Little: Maybe it’s time to be a little wary

BOISE — Idaho Gov. Brad Little said states are likely in for some “shocks” from changes in the presidential administration under President Donald Trump.

Little told reporters Tuesday at a news conference that he feels confident Idaho is well-positioned to weather impending changes, which may place a bigger burden on states as the federal government seeks to reduce its spending.

However, the governor said he had concerns that may not be the case if the Legislature enacts all of its proposed tax cuts, reducing a total of more than $400 million in revenue.

“If I would’ve thought we could do $450 (million), I would’ve proposed $450 (million),” Little said.

In his proposed budget and State of the State address, Little recommended $100 million in tax relief. House leadership this session proposed three bills addressing property, sales and income taxes — with the largest cut going to income taxes, totaling around $250 million in reduced revenue.

Little also discussed Medicaid, the school choice tax credit bill on his desk and other topics at the annual meeting with reporters.

Medicaid

Asked about recent efforts to repeal Idaho’s Medicaid expansion program, Little said he’s in favor of looking to control Medicaid costs, but his main concerns about efforts to repeal were that the program was approved by Idaho voters — the initiative passed by more than 60% of the vote in 2018 — and that bills to repeal have not proposed replacement programs or funding.

Medicaid expansion allowed for people who earned too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid and not enough to qualify for the premium tax credit to afford health care coverage through the state exchange.

“You’ve got this population that are hard-working Idaho people that are stuck between traditional Medicaid and where they get tax credits to take care of it … and we kicked the supports out under the old system,” Little said.

Around 83,000 Idahoans are currently enrolled in the program, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

The House narrowly passed a bill last week that would effectively repeal the program by requiring the department to obtain so many federal waivers in such a short timeline that many argued it would be impossible to do so before the full repeal built into the bill would be triggered.

Little said of the bill, “I’ve read enough of it to know I’ve got concerns.”

A new bill was presented in the House Health and Welfare Committee on Friday morning as a “compromise” bill to address the concerns with the full repeal — the bill would request a number of changes, such as adding work requirements, increased patient cost-sharing, removing primary care case management and moving toward managed care. The new bill requires the department to seek federal waivers to get permission to make the changes, but does not include an automatic repeal.

Medicaid, especially the expansion program, is also potentially facing pressure from the federal government.

U.S. House Republicans are considering a budget that would likely result in major cuts to Medicaid — especially Medicaid expansion, of which the federal government pays a 90% share. Republican members of Congress are considering lowering this match, the New York Times reported Tuesday, which would either lead to the elimination of the program in many states or a massive increase in the states’ bill.

Little said he hadn’t talked to Idaho’s congressional delegation about that part of the budget, but indicated he wasn’t worried about it moving forward.

“I can’t imagine, given the one-vote margin, that they’re going to get that done,” Little said.

Passing a bill in the U.S. House requires the majority of those present and voting, meaning if every member is present, Republicans need all but one of the 218 party members to vote together in order to pass something.

School choice tax credit

Little did not indicate Tuesday if he planned to sign the school choice tax credit bill, which has passed both chambers and would, for the first time in state history, allow state funds to go to K-12 private education tuition.

In his State of the State address, Little proposed $50 million for “school choice,” but didn’t specify what type of program he supported. He said in the speech that he wanted it to be “fair, responsible, transparent and accountable.”

Little on Tuesday indicated he wasn’t completely happy with parts of the bill sitting at his desk.

“The only thing this perfectly fit into was my $50 million box,” Little said.

“There’s not enough accountability in it, but to that mind, I don’t think there’s enough accountability in the money we give public schools, either.”

The governor has until Thursday to either sign or veto the bill; otherwise, it will go into effect without his signature. His office has been tabulating input from the public on the bill, including an automated voicemail survey on it. His office has not provided the results of the voicemail survey, only saying there have been “thousands” of responses.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.