House Republican leaders gave a thumbs up to Gov. Brad Little’s priorities for the 2025 legislative session but want to take them even further.
That’s especially true of the $100 million in further tax cuts Little proposed during his state of the state address Monday.
House Speaker Mike Moyle (R-Star) said he wants to at least triple that amount to $300 million spread among cuts to personal income, sales and property taxes.
Moyle said he’s also open to tweaking Idaho’s grocery tax, whether that’s eliminating it or increasing the annual credit state residents receive.
“We have a good opportunity right now,” he said. “The economy and everything is just starting to feel like it’s moving better.”
Neither he nor House Majority Leader Jason Monks (R-Meridian) outlined specifics about what kind of accountability measures they would be comfortable with in a bill to subsidize private school tuition.
Little proposed setting aside $50 million for such a program.
“You can’t get more accountable than a parent,” said Monks. “Who cares the most about a child’s education? The parent. There’s not a bureaucrat out there who cares more about my child’s education than me.”
That potential disconnect could be tricky given that the governor said he will not sign his name to any bill that doesn’t offer some form of benchmarked accountability.
Joint Finance and Appropriation co-chair Rep. Wendy Horman (R-Idaho Falls) and Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog (R-Meridian) said they will revive a bill from last year creating a refundable tax credit for the private tuition subsidies.
Horman said Monday morning their bill would prioritize families earning less than 300% of the federal poverty level. That works out to $93,600 in annual income for a family of four.
The duo’s proposal from last year would’ve allowed parents to claim $5,000 per child or $7,500 for children with special needs.
“As chairman of the appropriations committee, budget-busting bills are not my thing. So, this bill will be capped at $50 million,” Horman said, nodding at the criticism that such subsidies will eventually grow out of hand.
No legislation has been introduced yet. Legislative committees begin meeting Tuesday.
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