Legislative Notebook: Idaho Gov. Little lays out policy goals, legislators introduce first bills

Idaho Gov. Brad Little gives his annual State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2025, on the House floor at the Statehouse in Boise. (Pat Sutphin for the Idaho Capital Sun)

In an effort to help Idahoans follow major bills, resolutions and memorials through the legislative process, the Idaho Capital Sun will begin to produce a “legislative notebook” at the end of each week to gather information in one place that concerns major happenings in the Legislature and state government.

Full disclosure: The legislative notebook won’t be the be-all, end-all of legislative coverage with deep context and analysis. We hope you’re signed up for our free emailed newsletter, The Sunrise, which includes all of our in-depth content and reporting from Idaho Capital Sun reporters, as well as reporting from our sister publications through our parent nonprofit States Newsroom and our D.C. bureau that brings you news from Capitol Hill each day.

What the legislative notebook will be is a quick and dirty run-down of which bills were introduced, considered in committee, debated on the Idaho House and Senate floors, and updates on whether Idaho Gov. Brad Little has signed (or vetoed) major pieces of legislation into law. 

It will also include any information we have on what Idahoans can expect in the following week of legislative action. Things can move very quickly during the session, especially toward the end of our legislators’ time in Boise (usually around the end of March or early April), and often agendas for committees are not posted until the evening before a committee meets. We’ll do the best we can to prepare you for the following week with that in mind.

We’ll also include a few fun observations that we have as we make our way through the session, including quotes and social media posts of the week, photos that may not make it into our usual coverage, and any other odds and ends that we find interesting or helpful to you as you track how legislators are spending their time.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little began the state’s 2025 legislative session on Monday by calling for additional investments in public schools, new tax cuts and bonuses for wildland firefighters in a 22-minute speech before state lawmakers and other public officials.

Increasing funding for public schools, providing raises for teachers, cutting taxes, reducing regulations and bolstering state savings accounts all featured heavily in the speech. New this year: The governor proposed $50 million “to further expand educational options for Idaho families” by using public dollars for private and religious education funding options, commonly referred to as “school choice.”

In conjunction with his State of the State address, Little released a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget on Monday. The budget proposal includes $5.2 billion in general fund expenditures, a 4.6% increase from the current budget.

Little’s budget proposal leaves a $200 million ending balance at the end of the fiscal year and a record $1.4 billion saved in state rainy day funds.

• House Concurrent Resolution 2: Sponsored by Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls, the resolution commends the Boise State University volleyball team for forfeiting its matches against San José State University in protest of the team having a transgender athlete. It “reaffirms Idaho’s commitment to protecting female athletes under Title IX,” and it calls on the Mountain West Conference and the NCAA to revoke its policies allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports. It was introduced in the House State Affairs Committee on Tuesday, and on Thursday it was approved by the committee and sent to the House floor for consideration with a “do pass” recommendation. It is on the House’s third reading calendar and may be taken up in the coming days of the session
• House Joint Memorial 1: Sponsored by Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, the memorial introduced Tuesday pushes to restore the authority of defining marriage to the states and urges the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider its 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage. It calls for the definition of marriage to be “a union of one man and one woman.” The memorial may be taken up by the House State Affairs Committee for a full public hearing in the coming days of the session.
• House Bill 2: Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the bill introduced Wednesday would increase the needed majority to pass a citizen-led ballot initiative or referendum by Idaho voters from a simple majority threshold of 50% up to 60%. The bill may be taken up by the House State Affairs Committee for a full public hearing in the coming days of the session.
• House Bill 7: Sponsored by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, the bill introduced Thursday would implement a $300 minimum fine for adults possessing three ounces or less of marijuana. The bill may be taken up by the Idaho House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee for a full public hearing in the coming days of the session.

Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee

• On Monday, the committee will consider budget information relating to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
• On Friday, the committee is expected to set the maintenance budgets for all state agencies. The committee’s co-chairmen describe maintenance budgets as bare bones versions of last year’s budgets, with all of the one-time money and projects removed. The maintenance budgets are simply meant to keep the lights on for state agencies.

Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee

• On Monday, the committee is expected to hold an introductory hearing for anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) draft legislation brought forward by Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa.

“Just like we do with every taxpayer dollar that is spent in government, we will ensure there is oversight in school choice. Why? Because accountability in government is an Idaho value, and it is what taxpayers demand and deserve. Just as we expect the following from our public schools, any school choice measure I would consider must be done the Idaho way, which means it is fair, responsible, transparent and accountable. It must prioritize the families that need it most and it must not take funds away from public schools.” – Idaho Gov. Brad Little in his 2025 State of the State address

If you are tuning into the Idaho legislative session for the first time (like me) or just need a refresher on the process- check out Carly Flandro’s detailed flow chart on how a bill becomes law. www.idahoednews.org/news/spellin… #idpol #idedu

— Emma Epperly (@emmaepperly.bsky.social) 2025-01-06T23:06:42.519Z

Photo of the week