After four patients died, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill to restore Medicaid mental health treatment programs that the state cut to comply with the governor’s order for budget cuts. #idleg #idpol

The state will have around $186 million to spend in the first year on subgrants meant to improve rural health care access. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature and Gov. Brad Little enacted a series of across-the-board budget cuts that reduced funding for most state agencies and departments by 4% this year and 5% beginning in fiscal year 2027, which starts July 1. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate swiftly defeated House Speaker Mike Moyle's bill to bar local elected officials from office for "wilfully" violating state law. #idleg #idpol

Idaho Rep. Brent Crane called a bill to allow people to concealed carry guns in courthouses an unfunded mandate for counties. He voted for it. "I’ve got 100% voting record with the NRA. Don’t want any of you guys to screw up your voting record with the NRA. But this is wrong." #idleg #idpol

NEW: The White House sent a letter to Idaho lawmakers last week, urging them to pass immigration legislation in the state that law enforcement has told them NOT to pass. It’s something Democratic Sen. James Ruchti saw and thought, “This is weird.” Here’s more: www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...

Nine protestors who opposed anti-trans bills were arrested Wednesday in the Idaho governor’s office at the Capitol in Boise, according to Idaho State Police. #idleg #idpol

The Trump administration sued Idaho’s top election official after he declined to give the federal government access to sensitive personal information about 1 million Idaho registered voters. #idpol

The Idaho Senate passed a bill to restore Medicaid mental health programs that the state cut after Gov. Brad Little's budget cuts. The four patient deaths after a mobile treatment program was cut can be directly tied to the cuts, said Idaho Falls Republican Sen. Kevin Cook. #idleg #idpol

Over the last 25 years, six people who contracted measles in the U.S. died from it. A model built by Stanford researchers predicts that if Americans could no longer get the vaccine, measles could kill about 290,000 people in the next 25 years.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill that criminalizes transgender people using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, including in private businesses. #idleg #idpol

A day after Idaho Department of Health and Welfare releases audits finding little fraud in child care providers, the Legislature’s budget committee rejects $16 million in federal funds to expand child care provider access. #idleg #idpol

Republicans in the Idaho Legislature widely approved implementing federal Medicaid work requirements for adults enrolled in Medicaid expansion by the end of the year. #idleg #idpol

The Senate approved a bill to move the Idaho State Historic Preservation Office into a newly formed state agency that would oversee species conservation, mining and energy. #idleg #idpol

Minutes after Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill that would fine cities for flying flags that aren’t on the Legislature’s pre-approved list, the city of Boise took down an LGBTQ+ pride flag that flew in front of its City Hall. #idleg #idpol

The Senate Judiciary and Rules Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 1422, which includes requirements for city and county law enforcement to record and verify nationality and immigration status on every arrest and publish that information. #idleg #idpol

Since the money was awarded, state House and Senate members proposed differing ways to provide legislative oversight of how the money would be distributed as subgrants. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature passed a bill to ban contractors from hiring state employees for a year. It comes two years after I reported a company that won Idaho's biggest contract, for Medicaid mental health benefits, hired a state staffer who judged contractor bids as its CEO. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature widely passed a bill Monday that would require teachers and doctors to out transgender minors to their parents, or face lawsuits, advancing the bill to the governor. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate is one of the last stops for a bill that would let Attorney General Raúl Labrador seek to temporarily disqualify local elected officials and government employees from holding office or working for the government if they “willfully” violate state law. #idleg #idpol

Did you know? You don't have to rely on the New York Times for all of your news coverage.

Thousands of Idahoans turned out to the Idaho State Capitol in downtown Boise on Saturday for the third No Kings protest. They had beef with the Legislature. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature widely passed a bill to criminally charge trans people if they enter public bathrooms that align with their gender identity. #idleg #idpol

Idaho law enforcement groups say they are increasingly frustrated by immigration legislation lawmakers are proposing without first seeking their input. #idleg #idpol

Court records indicate that for the first count of unlawfully taking a big game animal, Harshbarger allegedly shot a 6-point bull elk out of season and/or aided or abetted another in doing so on Dec. 20.

