Legislators host trio of town hall talks

BONNERS FERRY — Education, Medicaid expansion and the initiative process were among the top discussion points at a trio of Saturday town halls held by a pair of District 1 legislators.

With just the first week of the session under legislators' collective belt, Idaho House 1A Rep. Mark Sauter and Idaho Sen. Jim Woodward told the several dozen people gathered at the Sandpoint town hall that education was shaping up to be a big issue during the 2025 legislative session. 

Both Sauter and Woodward said out-of-state groups are already working to drive policy changes in the 2025 session, from the grocery sales tax to education funding. The groups will flood legislators' email inboxes with hundreds of emails, trying to push the policy toward a certain narrative.

"That's just politics but that's an example of out-of-state influence that we're going to see over and over again," Woodward said. "… We'll try to do our best to be out in front of it because the only way to counter a false narrative is to have the truth out there."

While the session started following Monday's State of the State address by Idaho Gov. Brad Little, Woodward was in Boise several days earlier for his work as vice chair of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee.

At least five bills have already been floated on education funding, from vouchers to education savings accounts to tax credits. Each of the three topics has appeared before the Legislatures in the past, all failing to make it into law. However, Woodward told the crowd that it's likely that legislation covering at least one of them could make it to vote.

"The tax credit is the one that seems to be the leading proposal this year," he said, noting that Little broached the subject during his State of the State address Jan. 6 and indicated a measure of support for such legislation.

While often referred to as "school choice," the legislators said the bills boil down to using taxpayer money for private education. Little's signaling indicates a likelihood that some form of legislation on the subject will be voted on.

"But what form does it take and what comes with it?" Woodward said. "If there is something, what do we do to make sure to keep public schools whole or make improvements there?"

The accountability that is tied to public funding has often kept at least some home school organizations and supporters from wanting state legislation. 

"I do believe this is just another prime example of outside influence pushing something here in Idaho," Woodward said. "Because I don't see a groundswell of people saying there's a problem here and that we want to do this, but I do see large amounts of money coming into the state to make this happen."

Several in the crowd questioned the need for vouchers with some questioning the legality of using taxpayer funding for private and religious schools. They said the focus should instead be on meeting the state's constitutional obligations to ensure a uniform and thorough system of public schools open to all.

Sauter said Idaho's low population — which just ticked over the 2 million mark — in comparison to larger states makes it a 'good candidate' for legislative battles on such issues. With enough seats changing hands from moderate Republicans to more conservative members of the party, the shift to the right has issues highlighted by those legislators gaining prominence. 

"Elections matter," he replied when asked what had changed in Boise. "The reality is that elections matter. And the other, if you really want to dig down, you could look at the committee makeup in the last session and then this one, and a lot of the committees have changed markedly. Just like Jim said, count the noses."

Maneuvering for committee assignments, how bills are written and which order they are presented also can play a role in how the session unfolds, the pair told the crowd.

While changes may be on the horizon, the pair noted that there have been positive actions in relation to public education with funding back to pre-Great Recession levels, a commitment to teacher salary, some funding of facility costs and programs such as Idaho Launch, which aims to help students fund the next phase of their education.

"There is a proposal coming this year to help small, rural school districts and that might really benefit some (area school districts)," Woodward said. "That's another piece that the governor has programmed into his budget and we'll see what (the Legislature) does with it."

Impact on possible legislation on higher education, vocational-technical education and other programs also were brought up by commenters. Also brought up were concerns about potential tax cuts as were the impact of pre-committing what the state is slated to receive in funding each year. As that legislation comes up, the pair said the question that needs to be addressed is what the long-term impacts of such cuts are.

Tax cuts are again slated to be on the agenda, with legislation likely of some sort, the pair told those gathered.

"Level of service dictates our quality of life, so are we doing the right thing?" Woodward said. "In kind of simple terms, my description is if you wear out the farm without ever buying any new equipment but the income is coming in great. What do you do when everything's worn out?"

Also a topic of concern are potential efforts to restrict or add "sideboards" to the state's Medicaid expansion. Either could hurt health care on the local level and force cuts to local services.

"To what extent is (Medicaid expansion) truly a problem for the state budget?" one commenter said. "And how much is 'We just don't want that program?'"

A proposal to increase the percentage of votes needed to pass initiatives also drew concern, with one commenter saying the Legislature seems to go out of its way to change the rules or not follow what voters are calling for.

"There should be a way that says that when the people have voted this, y'all down in Boise can't change it," one woman said. "Why do we have to keep spending all of this time revisiting what the majority of the people have already said they want?"

Work continues to push the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers toward quicker action to repair damaged gates at Albeni Falls Dam. The first step toward showing a complete picture of the lake's impact in Bonner County is taking place through an upcoming economic impact report being done through the University of Idaho and the Lakes Commission.

"We're trying to get as many players on the field that we can get, to try and convince the Corps and others that these are things that need to be changed and improved," Sauter said.