Bjerke: No cuts to 'essential services'

The Idaho Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee held budget workshops recently in Boise in preparation for the 2026 legislative session that begins Jan. 12.    

“They have a lot of thought going into this budget year,” State Sen. Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’Alene, said. “In essence, we will be sitting down like we do every year at JFAC and there may be additional cuts or some of those cuts being made may be more permanent for other budget cycles.”  

The Idaho Legislature is required to pass a balanced budget, according to the state Constitution.      

The 2026 budget season will focus more on cutting budgets than in previous years.  According to reporting from the Idaho Capital Sun, the general fund budget for the state is projected to end the current fiscal year 2026 with a deficit of $58.3 million.   

Bjerke said it is too early to get into the weeds with all of the items potentially being trimmed from the budget. 

“I know some people were concerned with the constitutionality of us going into a deficit,” Bjerke said. 

However, he said early budget talks have alleviated many concerns he’s heard from constituents.  

“We’re not going to cut essential services,” Bjerke said.   

The K-12 public school system was excluded from Gov. Brad Little’s order to agencies to reduce spending by 3% in the 2026 fiscal year budget.  

“There are new line items. There are new enhancements like adding new residency positions for our medical system here in Idaho,” Bjerke said.   

This addition would target the state's shortage of in-demand types of medical providers.   

Bjerke noted that while the process can be complex, he said overall that, “We’ve got really good financial health as a state.” 

There are $1.8 billion in state reserves, but Bjerke worried that if the Legislature repeatedly took from that reserve and had budgets in the red, then that fiscal situation would rapidly evaporate. 

“The governor has the authority to do these holdbacks, but the Legislature has the ultimate authority to whether or not we are going to make those cuts permanent,” Bjerke explained. “Part of the reason why we are in such financial health is this type of attention in ensuring we don’t spend more than we take in.” 

He considered the 3% holdback a tool for the state and said he agrees with the governor’s decision. 

“Being on JFAC, I look at our goals and it’s to provide the American dream for Idahoans,” Bjerke said.