The Idaho Legislature adjourned Sine Die after a 2026 session dominated by budget fights, higher education cuts, and the decision to immediately adopt federal tax changes from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

Legislators introduced 726 bills during the session. Eighty-eight passed. The defining issue was money. Governor Brad Little ordered 3% cuts to most state agencies in August 2025, shielding K-12 from the reductions. The Legislature added another 2% on top of that, bringing total cuts for higher education to 5% and roughly $30 million in reduced state funding for fiscal year 2027.

The Senate passed House Bill 876, the higher education maintenance budget, after a floor debate in which some Republican senators argued the state has no constitutional obligation to fund colleges and universities at all. Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls, said institutions should rely on tuition and donations rather than taxpayer money. The Idaho Constitution mandates funding for “free public schools” but does not explicitly require state funding of higher education, a point conservative members pressed throughout the session.

The consequences of the cuts are already visible. Idaho State University is laying off employees and merging colleges. Boise State University is combining two schools and closing a third. The University of Idaho is pausing its engineering program expansion.

The Legislature also adopted the tax cuts in President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill at a projected immediate cost of $155 million to the state. After initially proposing a delayed implementation, Governor Little signed the bill putting the federal tax alignment into effect immediately.

K-12 education, Medicaid, prisons, and Idaho State Police were exempt from all budget cuts.