Idaho Democrats are once again urging Republican legislative leaders to tap into the state’s rainy day funds to help cover its projected budget deficit.
Last week, the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee voted to cut hundreds of millions of dollars between the current fiscal year and the next, though the specifics of those cuts haven’t yet been published.
Republican leaders said Idaho needs to rebalance its priorities, despite warnings that the cuts will further harm workforce development, public health and agricultural programs.
“This legislature is failing,” said Senate Democratic Leader Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise).
“It’s failing the people and I hope you hear me today, everyone that’s listening, you deserve better. And I want you to go to the polls and think about the people you are electing because we don’t have to cut everything to the bone,” Wintrow said.
Idaho has more than $1.5 billion spread across several reserve accounts that Gov. Brad Little has prioritized stashing away for many years.
The plan from Democrats would use about one-third of the state’s rainy day funds to smooth out the loss of revenue Idaho has seen after GOP leaders passed year after year of income tax cuts.
The nonpartisan Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy estimates a $4 billion loss in revenue over the past four tax years due to those cuts.
“When you ask about why are we not using the rainy day funds, they say because Idaho is doing great ... if Idaho’s economy is so great, why are we cutting budgets?” asked Rep. Steve Berch (D-Boise).
Berch wrote legislation, House Bill 589, that would temporarily suspend last year’s income tax cuts for one year, but he said GOP leadership refused to give it a hearing.
Democrats also introduced so-called “personal bills” to halt a private school tuition subsidy program for one year and only conform to recent federal tax changes relating to overtime and tipped wages.
Personal bills are not introduced through the traditional committee process and are not intended to get public hearings.
Legislative budget writers begin voting on the first round of next year’s budgets Friday morning.
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