A Message from The Gang of Eight, March 24, 2025
We’re heading into the final week of the session, and budget votes are coming fast. We’ve seen more ‘NO’ votes than ever before, thanks to a more conservative legislature that’s finally willing to push back. With a projected end date of March 28, there’s growing pressure to pass these budgets quickly, but speed shouldn’t override stewardship.
All but two of the essential maintenance budgets have passed. These are the budgets that keep the lights on and the doors open. They include state-approved pay raises and ensure essential services stay in place. We committed to supporting them, and we’ve kept that commitment.
But the rest? That’s the wish list.
When we signed the Budget Pledge, we committed to a few simple principles:
- Fully fund maintenance budgets
- Hire no new employees
- Cap budget growth at 1.2%
- Stop taking federal money with strings attached
Those aren’t just talking points. They are a roadmap for real fiscal discipline in a state where the budget has grown 55% in just five years.
We don’t have to pass every budget just because it made it out of committee. If we’re serious about DOGE, it starts with saying NOto runaway spending and YES to sustainable, accountable government.
The Idaho Way shouldn’t look like Washington, D.C.
