Gov. Little spotlights priorities in “Enduring Idaho” plan

Boise, Idaho - Governor Brad Little outlined the key takeaways in his ENDURING IDAHO plan, which the Legislature adopted during the 2026 legislative session.

The Governor's ENDURING IDAHO plan is a balanced FY 2026 and FY 2027 budget that reflects Idaho's long-standing commitment to fiscal responsibility and long-term stability. The Idaho Legislature stuck to his recommendations for thoughtful, measured spending adjustments that preserve Idaho's financial strength and coveted AAA credit rating.

The plan also protects what matters most to the long-term prosperity of our state by:

• BALANCING THE BUDGET: Just like Idaho families must live within their means, Governor Little and the Legislature balanced the budget without raising taxes.
• DELIVERING TAX CUTS: Protecting Idahoans from higher taxes is the right long-term decision, made possible by Idaho's strong reserves, low debt, and disciplined budgeting. We conformed with the new Trump tax cuts, putting more money in Idahoans' pockets while keeping Idaho's tax system simple, fair, predictable, and competitive.
• PROTECTING PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Since Governor Little took office, state support for public education has increased 70 percent. Much of the investments focused on better compensation and benefits for public school teachers. To continue our firm commitment to education, we protected public school funding and utilized the Public Education Stabilization Fund to cover any statutorily required increases for FY 2027.
• SUPPORTING TRUMP'S TALENT STRATEGY THROUGH LAUNCH: We protected funding for Idaho LAUNCH, helping President Trump achieve his vision of fighting for the American worker.
• MAINTAINING WATER AND TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENTS: We preserved water infrastructure funding championed last year to secure Idaho's water sovereignty and protect our agriculture economy and future energy development. We protected funding for critical transportation infrastructure projects (TECM) and passed an additional $20 million in FY27 for additional bonding of for Idaho roads.
• PROMOTING SAFE COMMUNITIES: Idahoans greatly value safe communities. Reductions were minimized for the Idaho Department of Correction and the Idaho State Police to maintain operational priorities and avoid furloughs and layoffs so the state can keep crime off our streets. The Legislature also answered Governor Little's call for increased state trooper pay.
• INVESTING IN HEALTHCARE: We took steps to improve rural healthcare through new grants that strengthen healthcare delivery and affordability across rural Idaho, and we invested nearly $1 million in programs that address the physician shortage.
• SUPPORTING GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: We merged together agencies with similar missions and took steps to clean up state code and remove outdated, duplicative, or unnecessary statutes, making state government more transparent, easier to navigate, and less burdensome for citizens and businesses.

Read highlights from the ENDURING IDAHO plan at this link: https://gov.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fy27-budget-highlights.pdf

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