“This change will help protect grieving families from the additional pain of having sensitive photos released that should remain private,” Little wrote. #idleg #idpol

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill that prevents photos from death investigations from being publicly released. #idleg #idpol

Idaho Gov. Brad Little approved a bill that calls for nearly $22 million in budget cuts to Medicaid disability services. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate rejected a bill that would’ve significantly lowered the income eligibility threshold for families to qualify for a child care subsidy program. The opposition was an unusual coalition of more than a dozen Republicans and six Democrats. #idleg #idpol

If Idaho adopts Medicaid work requirements, up to 34,000 people could lose Medicaid expansion, researchers say. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature and the state’s governor established a bill of rights focused on safety for youth in foster care. #idleg #idpol

Sen. Grow announced that the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, or JFAC, will meet Friday morning, which Grow hopes could be JFAC’s final meeting of the year and help move the Idaho Legislature closer to adjourning for the year. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate cleared a hurdle toward reinstating a presidential primary election in May after it was unintentionally eliminated in 2023. However, there’s a competing bill to reinstate a March presidential primary instead that passed the House earlier this month. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature is considering a bill that would significantly lower the income eligibility threshold for families to qualify for a child care subsidy program. #idleg #idpol

The #idleg budget committee approved cash and interest payment transfers that are intended to avoid a budget shortfall and leave a surplus cash balance. In doing so, it employed a strategy that its co-chair Rep. Josh Tanner has routinely described as an irresponsible short-term gimmick.

The $200,000 contribution is tied for the largest individual campaign contribution made in Idaho in 2026, public campaign finance records show. #idleg #idpol

“The impact of all of these practices on children — the physical injuries but also the trauma — is really horrific,” @blumenthal.senate.gov told @propublica.org How American Kids Have Been Collateral Damage in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown @nicolefoy.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/amer...

And here's a story by Avi Asher-Schapiro involving some Idaho characters (the C-suite of a nuclear startup) and a distinctly Idaho setting (the Idaho National Laboratory). For historical context, the INL was the site of the only fatal nuclear disaster in the U.S. www.propublica.org/article/trum...

An Idaho Republican legislative leader signaled he won’t consider a bill to reinstate a program that paid family members to be caregivers for loved ones with disabilities – because it would cost money during a tight budget year. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate widely passed a bill that would fine local and state governments for flying flags that aren’t on the Legislature’s pre-approved list. #idleg #idpol

The nonprofit organization Friends of Harriman State Park said shifting to a political appointment process to name the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation director could violate that requirement to staff and manage the park based on merit. #idleg #idpol

An Idaho Senate committee narrowly advanced a bill on Monday to expedite welfare checks in response to child protection reports on infants who face certain risk factors. Lawmakers brought the bill in response to the death of a 12-day-old infant named Benjamin, “Benji,” in Nampa. #idleg #idpol

“We’re a sovereign government, the tribes in Idaho,” said Arnold Thomas, tribal vice-chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, “and, for me, part of that expectation is, I would have thought there would have been a greater effort to involve us.” #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature’s budget committee signed off on funding Monday to pay for the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office to print and mail an informational voters’ pamphlet this year – but also cut an additional 2% funding from the office’s budget next year. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho House widely passed a bill that calls for the state to implement Medicaid work requirements for adults enrolled in Medicaid expansion by the end of the year. #idleg #idpol

The Catholic diocese in Idaho's most populous city pushed a bill that would have allowed it to keep donors to a campaign secret. “No issue has ever risen to the level of our involvement until now and this issue is abortion,” said a lobbyist for the diocese. From @radiodawson.bsky.social

The Idaho Senate narrowly passed a bill that calls for nearly $22 million in budget cuts to Medicaid disability services, sending the legislation to the governor. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate is one of the last stops for a bill that would criminalize “willfully” entering public and government bathrooms and changing rooms designated for another sex. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Senate is one of the last stops for a bill that would block block transgender people from using their preferred public bathrooms. #idleg #idpol

The Idaho Legislature will consider a bill to restore Medicaid mental health treatment programs that the state cut to comply with the governor’s order for budget cuts. That comes after four patients died since the state cut a mobile treatment program. #idleg #idpol