Gov. Brad Little signaled his support for using taxpayer money to subsidize private education during his seventh state of the state address Monday.
Little announced he’s setting aside $50 million for the initiative, with some conditions.
“Just like we do with every taxpayer dollar that is spent in government, we will ensure there is oversight in school choice,” he said.
It’s unclear how that oversight will take shape.
Lawmakers behind past attempts to create these subsidies, like Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog (R-Meridian), have declined to attach strings to their bills, like test score benchmarks or curriculum oversight.
Den Hartog told reporters on Friday her newest tax credit tuition proposal does not include those types of accountability measures.
Little said any bill that comes to his desk on the subject must “prioritize the families that need it the most and it must not take away from public schools.”
“Adequately funding public schools is both our constitutional and our moral obligation, and we will not abandon that obligation,” he said.
As far as public school funding goes, Little proposes $50 million to invest in rural public school facilities, mental health, school safety and accountability initiatives.
Another $25 million would be split between expanding career and technical education capacity, as well as new facilities for those programs.
Overall, his proposed budget totals $5.65 billion – a 4.6% increase over the current year’s spending plan.
Governor Little continues to push for further tax cuts. He’s put forward $100 million towards that effort, though no particular tax is targeted.
House Speaker Mike Moyle (R-Star) mentioned Friday personal income, sales and property taxes as areas he’d like to focus on reducing.
The State Public Defender’s Office is facing allegations of violating indigent defendants’ constitutional rights with attorneys failing to appear in court to represent them.
The ACLU of Idaho recently filed an emergency motion with the Idaho Supreme Court saying the office’s staffing issues has led to these defendants languishing in jail as their initial hearings get pushed back by weeks or months.
Little’s office is asking the legislature to approve an extra $5.6 million in supplemental funding for the current fiscal year to hire more contracted attorneys to cover the deficit.
Idaho’s 2024 fire season burned long and hot, completely draining the state’s suppression fund. Little is asking lawmakers to replenish it with $60 million, along with an ongoing $40 million appropriation to better manage blazes into the future.
An additional $1 million will also include pay bonuses for wildland firefighters.
Following this summer’s heated negotiations over water usage across the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, Little wants to use $30 million for a number of uses. Those include potential storage, aquifer recharge and water efficiency projects.
Legislators will hold their first committee hearings Tuesday.
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