Little's special session may subvert Prop 1

WALLACE — Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho, spoke at the Blackboard Cafe’ in Wallace to answer questions about Reclaim Idaho, The Quality Education Act, and the special session by Gov. Brad Little that will take Sept. 1.

Reclaim Idaho explains on its website that its mission is “To build an Idaho where government works for all Idahoans and not just those with the money and political influence. This means building an Idaho where all have access to affordable healthcare, protected lands, and strong public schools.”

In this vein, Reclaim Idaho decided to focus its efforts on education funding throughout Idaho, and the Quality Education Act was born.

Also known as Prop 1, the Quality Education Act is a ballot initiative that is scheduled to appear on the November 2022 ballot and would increase funding for K-12 public schools by $323 million per year by restoring the corporate income tax rate to 8% and adds a 4.5% income tax on amounts earned over $500,000 a year for married couples or $250,000 a year for individuals.

However, new legislation being introduced by Little looks to replace Prop 1 while still providing new funding opportunities for Idaho’s schools.

The bill states that it would provide $330 million in ongoing, annual funding for K-12 public schools and $80 million for in-demand career training. Little’s legislation calls for the $410 million to come from Idaho’s near $2 billion surplus and be put toward Idaho education through an ongoing sales tax transfer, the single largest investment in education in state history.

Little called for the special session last week in a press release where he explained the reason for his actions.

“We’re calling an extraordinary session to address the crushing impacts of historic inflation on Idaho families and schools,” Little said. “The cost of basic fundamentals to live everyday life has skyrocketed, and schools are faced with the burden of rising operating costs. Idaho’s powerful economic engine, combined with years of fiscal conservatism in state government, mean tax revenues have outpaced government spending, month after month, year after year. As a result, we are now projecting a new record budget surplus — $2 billion — which is hundreds of millions more than we expected. With the emergency before us, we’re going to give it back to the people and help our schools.”

Reclaim Idaho’s plan was specifically engineered at directing investments toward better pay for teachers and support staff and increased support for programs ranging from career-technical courses (welding, carpentry, etc.) to arts, music and special education. As a grassroots initiative, it received support from across the state — with Reclaim Idaho collecting 96,913 signatures from different legislative districts around Idaho.

Prop 1 would have minimal effect on the majority of Idaho’s taxpayers — just those making more than the previously discussed thresholds.

Little’s plan for education is not the only piece of the special session legislation; while education funding is a large portion of it, the bulk of the bill appears to aim at combating rising costs due to inflation and providing tax relief at several levels.

This includes:

• $500 million in immediate one-time income tax rebates.

• 10% of 2020 income taxes paid, with minimum rebates of $300 for individuals and $600 for joint filers.

• Seniors who apply for the grocery tax credit are also eligible for the minimum rebate.

These rebates will start rolling out as soon as September.

Little is also trying to introduce a new tax cut through a flat income tax. This would eliminate the first $2,500 of income from taxation for those filing as individuals and $5,000 for joint filers. Little estimates that this measure would provide more than $150 million in relief to Idaho taxpayers.

What does this mean for the Quality Education Act?

Mayville remained positive, explaining that this is a win for Idaho education.

“We are in this really strange situation. It’s a bit hard to grasp at first, but it becomes clear once you look at all the details,” Mayville said. “This is a step forward. They attempted to subvert our initiative, but even as they do it, they are handing us a huge victory.”

He further stated that if you even remotely considered increasing the public education fund by $410 million before the initiative started, that amount increase would be viewed as extreme in the Legislature.

Little’s bill has received bipartisan support and is widely expected to pass.

The special session of the Idaho Legislature is this coming Thursday, Sept. 1.