Legislative Updates - Week Nine

Senator Mark Harris, LD35 

 We are starting to see budgets on the Senate Floor, which is a good sign that the beginning of the end of the Session is in sight. 

The Senate has passed a couple of Maintenance budgets, one of these was Senate Bill 1361 (S1361). It includes appropriations to Idaho State Police, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Juvenile Corrections. The total appropriation in S1361 is $566 million, down $16 million from last year. The bill implemented a 5% cut across the board for FY2027. Among the departments being cut is the Idaho Brand Board which is housed in the Idaho State Police. The Brand Board appropriations are what is called dedicated funds, which are not general fund monies. These dollars are collected by livestock producers and used exclusively to fund the functions of the Idaho Brand Department. S1361 cut these dedicated funds back and as a result I voted “no” on final passage. S1361 passed the Senate and was sent to the House for consideration.  

I was able to present Senate Bill 1358 (S1358) in the Senate Education Committee this week where it was approved and sent to the Senate Floor. S1358 fixes Idaho’s Career Ladder Compensation System to allow superintendents and building level administrators who return to teaching to be able to count their time in an administrative role toward career ladder advancement.  This is a fairness issue, because currently those that return to teaching lose the time they spent working as an administrator which leaves them with no incentive to return to the classroom. S1358 changes this by helping retain those who want to go back to teaching our kids.  

Another education related bill I carried was House Bill 608 (H608).  This bill updates a 20-year-old code that addresses school districts identified as having unsafe facilities. There is a $25 million account that has not been utilized because schools are unable to access the account under the current requirements. One of these requirements is that a school district must hold a bond vote that must fail before they qualify for the funds. H608 clarifies that a school district that has passed a school bond less than 2 years old may apply for these funds under certain conditions. The bill also says that if the project comes in under budget, the school district will return the unused funds. The requirement of a failed bond is eliminated in this bill, meaning they are no longer required to go out and fail another bond. Middleton, Camas, Shelly, and Soda Springs all fall into this scenario. H608 passed both the House and the Senate and was signed by the Governor at the first of this week.  

I am sincerely grateful for your input and support that helps me represent you in the Idaho State Senate. It is a true honor for me to serve Legislative District 35. You can contact me by email at [email protected] or by phone at 208-332-1429.

Representative Josh Wheeler 

 As we move into the ninth week of the legislative session, the pace at the Capitol has shifted into a more intense rhythm. Floor debates are becoming more frequent, and committees are working through the final waves of legislation while the budget process begins to take center stage.

I was pleased to see SB1157, a bill aimed at strengthening protections and support for foster children, advance to the floor this week. Idaho’s foster system cares for some of our most vulnerable children, and thoughtful improvements to how we support those families and providers are incredibly important.

Another measure that moved forward was SB1293, which helps bring additional clarity to Idaho’s crime victims compensation framework. Ensuring that victims have clear access to the support systems designed to help them recover from traumatic events is a responsibility the state should take seriously, and I was glad to see progress on this front.

In addition to those bills, several other pieces of legislation I’ve been working on have now reached the Senate floor, continuing to advance through the process. It’s encouraging to see momentum building around a number of practical policy efforts this year, particularly those focused on healthcare access, emergency preparedness, and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens.

Meanwhile, the budget conversation is finally beginning to move forward in earnest. Appropriations bills are starting to come out of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) and reach the floor. However, this process has not been without its challenges. Concerns about the approach being taken resulted in the rejection of the Health & Welfare budget, reflecting broader disagreements about how best to balance fiscal restraint with the responsibility to maintain critical services for Idaho families.

Many of these discussions center around whether to pursue broad, across-the-board reductions or take a more precise approach that strategically uses Idaho’s budget stabilization funds to smooth temporary pressures. As I’ve mentioned in previous updates, my focus remains on thoughtful, targeted budgeting that protects essential services while maintaining our long-standing commitment to fiscal responsibility.

Despite the intensity of these debates, I remain encouraged by the level of engagement from constituents. Many of you have reached out to share your thoughts about smart budgeting, healthcare access, and protecting vulnerable populations, including foster children. Your input continues to shape the conversations happening inside the Capitol.

The final weeks of the session often move quickly, and I will continue working to ensure that the policies we pass strengthen Idaho’s communities and position our state well for the future.

Thank you, as always, for the opportunity to serve.

—

Josh Wheeler

Idaho State Representative

Representative Mike Veile

 Budget Decisions and Protecting Ratepayers 

We are beginning to see the budget bills move through the Legislature. Today in the House, we passed several FY 2027 budgets, including those for the Constitutional Officers, PERSI, the State Tax Commission, and others. We also passed the FY 2026 rescission budget, which includes the holdbacks needed to ensure revenues align with expenditures.

One significant budget failed in the Senate on Thursday: the Health and Human Services Maintenance Appropriation, S1375. This budget included just under a 5% reduction for FY 2027. It likely failed in part because of the impassioned speech given by Senator Guthrie of District 28, our neighboring district. His remarks are well worth watching. He is an incredible statesman and a champion of common sense, and I certainly look to his leadership
and example.

Because S1375 failed, this budget must now go back to the drawing board. The proposed cuts were to Health and Welfare and would have affected many programs. It will be interesting to see whether JFAC heeds Senator Guthrie’s admonitions and restores funding to some of those programs. With the associated federal dollars, this is the largest expenditure in the state budget, totaling nearly $6 billion annually.

I have spent most of my time this week working on legislation to ensure that new large electrical loads do not cause increased rates for other ratepayers. In short, growth must pay for growth. While electricity rates will continue to rise because of other cost pressures, new large loads should not be allowed to shift their costs onto existing ratepayers. This is already a practice of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission that we are working to codify in statute.

I have been working with Representatives Mickelsen and Garner to negotiate acceptable language with the electrical utilities and large-load customers. This is becoming an issue nationwide because of the proliferation of data centers, which can consume extremely large amounts of electricity. This legislation is intended to prevent problems before they arise in Idaho.

Another bill I worked on is S1339. It has passed the Senate Education Committee, and I will be carrying it in the House. This bill removes the requirement that public schools develop continuous improvement plans and instead focuses on longer-term strategic planning. I really enjoyed negotiating this language with the school superintendents and Superintendent Critchfield’s education department. I believe this can become a valuable tool for our public schools as they focus on student outcomes.

Keep an eye on the budget process next week. There are still some key decisions to be made on education funding for online learning, both for traditional public schools and charter schools. We expect to have about two to three more weeks left in the session, so it is definitely crunch time.