In an effort to better answer the questions from Idahoans across the state, Boise State Public Radio hosted an "Ask Me Anything," or AMA, on R/Idaho about the 2026 legislative session.
Here's what you wanted to know.
Q: Are we anticipating them to make changes to the law that passed last session, preventing youth from being able to call the 988 hotline and get appropriate care without parental consent?
A: This is something many people have been calling for as we continue to see further fallout from Senate Bill 1329 passed in 2024. If you’re a parent and you remember having to sign waivers at your child’s school authorizing them to use bandaids if they get a scrape on the playground, that’s part of it, too.
Senate Pro Tem Kelly Anthon, who sponsored that original bill, has said he’s open to some tweaks, but that it fell on the back burner last session. I’m not sure it’ll move to the front burner, but it’s at least been discussed.
Q: What is the "Gang of 8" I have been hearing about? Are they important? Or is it just a few people who have the same ideas?
A: The Gang of 8, as you might’ve guessed, is a group of eight legislators on the much more conservative end of the spectrum. Most are still in their first terms as lawmakers.
For the most part, the larger Republican majorities in the House and Senate have been able to sidestep their efforts to more dramatically slash budgets. Their main objective has been to pass so-called “maintenance budgets” that are based on current-year spending with inflationary adjustments and nothing else.
Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, who’s among the eight members, sits on the budget committee, JFAC. While not part of the gang, Rep. Josh Tanner took over as JFAC’s House co-chair recently and has historically called for far deeper cuts to government than have gotten out of committee. Keep an eye out for that.
Q: What are you hearing about the likelihood of the legislature repealing Medicaid expansion despite overwhelming public support for expansion?
A: Some version of repealing Medicaid expansion has been floated pretty much every year since it passed in 2018. However, a straight repeal hasn’t made it out of the health and welfare committees in that time.
Gov. Brad Little told reporters yesterday that straight up axing the program doesn’t have his support, though he’s changed his mind on a few things over the past few sessions as lawmakers ramp up the pressure. I’d see it as fairly unlikely, but never say never.
Q: I'd love to see consistent, targeted reporting about why this legislature allows the Idaho Family Policy Center to draft and present so much legislation each year. Do you know which bills the IFPC is bringing forward this year? (I think mandatory Bible reading in schools is one)
A: The reason why the legislature allows the IFPC to draft and present bills is because that opportunity is open to all interest groups and even individuals (if you can find a lawmaker to sponsor the bill). With more far-right candidates winning their primaries, and eventually the general election, the organization has more friends in the legislature. That means more of a chance to get their priorities heard.
As for their bills, yes, mandatory Bible reading by teachers in classrooms is coming back this year. They’ve also publicly announced two more: banning transgender people from public bathrooms aligning with their gender identity and renaming State Highway 16, which connects Emmett to Star, for Charlie Kirk, the assassinated right-wing commentator.
Q: Will they be going after higher education and/or libraries again this year?
A: Higher education is often in the crosshairs in JFAC. It wouldn’t be shocking to me if they took another round of cuts depending on the results of a legislative audit regarding the recent diversity, equity and inclusion ban. Boise State has at least one thing going for it: Marlene Tromp, one of lawmakers’ favorite punching bags, isn’t the president anymore.
Q: Are the state legislators aware that the vast majority of the citizens of Idaho find them to be completely inept based on their backwards stance on marijuana that is in conflict with every/all other states in the nation? Source: ask literally anyone outside of the few office buildings these legislators frequent.
A: Oh, lawmakers are definitely aware that they’re trying to hold back a massive wave of public support for a bunch of different marijuana policies. But they’ve said they don’t care. Many have said they view it as being the last kind of moral authority on the issue, pointing to the Idaho Constitution. Article III, Section 24 says “The first concern of all good government is the virtue and sobriety of the people, and the purity of the home. The legislature should further all wise and well directed efforts for the promotion of temperance and morality.”
MDUA (Make Drugs Uncool Again) doesn’t really pass the vibe check for the majority of Americans, but it’s got its place at 700 W. Jefferson St. in Boise.
Q: Are state legislators aware over half the population of Idaho can’t see while driving at night because of how blinding new car headlights are? Will they work to regulate how bright these headlights are? I’m blinded by a few cars during the day because the headlights are so bright.
A: I haven’t heard anything about these regulations coming up at the state legislative level. This is me spitballing here because I’m not a lawyer, but that feels like it’s more in the congressional/federal department of transportation wheelhouse for regulations, since automakers sell their vehicles across state lines. It seems like Idaho could regulate aftermarket headlights, but that might be the extent of their power.
My dad and I feel you, though. Damn astigmatism.
Q: During the legislative session, the Idaho Legislature considers hundreds of bills and holds an enormous number of committee meetings. What criteria does BPR use to decide which bills, hearings, or debates to cover? Is it based on potential impact, audience interest, newsroom capacity, or something else? Who at BPR makes those decisions and how are they made?
A: You basically answered the question for me! Yes, the potential effects it might have on people, dollar amounts, audience interest, newsroom capacity and many other factors help determine newsworthiness. I’m the only reporter for BSPR covering these things day-to-day. I’m constantly looking at agendas and figuring out which stories might make the best sense for us. I run those by our news director every morning and signs off on them.
Sometimes we’ll have a discussion about whether we need to cover an initial hearing of a bill that has significance versus a second one of slightly less significance, but that second bill is getting a public hearing at the same time. We’d typically side with the second bill even though it might be less important because it’s at a further stage where the public can weigh in versus what might be a very quick introduction with no comments.
Q: As someone who covers Idaho politics closely, how do you interpret the repeated re-election of legislators with extreme or polarizing views? Does it reflect the values of most voters, or more structural factors like turnout, primaries, or how districts are drawn?
A: It’s really on a case-by-case basis. Each of the 35 districts in the state is different and it’s hard to extrapolate that across all of them. Turnout and the primary structure have a lot to do with it, in my opinion. The more rules you put into place, regardless of their intent, the greater chance there is of people getting filtered out. I’m not necessarily saying that’s the strategy, though one study I’ve read says closed primaries encourage more extreme candidates, while another refutes that. Anecdotally, people I’ve spoken with who have extreme views tend to be far more motivated to vote than moderates. If they’re the ones showing up in the May primary, they’re the ones deciding the race.
Q: What, if anything, do you think the JFAC will do to address the current budget shortfall and how will that affect state agencies, their employees and operations?
A: This is the million dollar question. We don’t know and we won’t know for a while because of how JFAC has changed over the last couple of years. Debates over funding programs used to be much more public. But now, those meetings are behind closed doors. The only thing I can say for certain is that legislators will eventually pass some kind of budget that’s balanced to meet their constitutional requirements. I’m just as interested in the specifics as you are.
Idaho's legislative session starts on Jan. 12 with Gov. Brad Little's State of the State address, which we'll be streaming live starting with Idaho Matters. Stay up to date on the Legislative Session by signing up for our weekly Legislative Round-Up newsletter.
