Gov. Brad Little is warning Idahoans of a potential economic shock as President Donald Trump slashes federal programs and its workforce. But he said Idaho is poised to withstand the uncertainty.
The Trump administration has repeatedly said it wants to chop the size of the federal workforce. It’s fired tens of thousands of employees in the past few weeks.
That includes dozens in Idaho national forest roles, among many other federal agencies with outposts here.
Little met with several cabinet members in D.C. last week to get a taste of their priorities.
“They are going to want to reduce the size of government and we states and we individuals are going to pick up part of the cost of it,” he said.
Federal funds add up to $5.2 billion, or 37% of Idaho’s total budget in the current fiscal year. The largest portion of that goes to health and human services programs.
Little said that means state lawmakers will need to be prudent with their spending – and tax cuts in particular.
He proposed $100 million in tax cuts during his January state of the state address. House Republicans countered with a package costing more than $400 million.
“If I would’ve thought we could do [$450 million], I would’ve proposed [$450 million].”
The largest piece of that package, which would cut income tax rates, passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate.
Idaho's rainy day accounts are expected to total $1.3 billion by the end of June when the state's current fiscal year concludes. Little has repeatedly prioritized building up the state's savings accounts in prior budgets to weather an eventual economic downturn.
The clock is also running on Little to decide how he wants to address House Bill 93 – the bill that would subsidize private school tuition with $50 million annually in taxpayer funds.
He has until 11:46 a.m. Thursday to sign it, let it pass into law without his signature or veto it. While Little said he has concerns about the bill, he didn’t drop any hints as to which decision he’s leaning towards.
The measure, which passed without veto proof majorities in the House and Senate, would give families $5,000 in tax credits per child to cover tuition, textbooks, tutoring and other educational expenses.
The bill met only one of his five criteria he laid out in his state of the state address, he said, which is the $50 million price tag.
“There’s not enough accountability in it,” said Little. “But to that mind, I don’t think there’s enough accountability in the money we give public schools, either.”
He said his office has received thousands of calls, emails and other correspondence from the public, but he didn’t share specifics.
Idaho Education News previously reported comments received by the House Revenue and Taxation Committee earlier this month opposed the bill at a 10-1 rate.
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