On Monday, Governor Brad Little delivered a generally upbeat state of the state address, citing some advances the state has seen and some ideas for new efforts (education seems to be the big one) for the year to come. Nothing terribly unusual.
There wasn’t a lot in it to upset many people. In a normal political situation, the opposing party might take a few shots, not that Little gave the Democrats a lot to work with.
One web page from his site described it: “Governor Little presented the most conservative budget recommendation since the Great Recession - just 2.2% General Fund growth. When you look at the TOTAL budget, Governor Little proposes to spend $200 million less this year than last year.
Governor Little's IDAHO WORKS budget positions Idaho for continued success by reining in spending while making meaningful investments in public schools and infrastructure while delivering even more tax relief.â€
He did draw sharp criticism, however: From the state leader of his own party.
Within hours of its delivery, state Republican Chair Dorothy Moon sent out a release in response to the speech that sounded, in tone, a lot like something the opposing party would generate. In fact, that’s almost what it was.
“Like many of you, I watched Governor Brad Little’s State of the State address this afternoon hoping to hear him promote smaller government and fiscal responsibility, values that conservative Republicans hold dear. I regret to say that I was left mostly disappointed,†she wrote. “I am once again concerned with the amount of spending the Governor has proposed in his new budget. He continues to use the word ‘investment’ for what really should be described as ‘spending,’ as in spending our tax dollars for projects that might be better suited for local government or even the private sector.
“The Governor has proposed an additional $2 billion for public school infrastructure, $800 million for transportation, doubled funding for school advisors, and more. Despite this, he claimed that his new budget cuts $200 million from last year and is the most fiscally conservative budget since the Great Recession. Now, I don’t know how that math works out, but I’m skeptical. As with prior years, this address was all about how much of your money the Governor wants to spend (or invest) throughout the state.â€
A press release from the governor’s office may have been a counter to this, saying “Governor Little presented the most conservative budget recommendation since the Great Recession - just 2.2% General Fund growth. When you look at the TOTAL budget, Governor Little proposes to spend $200 million less this year than last year. Governor Little's Idaho Works budget positions Idaho for continued success by reining in spending while making meaningful investments in public schools and infrastructure while delivering even more tax relief.â€
Put another way, Little’s budget was hardly expansive, considering the still-strong Idaho state revenues.
But then, Moon’s statement hardly seemed like a granular policy difference. It seemed more a statement of position and intent: The state party is over here, and the governor - of which many of the top state party leaders have been in a state of disapproval for some years - is over there. Lines have been drawn, with legislators encouraged to take note.
If more evidence of line-drawing was needed, there was the vote at its winter meeting earlier this month in favor of nine resolutions from the state party dictating what the Idaho Legislature - or its Republicans, which is close to the same thing - should do about a number of issues. Notable among these were proposals to greatly limit (or eliminate) citizen initiatives, and at least one shot aimed directly at the governor, relating to nomination and selection of county commissioners to fill vacancies.
You might add to that the recent change in one of the influential organizations around the Idaho Legislature, the Idaho Freedom Foundation, which just changed its leadership, a possible indicator of what may be coming there. (More on this in a future column.)
Summing up, this first week of the legislature gives the impression that this year’s session will be a lot like recent sessions, only more so.