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Three promising bills could provide property tax relief for Idahoans

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

There is, perhaps, a glimmer of hope for people like Boise’s Kari Wardle. Kari, 40, juggles full-time employment and raising a 5-year-old boy, while caring for her terminally-ill mom. But it’s her rising property taxes that have her really rattled. 

“My wages don’t increase enough every year to offset these costs,” Wardle explained. “With medical expenses and my child, even with working a full time job, we are barely getting by. If property taxes increase again next year, I honestly have no idea what we will do!”

VIDEO: Giddings goes for grocery tax repeal, rejected by Collins, Stevenson 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

Last week, state Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-Whitebird, attempted to put grocery tax repeal on the House Revenue & Taxation Committee's agenda. Rep. Gary Collins, R-Nampa, and Rep. Thyra Stevenson, R-Nezperce, thwarted Giddings' attempt. 

New Idaho Freedom Index ratings 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

• House Bill 346 - Distracted driving
• House Bill 347 - Bond election frequency
• House Bill 353 - Property tax increase cap
• House Bill 354 - Foregone reserve
• House Bill 355 - Property tax freeze
• House Bill 360 - Grocery tax repeal

Three promising bills could provide property tax relief for Idahoans

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

There is, perhaps, a glimmer of hope for people like Boise’s Kari Wardle. Kari, 40, juggles full-time employment and raising a 5-year-old boy, while caring for her terminally-ill mom. But it’s her rising property taxes that have her really rattled. 

“My wages don’t increase enough every year to offset these costs,” Wardle explained. “With medical expenses and my child, even with working a full time job, we are barely getting by. If property taxes increase again next year, I honestly have no idea what we will do!”

VIDEO: Giddings goes for grocery tax repeal, rejected by Collins, Stevenson 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

Last week, state Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-Whitebird, attempted to put grocery tax repeal on the House Revenue & Taxation Committee's agenda. Rep. Gary Collins, R-Nampa, and Rep. Thyra Stevenson, R-Nezperce, thwarted Giddings' attempt. 

New Idaho Freedom Index ratings 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

• House Bill 346 - Distracted driving
• House Bill 347 - Bond election frequency
• House Bill 353 - Property tax increase cap
• House Bill 354 - Foregone reserve
• House Bill 355 - Property tax freeze
• House Bill 360 - Grocery tax repeal

Credit Little with containing costs after Kustra’s expensive years at BSU

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Former Boise State University President Bob Kustra says he can’t understand why Gov. Brad Little has decided to keep a lid on state spending even as the economy is growing. “Someone has left the control room of state government, and the autopilot is off course,” Kustra groaned in a recent column. 

Though Kustra is confused, it doesn’t require much brain power to hazard a guess that thousands of fed up Idahoans are grateful for Little’s intervention, and not a moment too soon. 

How to guarantee higher college tuition costs

By Scott Yenor | Special to Idaho Freedom Foundation

College costs continue to rise. Columbia, the nation’s tuition leader this past academic year, has seen its price tag climb yet again, to about $60,000 annually for tuition alone, bringing its total annual cost to over $75,000, when counting room and board. Ivy League schools are not alone. For two generations, tuition-rate hikes have significantly exceeded inflation. Why?

Macro-economists argue that “free money”—delivered to colleges through the government’s spigots—is chiefly to blame, since it encourages schools to find people and things to spend all that money on. 

House Bill 312: New mandates and restrictions on daycare facilities

By Parrish Miller | Idaho Freedom Index analyst

Bill description: HB 312 imposes a number of new mandates and restrictions on daycare facilities, their operators, and their employees

Rating: -7

Every parent understands why the bond election rerun bill is good policy

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Children are usually great, but occasionally they’re horribly annoying. 

Every parent has been here: You’ve just given your child a sweet treat. He gobbles it down, licks his lips, and sticks out his hand. He wants another. He asks again and again and again. 

He ends up in his room without a treat. 

Idaho lawmakers, thankfully, recognize the wisdom of putting kids — or in this case, local governments — in their respective rooms without a sweet treat. 

VIDEO: Rep. Heather Scott explains bill that protects Idahoans from endless bond election reruns 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

Last week, state Rep. Heather Scott persuaded her House colleagues to pass House Bill 347, a measure that would protect Idahoans from endless bond elections reruns. 

