Capitol Reflections Week 1 2026

Dexton Lake recaps week 1 of the Idaho legislative session with the State of the State address.

Transcript

Welcome to Capitol Reflections from the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation where we bring you the latest policy updates affecting Idaho Agriculture.

I’m Dexton Lake and the second regular session of the sixty-eighth Idaho legislature has officially begun. 

“Mister Speaker, the Governor of the great state of Idaho… The honorable Brad Little.” – Applause - 

The session kicked off with Governor Brad Little’s State of the State address. The Governor focused on cutting red tape, maintaining a balanced budget, and continuing tax relief, even as Idaho faces slowing revenues and a projected deficit of between 550 million and one billion dollars in the coming fiscal year. The Governor emphasized fiscal restraint, outlining plans to tighten agency budgets, renegotiate state contracts, and implement Medicaid reforms. To underscore his commitment to efficient government, he highlighted large sections of outdated or redundant state code that could be repealed or streamlined.

“The strength of Idaho's future also relies on the vitality of rural communities in the agricultural sector,” said Little.

While agriculture was mentioned only briefly during the actual speech, the Governor reaffirmed its importance to Idaho’s economy, particularly through continued investment in water infrastructure. Of note, he reinforced the need to maintain the 30 million dollars in ongoing funding for water projects passed last year. 

“We're not touching that [funding] because there's so much of the economy that’s dependent upon irrigated agriculture in Idaho. If you add [agriculture] and food processing, it's close to 30% of our state. Food processing doesn't work if they don't have crops to process,” said Little.

The 2026 legislative session began with several personnel and leadership changes in the House of Representatives. Four new lawmakers were appointed to fill vacancies, bringing new voices to the chamber. Those are Anne Henderson Haws from Boise, Michael Veile from Soda Springs, Don Hall from Twin Falls, and Erin Bingham from Idaho Falls. Additionally, committee leadership shifted. Representative Josh Tanner was appointed as the new co-chair of the Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee and Representative Jerald Raymond as chair of the House Agricultural Affairs Committee. Representative Doug Pickett was also elected by the caucus as Assistant Majority Leader.

At the national level, Farm Bureau leaders recently gathered in Anaheim, California, for the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention. During the general session, attendees heard updates from leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, as well as from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. During the House of Delegates, national policy was debated and adopted including resolutions passed by IFBF. And of course, we are very proud of our contenders in the YFR competitions and how well they represented our great state. 

Lastly, we are happy to announce that you can find the audio of Capitol Reflections on all major podcast streaming services, so be sure to like and subscribe so you can stay in the know with what is happening with Idaho agriculture. 

You can learn more, become engaged, and advocate for Idaho agriculture policy by visiting idahofb.org.

This has been Capitol Reflections with the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, the Voice of Idaho Agriculture.