Governor previews legislative session that begins Monday

Idaho Gov. Brad Little said his office will present a balanced budget for fiscal year 2027 that includes no tax hike.

“There won’t be a tax increase and there won’t be anything of significance from a fee or tax increase,” he said. 

The governor fielded questions from media Thursday morning at the Idaho State Capitol, previewing the 2026 legislative session that begins Monday. Little will deliver his State of the State address the same day. 

The legislative session comes amid a projected budget shortfall of more than $40 million. Little said state agencies did “incredible work” to cut their budgets by 3% in anticipation of the shortfall. 

Little said his proposed budget is “structurally balanced.” 

“There are forty-some states that have balanced budget constitutional amendments or balanced budget laws, but when you look at their balance sheets, it’s hocus pocus,” Little said. “Ours is not hocus pocus.” 

In December, the Idaho Legislature’s Department of Government Efficiency issued a recommendation for Idaho to repeal Medicaid expansion. Funding for the program is expected to be a hot topic this session. 

Doing away with Medicaid expansion isn’t part of Little’s calculations for a balanced budget, though he declined to say whether he’d veto such a proposal from the Legislature. 

“I don’t commit on bills before I see them on my desk,” he said. 

Little said repealing Medicaid expansion, which more than 60% of Idaho voters approved at the polls in 2018, would come with “all kinds of unintended consequences.” 

“The raw number for repeal is not the actual number,” he said. “When we had Medicaid prior, we had it on our property taxes. I don’t see anyone proposing, ‘Let’s get rid of Medicaid and put it back on property taxes.” 

Early in the session, Little said he expects the Legislature to grapple with how to conform to many of the federal tax changes championed by President Donald Trump. 

“I did commit to the president when I met with him that we’re going to implement compliance,” he said. 

Little also touched on special education funding for K-12 schools. 

“It’s a critical issue,” he said. 

Much of Idaho’s special education funding comes through the U.S. Department of Education, which Little said poses challenges. 

“If you take money from the federal government, you’ve got to comply with their rules,” he said. “If they dial some of those back a bit, we can make our current special education funding go further.”