance.”
We’ll have more on Idaho’s budget reckoning in the weeks ahead.