Click below to watch Scott's bill introduction. 

New Idaho Freedom Index ratings 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

• House Bill 359 - Property tax repeal
• House Bill 384 - Wrongful Conviction Act
• Senate Bill 1267 - Daylight Savings Time
• Senate Bill 1253 - Hemp

Bills we're watching this week: Common Core, property tax freeze, grocery tax repeal.

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

Look, I’m not saying the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho’s board has lost its damn mind, but I’m not not saying it, either. 

Goodness. The board, which receives little to no press coverage, approved late last year a 6.54% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for state retirees, a move that could cost the state pension fund $374 million next year. 

Interviewer and Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, discuss bill killed by Idaho Freedom Index analysis

An interviewer and Rubel discuss House Bill 312, an onerous bill that would have driven up the cost of childcare for Idaho families. That measure earned a -7 on the Idaho Freedom Index. 

Now is the time to have your voice heard on property taxes

By Wayne Hoffman | President

I’ve always believed, for every single dollar the government spends, each elected official who voted for the spending should be able to look a taxpayer in the eye, without a shred of embarrassment, and explain why the government needed the money more than the person who earned it. In Idaho, those real life conversations would go something like this: 

 We need the money so that we can build a big message board that is a replica of the main bridge into town. (Twin Falls)

Noteworthy Idaho Freedom Index ratings

• House Bill 413 - City council elections, districts
• House Bill 434 - Marriage license requirement repeal
• House Bill 448 - PERSI, cost of living
• House Bill 393 - Outlier school bond & levy elections
• Senate Bill 1282 - Elimination of cemetarian license 

Bills we're watching this week: Common Core, property tax freeze, grocery tax repeal.

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

Look, I’m not saying the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho’s board has lost its damn mind, but I’m not not saying it, either. 

Goodness. The board, which receives little to no press coverage, approved late last year a 6.54% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for state retirees, a move that could cost the state pension fund $374 million next year. 

Interviewer and Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise, discuss bill killed by Idaho Freedom Index analysis

An interviewer and Rubel discuss House Bill 312, an onerous bill that would have driven up the cost of childcare for Idaho families. That measure earned a -7 on the Idaho Freedom Index. 

Now is the time to have your voice heard on property taxes

By Wayne Hoffman | President

I’ve always believed, for every single dollar the government spends, each elected official who voted for the spending should be able to look a taxpayer in the eye, without a shred of embarrassment, and explain why the government needed the money more than the person who earned it. In Idaho, those real life conversations would go something like this: 

 We need the money so that we can build a big message board that is a replica of the main bridge into town. (Twin Falls)

Noteworthy Idaho Freedom Index ratings

• House Bill 413 - City council elections, districts
• House Bill 434 - Marriage license requirement repeal
• House Bill 448 - PERSI, cost of living
• House Bill 393 - Outlier school bond & levy elections
• Senate Bill 1282 - Elimination of cemetarian license 

Every parent understands why the bond election rerun bill is good policy

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Children are usually great, but occasionally they’re horribly annoying. 

Every parent has been here: You’ve just given your child a sweet treat. He gobbles it down, licks his lips, and sticks out his hand. He wants another. He asks again and again and again. 

He ends up in his room without a treat. 

Idaho lawmakers, thankfully, recognize the wisdom of putting kids — or in this case, local governments — in their respective rooms without a sweet treat. 

VIDEO: Rep. Heather Scott explains bill that protects Idahoans from endless bond election reruns 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

Last week, state Rep. Heather Scott persuaded her House colleagues to pass House Bill 347, a measure that would protect Idahoans from endless bond elections reruns. 

Click below to watch Scott's bill introduction. 

New Idaho Freedom Index ratings 

By Idaho Freedom staff 

• House Bill 359 - Property tax repeal
• House Bill 384 - Wrongful Conviction Act
• Senate Bill 1267 - Daylight Savings Time
• Senate Bill 1253 - Hemp

Credit Little with containing costs after Kustra’s expensive years at BSU

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Former Boise State University President Bob Kustra says he can’t understand why Gov. Brad Little has decided to keep a lid on state spending even as the economy is growing. “Someone has left the control room of state government, and the autopilot is off course,” Kustra groaned in a recent column. 

