Idaho Governor Brad Little came to Post Falls today [Friday] to celebrate his and the legislature’s accomplishments during the session that recently concluded.
“Education, tax relief, infrastructure, those three things. Some of it was a little painful, but that’s part of the process, the process in a constitutional three-branch government, bicameral legislature that exists," he said.Among the highlights, Little says the strong economy allowed the state to send one-time rebate checks to people who filed 2019 state income tax returns. They also agreed to reduce income tax rates and some minor property tax reductions.
He said he’s happy the legislature approved and funded many of his education proposals and agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars on transportation and other infrastructure projects, including broadband Internet.
“For the first time yesterday morning, I saw a granular map of where we need investments in broadband. The mapping has not been good. But we’re doing better mapping now so we can take those dollars we have, whether they’re federal dollars or state dollars and focus them on areas where people don’t have broadband,” he said.
Little says he’s not ready to make a formal announcement yet, but plans to run for a second term as governor. He already has about a half dozen challengers, including Lieutenant Governor Janice McGeachin, who announced her candidacy this week.