As the 2026 session of the Legislature thankfully comes to a close, we can only hope that there will be enough turnover so that the ugly process is never repeated. One of the bills, which cut $131 million in necessary funding from a wide variety of programs, was aptly described by the House Majority Leader as a “crappy bill.” It passed, nevertheless, along with a number of other crappy appropriation bills.

There were several factors that contributed to the dysfunctional budget process–no real leadership from the Governor, a budget committee (JFAC) led by two city slickers from Eagle, a failure to seek meaningful input from affected parties and too many culture war JFAC members who were just fine with cutting state programs to the bone.

Governor Little initially called for a 3% across-the-board cut for all state budgets, except statewide elected officials, the courts and K-12 education, for the current fiscal year ending June 30. In its “crappy bill,” JFAC provided for 4% across-the-board cuts that included the state officials and courts. The court system was able to get some of its cuts restored, but the statewide officials were out of luck.

The Attorney General sought to have his cuts restored, correctly pointing out that 89% of the AG’s budget goes to staff compensation. The cuts would require salary cuts or layoffs. Even though I disagree with Mr. Labrador on a wide variety of issues, he is correct about the effect of the budget cuts on his office. Unfortunately, the Idaho House displayed no sympathy. A bill to restore funding for both 2026 and 2027 failed by a 33-37 vote. All 9 Democrats and 28 Republicans, including the Majority Leader, rejected his funding request. It indicates broad unhappiness with his legal performance.

What we are left with is a budget that will, among many other hurtful things, make significant cuts to Medicaid, hamper higher education, adversely impact a variety of essential programs and largely ignore the $100 million shortfall for special education.

After the Governor made his budget recommendation, he just sat on his hands and allowed JFAC and the Legislature to throw a budget together. He took the position that it was not his job to exercise leadership over the budgeting process. There are three things that Little could have done, were he not frightened of stepping on the toes of the MAGA crowd. He could have come out against adopting the tax cuts contained in the BIG Beautiful Billionaire Bill that Congress passed last year. Or, he could have asked that the tax rate of the higher earners in Idaho be slightly increased to partially make up for the $4 billion in tax cuts imprudently made over the last five years. Or, he could have dipped into the $1.3 billion in the state’s rainy day funds. He chose to do nothing.

It used to be the case that rural legislators presided over the Legislature’s budget writing committee (JFAC), making sure to equitably fund both urban and rural needs in Idaho. When I was Attorney General, it was Rep. Mack Neibaur of Paul and Sen. Atwell Parry of Melba. In more recent years, it was Rep. Maxine Bell of Jerome and Sen. Shawn Keough of Sandpoint. They had a thorough understanding of taxing and spending issues and exercised leadership in getting the best bang for the bucks.

The JFAC co-chairs, Sen. Scott Grow and Rep. Josh Tanner are both residents of Eagle and don’t seem to have an appreciation of the needs of rural Idaho. For instance, both voted for the education tax credit bill last year that has little value to country folks across the state. JFAC pushed out legislation early in the session that would have cut funds for water management and wildfire suppression during what promises to be a drought year in Idaho. Wiser heads have prevailed on these critical needs because funding for both have been restored.

Many country folks wonder why JFAC cut every government department except the Legislature. Sen. Jim Guthrie called for legislative cuts: “We’re not taking a pay cut, we’re not compromising our benefits. We are tightening the belts of Idaho citizens, and the feedback from my constituents is that they are not happy about it.”

Speaking of legislative pay, Rep. Tanner got a nice contribution of $200,000 to his Idaho Summit PAC earlier this month. Some might see this as a conflict of interest. One wonders what he had to do to get that bonanza. Big money has certainly found its way into Idaho politics of late.

In sum, throwing together feathers, hoping for a duck, aptly describes how this dysfunctional budget was fashioned. Idaho deserves better.