Though Kustra is confused, it doesn’t require much brain power to hazard a guess that thousands of fed up Idahoans are grateful for Little’s intervention, and not a moment too soon. 

How to guarantee higher college tuition costs

By Scott Yenor | Special to Idaho Freedom Foundation

College costs continue to rise. Columbia, the nation’s tuition leader this past academic year, has seen its price tag climb yet again, to about $60,000 annually for tuition alone, bringing its total annual cost to over $75,000, when counting room and board. Ivy League schools are not alone. For two generations, tuition-rate hikes have significantly exceeded inflation. Why?

Macro-economists argue that “free money”—delivered to colleges through the government’s spigots—is chiefly to blame, since it encourages schools to find people and things to spend all that money on. 

House Bill 312: New mandates and restrictions on daycare facilities

By Parrish Miller | Idaho Freedom Index analyst

Bill description: HB 312 imposes a number of new mandates and restrictions on daycare facilities, their operators, and their employees

Rating: -7

Only lawmakers can stop local governments from bleeding us dry.

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Contrary to the famous marketing campaign, pork is not white meat. It’s red. I know this because the consumption of even the tiniest amount of red meat causes me to be covered in hives. Pork is no exception. This is the result of a tick that bit me when I was a teenager. (If you’re curious about my condition, Google “alpha-gal syndrome.”)

The other day, I thought a lot about that tiny critter, the source of my affliction, as an army of local government officials, like ticks on parade, pleaded with legislators to let them keep siphoning ever more money from property taxpayers, who were practically begging the same lawmakers for a break. The little parasite that burrowed his head under my skin more than 30 years ago probably didn’t intend to hurt me, it just wanted my blood, just as local government officials don’t want to hurt people. To the contrary. They’re mostly decent people, the folks who work for cities, counties, highway districts, and other taxing entities. 

Weeds: The horrors of a property tax freeze.

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

If you’re easily frightened, I strongly suggest you close your browsing window — now. This story will get terrifying quickly. 

As members of the Idaho House of Representatives prepare to vote on legislation to provide property tax relief to Idahoans, local government officials are out in force trying to kill the bill. 

And the stories they tell are horrifying. 

Here’s where it gets ugly. 

VIDEO: Frustrated Kuna taxpayer lets House committee have it over property taxes.

Michael Law pulls exactly zero punches. 

VIDEO: How government hurts Idahoans trying to rebuild their lives after prison

Plus, read our full report, Lockdown to Liberty, by clicking here.

New 2020 Idaho Freedom Index ratings & analyses 

Senate Bill 1314 - Handheld device ban
Senate Bill 1303 - Eminent domain by urban renewal officials
Senate Bill 1308 - Age to buy tobacco
House Bill 516 - Concealed weapons, citizens
House Bill 507 - Public moneys, abortion providers
House Bill 506 - Surprise medical billing
House Bill 499 - Home visitation for Medicaid participants

Now available: Final 2020 Idaho Freedom Index report

In the coming weeks, your district lawmakers will flaunt their conservative credentials to voters in your area. 

How will you know if lawmakers are really conservative, or trying to bamboozle unsuspecting voters?

Only the Idaho Freedom Index can tell because IFF analysts tracked more than 270 votes this year. The Idaho Freedom Index tells the real story about what happened in the Idaho Capitol during the 2020 session. 

Don''t miss this chance to download your own free copy.

Little''s stay-home order is unconstitutional

By Wayne Hoffman | President

As COVID-19 reached the U.S., it was easy to compliment Gov. Brad Little for his measured response. Unlike other governors who halted all economic activity within their borders, Little focused on eliminating the government regulations that were in the way of the diagnosis and treatment of coronavirus. 

But before a single death was logged in Idaho, Little bowed to the opinion of fear-mongering newspaper editorialists, the likes of Rachel Maddow, and the health "experts" who want to protect us to death. 

Join us: Virtual Happy Hour on Thursday evening

Grab a beverage - adult or otherwise - and join the IFF team and other freedom-minded Idahoans on Thursday night for Virtual Happy Hour. We''ll discuss whatever is on your mind, be it politics, coronavirus, or toilet paper. 

