Idaho Gov. Brad Little to deliver State of the State address at Capitol in Boise today
Published at
Clark Corbin, Idaho Capital Sun
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — Gov. Brad Little will begin the 2024 Idaho legislative session today by delivering the annual State of the State address at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
Little will deliver the address at 1 p.m. Mountain Time to the Idaho Legislature in a joint session of the Idaho House of Representatives and Idaho Senate. Little will deliver the speech from the House chambers, and it will be streamed live for free using the Idaho In Session program.
The State of the State address is like Idaho’s version of the State of the Union address that the president delivers to Congress.
Little, a Republican from Emmett who was re-elected to his second four-year-term in 2022, is likely to outline his budget and policy priorities for the year ahead, reflect on his first five years in office and comment on the state of Idaho’s economy, budget and government programs.
Traditionally, members of the Idaho Supreme Court and statewide elected officials like the lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, controller and superintendent of public instruction sit on the House floor and listen to the governor deliver the State of the State address.
Idaho Gov. Little expected to discuss education, workforce training in State of State
During a press conference Thursday at the Idaho Press Club’s Legislative Preview event, Little dedicated much of his time to promoting his Idaho Launch initiative. The initiative provides up to $8,000 in grants to Idaho high school graduates and homeschool graduates to put toward in-demand career training in Idaho through programs such as welding certifications, auto tech training, lineman’s college, a two-year college program or a four-year university program for in-demand jobs.
Little told reporters there has been overwhelming demand for funding from students, and the state won’t be able to pay for all the students who applied for the grants. More than 11,400 applications for the funding have been completed and submitted to the state so far, according to materials provided by the governor’s office at the press conference.
“Of course my top priority from the get go – and it will continue to be – has been education,” Little said, adding that Launch is a way to improve the rate of Idaho students who “go-on” to continue their education after high school.
Little hopes to build awareness of the Launch program, continue implementing it in 2024 and secure funding for next year’s grants. But the program narrowly squeaked through the Idaho Legislature in House Bill 24 in 2023, and if one member of the Idaho House had changed their vote, Launch would have failed on a tie vote.
“I’m not a big fan of government handouts,” Moyle told reporters. “Government handouts generally don’t work so well, and this is a big government handout.”
Den Hartog expressed frustration with the list of in-demand careers state officials came up with.
On the other side of the political aisle, Democratic leaders, including House Assistant Minority Leader Lauren Necochea, D-Boise, and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, vowed to defend Launch. The Democratic leaders told reporters the costs of workforce training and higher education are still significant financial barriers for Idahoans.
“Every industry presentation we hear these days is focused on the need for a skilled workforce, and that’s what Launch is going to do for Idaho, and it will take time,” Necochea told reporters.
The State of State address helps set the early tone for Idaho legislative sessions
Although the Idaho Legislature is responsible for setting the state budget and writing laws and administrative rules, Little’s State of the State address and budget proposal serve as a sort of opening bell for the session and help set the tone and early discussion points. The first regular legislative meetings won’t really begin until Tuesday, when the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee will gavel into session and begin implementing several changes to the budget hearing and budget setting procedures.
Last year, Little’s State of the State speech lasted about 36 minutes. For the 2022 State of the State address, Little spoke for about 29 minutes.
There is no time limit for a legislative session in Idaho, although as a general rule sessions run for 70 to 90 days. Following the November 2022 general election, legislators also have the power to call themselves back into session instead of having to rely on the governor to convene a special session.