A massive decade-long investment in public education and more money for public safety, water quality and transportation projects headlined Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s annual State of the State message, delivered Monday afternoon in Boise.
Repeating the phrase “What Idaho is doing is working” in his remarks, Little touted the fiscal and social conservatism of state government in 2023 and exhorted lawmakers to continue this year.
“There’s no need to change course. But we must raise the bar and never rest on our laurels,” Little told lawmakers. “History may not remember all our names and faces but we have an opportunity while we’re here to create a lasting legacy of good government.”
The biggest request on Little’s wish list is a substantial increase in funding for public school infrastructure: $200 million annually for ten years, adding up to a $2 billion investment. Little told lawmakers that even recent funding boosts still leave the state far short of a constitutional requirement to maintain schools.
“We’ve all seen the pictures and videos of some Idaho schools that are neglected – crumbling, leaking, falling apart. In one school I visited, raw sewage is seeping into a space under the cafeteria,” Little said. “Folks, we can do better…Let’s make this priority number one.”
Dr. Linda Clark, president of the Idaho State Board of Education, praised the idea. She said it could especially help rural districts that have struggled to get voters to approve bonds for construction and repairs.
“It is my personal view that Governor Little’s proposal is a game changer that can finally help fix a longstanding statewide problem affecting thousands of students whose ability to learn is too often affected because of dilapidated and sometimes even unsafe school facilities,” Clark said in a statement.
Where the money will come from was unclear Monday. Alex Adams, administrator of the Division of Financial Management, told Boise State Public Radio’s James Dawson that he thought most of the $200 million in yearly spending would be leveraged through bonds. Details will be hammered out in the legislative session.
The school infrastructure proposal is part of Little’s overall priorities package for the year, which he calls “Idaho Works.”
The governor’s other education requests included $75 million to support scholarships under his Idaho Launch program for high school seniors, and $32 million for infrastructure projects at the state’s universities.
Little asked for $200 million to repair bridges considered dilapidated, and $50 million to bond for new transportation infrastructure projects.
A $4.6 million appeal would help Idaho State Police purchase gear. $200,000 would send ISP officers to the Texas/Mexico border to study human trafficking and return to Idaho to instruct other officers.
Little wants to spend an additional $6.6 million to continue fighting invasive quagga mussels, $30 million for water infrastructure intended to help the state weather droughts, $20 million for outdoor recreation, $3 million for agriculture grants, and $1 million for wildland firefighter bonuses.
Other requests in the governor’s budget plan include:
· $25 million to build a mental health facility to house patients “determined to be dangerously mentally ill by Idaho courts”
· $3.95 million to purchase 14 acres of land for future expansion of the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery in Boise
· $806,000 to make up shortfalls in home meal deliveries for Idaho senior citizens
· $447,000 for a program to entice medical residents to work in the state
Other portions of the speech reflected Little’s social and cultural views. He saluted the state’s banning of critical race theory, barring universities from requiring job applicants to write diversity statements, and introduction of a supplemental American history curriculum that purports to be an antidote to “anti-America ideology,” according to its developer, former U.S. Education Secretary Bill Bennett.
Little mentioned his signing of a 2020 bill barring transgender students from participating in school sports. He said the legislation “defend[ed] the integrity of women’s sports.” The governor hinted that the trend may continue; his verbal pledge to “keep fighting” drew applause from assembled lawmakers. The trans athlete ban is currently on pause while a federal appeals court considers a legal challenge filed by a Boise State University student.
The address touched other partisan bases, criticizing the regulation, priorities and budgets of the federal government and Democratic-led Pacific Coast states. Little acknowledged the “Greater Idaho” movement, which seeks to weld conservative-dominated Oregon counties onto Idaho, forming a larger state.
“A couple of years ago, I joked that we’d build a wall around Idaho and make California pay for it,” Little said in a passage that was not included in the advance text of the address. “Well, now that half of Oregon wants to be part of Idaho, I’m not sure where we’d build the wall.”
The State of the State speech traditionally kicks off the legislative session. It establishes gubernatorial priorities for state government spending. But it is possible Little’s plans this year could encounter friction from a legislature that wants to assert more control over Idaho’s budget. Last week leaders of Idaho’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee announced spending caps for state agencies, separating requests for new funding from bottom-line needs, and more time spent behind closed doors to write budget bills.
Several lawmakers who spoke with the Idaho Capital Sun said the changes were aimed at giving the legislature a stronger role in what gets funded, and by how much, rather than deferring to Little’s requests.
