This article is part of Idaho Freedom Foundation’s special series highlighting our 2027 Freedom and Family Agenda, a conservative blueprint for a freer, stronger Idaho. Read the full agenda here.

Last year, amid a tax collection “crisis,” Governor Brad Little dramatically announced a 3% holdback on most agency budgets and suggested additional percentage cuts in Idaho’s budget going forward. The end result was the holdbacks were relaxed, and the promised future cuts never materialized. In fact, the following year’s all funds budget showed an increase of 2.5%. It was not quite the “budget hawkery” many Idahoans were hoping for.

It’s a typical flex without much muscle from a red-state governor. Trimming every program by a few percentage points leaves the size of government intact and means agencies are likely to claw back any reductions in the next yearly budget proposal. Real savings come from asking which programs Idaho should be running at all. Idaho Freedom Foundation’s (IFF) fiscally conservative budget asks that question agency by agency.

Each program must be tested against a set of factors. Is it a core or constitutional state function? Does someone else already do it? Is it a subsidy or pass-through to private interests? Is it a body that serves little or no purpose? Or, more broadly, is it efficient at what it does? One reality at the state level is some entitlements are federally mandated, making them difficult or impossible to get rid of at the state level. These entitlements are unsustainable but ultimately must be solved by the federal government, while Idaho should look at ways to reduce dependence on them by building a strong economy and keeping the government right-sized.

Of the welfare programs Idaho can control, Medicaid is the largest. A subset of this program is Medicaid expansion. Originally billed at just over $400 million, Medicaid expansion now costs more than $1.3 billion, including $105.5 million in state funds. Under federal law, this program for able-bodied adults is entirely optional . IFF recommended against passing expansion and has since campaigned diligently for its repeal. This program is unsustainable, unnecessary, and a huge drag on state finances. It is the single largest component of our plan to right-size the budget and protect Idaho from the whims and fiscal irresponsibility of the federal government.

Next are subsidies to businesses. These include Idaho LAUNCH at $83 million per year, tourism promotion at $28 million per year, and a whole host of other subsidies that amount to many millions more for businesses. The government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers, or advertising on behalf of private organizations. Our budget calls for an end to these types of programs.

Other cuts include ending $67 million in funding for the Idaho Child Care Program — Idaho’s version of “Quality Learing Centers” — as well as numerous other agencies that have nothing to do with the proper role of government like Idaho Public Television, the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, the Idaho Commission for Libraries, and many more. Not only are these programs bloated, they have nothing to do with core constitutional services and make a mockery of our Founders’ conception of government.

Finally, in addition to general gains in efficiency and fiscal restraint on spending across all agencies, there are dozens of advocacy commissions and councils that should be eliminated. Take, for example, the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs. Our state passed an anti-DEI bill two sessions ago, yet we still spend $500,000 funding an ethnically based commission that serves no purpose. This program and many others of a similar nature are ended in our budget plan.

All told, Idaho Freedom Foundation’s recommended budget saves over $2.2 billion for Idaho. The third and final article in this series explains IFF’s plan to return that money to you, the Idaho taxpayer.