/

What We’re Monitoring This Week 1/26-1/30

As the Legislature enters its third week, bill introductions are expected to accelerate.

Items we are closely monitoring include:

  • A possible hearing on federal tax conformity legislation as early as Monday

  • Continued discussion around Medicaid Expansion, with some lawmakers signaling interest in repeal later this session

  • JFAC working group meetings on agency budgets, which typically occur outside of public view

  • A resolution introduced by Rep. Elaine Price to repeal Idaho’s Blaine Amendment, which restricts public funds from flowing to sectarian institutions; a full hearing is expected soon

We will continue tracking developments that affect charter schools, virtual public education, and families seeking educational options, and will provide updates as decisions move from proposal to action.

Overview of Last Week at the Capitol

Momentum is building quickly at the Statehouse. While there have been early whispers of adjourning by mid-March — an ambitious timeline — activity over the past week suggests that pace is accelerating.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) adopted its revenue projection numbers, a key milestone that allows budget work to move forward in earnest. A federal tax conformity bill was also introduced late Friday, and several additional bills began advancing through committees. JFAC heard presentations on two of the state’s largest and most complex budgets: public education and Medicaid. Budget presentations for the remaining state agencies will continue next week.

At the judicial level, the Idaho Supreme Court heard oral arguments Friday morning in the challenge to the Parental Choice Tax Credit. Attorneys for the state reported that nearly 5,000 families had applied for the credit as of that morning. While it is unclear when the Court will issue its decision, timing is significant: applications opened January 15 and remain open through March 15.

Plaintiffs argued that the Idaho Constitution does not permit the state to establish what they characterized as a “parallel system” of education. The state countered that the constitution’s education provisions are intended to ensure an educated populace and do not mandate a single delivery model. Attorneys for the Legislature emphasized that the constitution grants broad authority to set tax policy, warning that striking down the credit could have far-reaching implications well beyond education.

Key Issue Updates

Budget and Revenue
JFAC adopted revenue projections of $5.6551 billion for FY2026 and $5.8166 billion for FY2027. These figures were slightly higher than the Governor’s projections and reflected the median of the Economic Outlook and Revenue Assessment Committee (EORAC) estimates. The Office of the State Board of Education, the Department of Education, and the Division of Medicaid presented their budgets this week. JFAC working groups will begin reviewing these budgets on Monday.

Health and Welfare / Medicaid
JFAC Co-chair Rep. Josh Tanner spent the week engaging with germane committees, including House Health & Welfare, encouraging legislators to take a more active role in shaping agency budgets. Tanner stated his personal view that Medicaid Expansion should be repealed, noting that the Governor’s budget proposes reductions to programs serving the state’s most vulnerable populations.

Federal Tax Conformity
Idaho stands to lose approximately $155 million in ongoing revenue by conforming to changes in the federal tax code under the One Big Beautiful Bill. The Governor’s budget assumes conformity beginning in tax year 2026, rather than 2025, which could result in discrepancies between federal and state taxable income for Idaho taxpayers this filing season.

On Friday, Rep. Jeff Ehlers introduced a bill in House Revenue & Taxation to fully conform Idaho’s tax code retroactively to tax year 2025. According to the Statement of Purpose, the bill conforms Idaho to federal changes affecting the 2025 tax year, including treatment of research and development expenses, while continuing Idaho’s historic nonconformity on bonus depreciation. The bill could receive a full committee hearing as early as Monday.

Public Education
State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield presented the public education budget to JFAC and faced extensive questioning on the funding formula, accountability, and potential areas for reduction. While the Governor’s proposal avoids across-the-board cuts to public education, it does include targeted reductions that disproportionately affect online and virtual programs. These include a $23 million reduction to public virtual schools, and programs.

Higher Education
Sen. Lori Den Hartog introduced legislation that would allow presidential search committees for Boise State University — and potentially other state institutions — to publicly post a single finalist instead of five. The intent is to encourage stronger candidate pools by reducing concerns about public exposure during job searches.

Public Lands
Sen. Ben Adams introduced a constitutional amendment to place any future public lands acquired from the federal government into a trust, preventing sale or exchange without a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. Additional public lands proposals are expected later in the session.

Code and Licensing Cleanup
Rep. Jordan Redman introduced legislation to consolidate disciplinary provisions related to DOPL into a single code section. Reps. Ehlers and Bruce Skaug introduced bills aimed at reducing regulations in cosmetology licensing. Occupational licensing reform appears to be a recurring theme this session.

News Coverage Worth Watching

Several media outlets covered key developments this week, including reporting on the K-12 budget debate, committee actions, transparency legislation affecting state employees, and analysis of the Parental Choice Tax Credit case before the Supreme Court.

Statehouse roundup, 1.21.26: Critchfield plays defense on K-12 budget - Idaho Education News 1/21/26

Analysis: Idaho Supreme Court appears likely to uphold parental choice tax credit - Mountain States Policy Center 1/23/26