The Governor of Idaho Brad Little delivered his yearly State of the State address. During this time it is a tradition where the governor gets the opportunity to tell the legislators what they want to see happen during the upcoming year. This is Governor Brad Little’s first State of the State of his second term as governor of Idaho.
In his speech which lasted about 36 minutes, he introduced his “Idaho first plan” the plan focuses on education, property taxes, health, and drug enforcement. Before Governor Little dived into the speech he thanked the residents of Idaho for giving him another term as his Governor.
Education
A large majority of the Governor’s speech and the “Idaho first Plan” focuses ‘on the future of education. The governor said that 4 out of 5 residents of Idaho expect the state to support the state’s public education system. The Governor is pushing for a 6,300 dollar pay increase for teachers. Governor Little said that when he went into the office the state of Idaho’s pay for educators were in the bottom 10 but now they are in the top 10 for educators’ salary.
Governor Little also introduced a plan for High School students that are graduating in the future. The Governor is introducing an 8,500 dollar scholarship for students who attend a state or technical school.
Governor Little also taunted the accomplished that reading abilities among K-3 students are up and hope to be a top 10 school soon. Governor added, “We are on the right track.”
Tax Relief
Another key point of the state of the state speech was tax cuts. The Governor taught the 2 billion dollars in tax relief back to Idaho residents’ pockets. The governor also discussed how since he took office they have cut personal, corporate, and, payroll taxes along with reimbursing residents for property taxes.
Governor Little also discussed giving residents a tax break on property taxes along with a 120 million dollar rebate available for all residents.
Behavioral Health
Governor Little also briefly discussed the behavioral health crisis that is taking place in Idaho. The Governor is proposing a 24 million-dollar project to build and staff a 26-bed inpatient mental health facility in the state of Idaho.
Governor Little is pushing for an effort to get more doctors and nurses in rural areas of Idaho to make sure Idaho residents living in rural areas are getting their health needs met.
Law Enforcement
Just like teachers, Governor Little is pushing for a 10% or about 6,000-dollar raise for police officers. Governor Little is also sending a team of experts to the border to learn everything they can about Fentanyl to then go back to Idaho to train the officers on how to cut back on the usage of the drug or prevent it from entering the state. Governor Little ended his section about law enforcement by saying “Unlike other states, we fund the police.”
After Governor Little’s speech, he received a wide variety of support from both Democrats and fellow Republicans for his proposed yearly spending bill and getting ready to get down to business.
