SANDPOINT — Idaho Governor Brad Little said he was pleased with where the state ended up following a contentious legislative session.  

Little, who made a quick trip to Sandpoint Tuesday, said the state was faced with difficult decisions when trying to close a significant budget deficit. Specifically, he said he was focused on not sacrificing long-term stability for short-term gain and protecting Idaho’s AAA credit rating; he said that local governments lean on. 

“I'm confident, and I think the markets are confident that we're doing the right thing in Idaho,” Little said. “But when you have to make tough decisions, you make them and we did that. We live within our means, we didn't increase taxes, and I think we gave the public and the legislature, ultimately, confidence in what we were doing.” 

During the legislative session, Little signed 4% budget cuts for most state agencies and departments in March, according to the Idaho Capital Sun. The cuts made to budgets were one of the most controversial aspects of the session, as Little and the Idaho Legislature refused to dip into the state reserves to fill the gap. 

Little said the reason he didn’t push to spend some of Idaho’s “rainy day fund” was because he views the state in a healthy, growing position.  

“It's hard to say it's raining when you still have not full employment, but almost full employment,” Little said. “Our employment numbers came out yesterday, and we're still at 3.6% [unemployment rate]. And so, Idaho is doing fine, but it's that normalization of tax revenue that's of concern.” 

On the topic of affordable housing, Little said it’s something that he’s working with the Legislature as he hears that as one of the top issues across the state. Little said he wanted to leave the zoning up to local communities so that they could find the best areas for new housing in their communities. 

At the end of the 2026 session, Little signed SB 1352 and SB 1354, which were sponsored by Representative Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, and Senator Ben Toews, R-Coeur d’Alene, which overrode local zoning rules to allow for smaller, denser housing. Little said these efforts are just beginning, and he hopes to continue working with the legislators to find further solutions, like using state-owned land for more infill development. 

“They were 100% all in, some of their neighbors might not have wanted it, but it's that's part of the issue. My request to the two sponsors is, let's work together on a more comprehensive way of looking at it,” Little said. “That's kind of where we are victims of our own success. Everybody wants to move into Idaho, and we don't necessarily have an obligation to provide houses for them, but we definitely have an obligation to provide housing for our children that want to stay here and work here.” 

Another bill signed by Little that was sponsored by Redman was loosening restriction of short-term rentals, which received harsh pushback from Sandpoint’s local officials. Little said he felt that the Legislature would have overridden a veto and said he’d continue working on the issue. 

“I looked at it, and in fact, the short-term rental bill, the sponsors of it readily admit that it wasn't perfect,” Little said. “There was kind of a commitment they're going to look at it next year, and I told them I'd work with them.” 

Little did not propose cuts to K-12 education and said he was thankful that those areas, including his program, Idaho LAUNCH, did not receive budget cuts. LAUNCH is a program that gives up to $8,000 in grants to Idaho students who want to pursue post-secondary ambitions, whether that be in college or at a trade school. 

Little added that he believes helping students build toward the future will also be a part of addressing housing affordability. 

“One of the students that we were just with in high school is working in one of the programs, and he's making enough money now he's got a down payment on a house,” Little said of his visit to Kootenai Technical Education Center.  

Another controversial area of the budget discussion was Medicaid, specifically, Medicaid expansion, which was approved by voters in 2018. Little said he doesn’t want to repeal Medicaid expansion but wants to ensure that it’s going toward the neediest population. 

“Simultaneously, we want to make sure that people of Idaho have confidence that people get Medicaid, really should get Medicaid,” Little said. “So, every time we get a chance to look at it, say, what can we do to make sure it works better, but to make sure there's no fraud or abuse in it.” 

Little is running for reelection and the Republican nomination this year. He said that if reelected, his focus would remain on creating more jobs and managing growth in the state. 

“We now have the fastest growing personal income of any state in the nation, which I'm very proud of,” Little said. "We're creating jobs every day. In fact, the tax policy and our neighbors in Washington are chasing a lot of capital and a lot of workers to Idaho.”