New governor offers some new ideas

Idaho’s new governor Brad Little  last week gave his inaugural State of the State and budget address, setting the early tone for his administration.

 Little has been around Idaho politics for years as a state lawmaker and lieutenant governor under Butch Otter. This was his chance to outline his own economic and political priorities.

 Little’s first term as governor has barely started, of course. But on the surface, he appears to be a political pragmatist who can work with Democrats on the other side of the aisle.  

 We’ll see how deft a politician Little is now that there are more Democrats in the Legislature. He also has to answer to the more conservative lawmakers who have held sway at the statehouse for many years.

 During his eight years as governor, Little’s predecessor in the Capitol, Butch Otter, an avowed Libertarian, held on to the Reaganesque ideology that government can’t solve problems.

 Little doesn’t strike me as being quite as ardent about thumbing his nose at the federal government like Butch did, while also trying to downsize and underfund state government.

 Little’s 2020 fiscal year budget contained a few highlights worth mentioning. In some areas, he actually appears to be willing to spend some money on programs.

 His budget seeks to increase teacher pay in Idaho to $40,000 as continuation of the five-year career ladder for teachers. He also recommends new funding to reward outstanding teachers in the state.

 He proposes a 4.72 percent overall increase in funds for Idaho’s colleges and universities. He also wants to increase the amount of funds in the Opportunity Scholarship by $7 million to help more Idaho kids.

 The details were not spelled out, but Little proposed a first time homebuyers savings account. It would reduce the cost for first-time homebuyers.

 The governor has promised to impelement Proposition 2, a ballot measure approved by Idaho voters that will expand Medicaid in the state. 

 Little said he will do it with a net-zero impact on the state’s general fund. 

 The governor announced an upcoming executive order to combat the opioid crisis. Part of that will include creating non-offender programs for substance abuse (see commentary below).

 Rather than spend to build new prisons and continue to fill the state’s court dockets with small-time drug cases, Little is taking a different approach to the issue. 

 His comments seem to recognize that drug users need help with their problem. The state is socially and financially better off if drug users can be put on a path toward a productive life.

 “Treating addicts and those with mental health problems in prison is expensive, poor public policy and often too late,” Little said in his budget address.

 Little also pledged to get rid of the state sales tax on food, which every other state did years ago.

 Lawmakers have tried to repeal the sales tax but it’s been shot down in past sessions. It’s a tax that nobody likes but no replacement dollars have been found to make up the tax loss.

 Little plans to end the next couple of fiscal years with significant balances left in the buget to lay the foundation for eventual repeal of the grocery tax.

 Steve Lyon is the editor of the Weiser Signal American. Contact him at scoop@signalamerican.com.