Click below to sign up: 

Make sure you can vote: Request an absentee ballot now

On Monday, Gov. Brad Little announced that the May 19 primary election will continue mostly as planned. But, voters won''t go to the polls that Tuesday. 

Instead, voters will vote through the mail, but only if they request their ballots ahead of time. 

If you want to support your candidates at the ballot box, you must request an absentee ballot now. 

McLean's transition team envisions Boise as the next Portland, San Francisco

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

The details are in a report, "A more equitable city for everyone." The document, released by the mayor's office in April, flew under the radar as Boiseans dealt with the Coronavirus-induced chaos. On Friday, the Boise Guardian wrote about the report and deemed the document as "worthy of discussion." 

Be skeptical about Idaho contact tracing program bait-and-switch

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Gov. Brad Little's contact tracing strategy is being implemented without legislative oversight. Worse, there's no guarantee the software used to monitor Covid-19 patients won't morph into something nefarious, as I predict it will.

Pro-Biden leftists pose as gun owners to support Marco Erickson, others

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

According to recent filings with the Idaho secretary of state's office, the Conservation Voters for Idaho Action Fund spent $6,570 to support moderate challengers to several liberty-minded House members. 

Lack of understanding about government puts liberty in jeopardy

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Can Americans - who know more about a cartoon TV family than they do about our country's history - still be counted on to defend freedom?

 It's quite possible we learned the answer when governors across the country faced little resistance and much applause for putting in place sweeping quarantine and isolation orders that forced the arbitrary closure of businesses. In the supposed freest country on Earth, most Americans had little or no consternation that the government's reaction to COVID-19 was to usurp constitutionally protected rights in order to contain the virus. 

Urge Gov. Brad Little to call a special session to give Idahoans tax relief

By Lindsay Atkinson & Fred Birnbaum
 
Gov. Brad Little needs to call the Idaho Legislature back to Boise so that the $1.25 billion the state received from the federal government in response to COVID-19 can be properly allocated toward tax relief. 

Little appointed a Coronavirus Financial Advisory Committee, which is reviewing options for spending the money. But the committee is packed with government officials and too few voices outside of Boise. They have good intentions, but the voices of many communities are currently left out of the process, and those voices are screaming out for tax relief. That is where the Legislature should step in, as an already-established collection of elected community voices. 

Stay-home stories: Tina Bui & Ylan Salon and Spa

By Janae Wilkerson 

"I love doing nails," Tina Bui says. "I love the interaction with the clients, and I learn so much from people. I just love what I do." But at the moment, Tina and her five employees are completely out of work. 

Tina's Ylan Salon and Spa has been shut down for nearly six weeks, and "by the time we open, it will have been two months." Tina explains, "Because we're a service-based salon, when we don't provide any service, we don't have any income. So all the girls are laid off. I applied for the Paycheck Protection Program loan, but I didn't make it in time before the money ran out." 

2020 Candidate surveys: Where do candidates stand on grocery tax, urban renewal, & school choice

We know picking candidates to serve in elected office can be incredibly difficult. We''re here to help with our 2020 IFF candidate surveys. We asked candidates for office where they stand on nearly a dozen issues, including tax relief, school choice, and criminal justice reform. 

Click the button below to find the answers for candidates in your area. 

The problem is, it can be hard to tell which candidates support freedom, and which ones support big government and more spending. It can feel frustrating to watch your officials cater to government status quo, rather than fight for your best interests. 

We at IFF believe every voter needs solid information to make good decisions. We understand the desire to vote for candidates who uphold your beliefs and principles. 

That's why IFF offers information on whether your legislators actually voted to grow or shrink government power, and candidate interviews for many district elections. 

Here's how it works: 

1. Request your absentee ballot today, so you can vote for officials who will keep Idaho on track with your principles.
2. Go to IdahoFreedom.org/Survey2020 and IdahoFreedomIndex.com to research how your officials vote, read their statements, and see how their principles align with yours. 
3. Mail in your ballot to vote! 

So click here to get your absentee ballot, so you can help stop Idaho's liberal path, and cast your vote to shrink government power and advance the cause of freedom. 

"We leaned on science and timed our closures right," Little bragged. He then credited his administration for giving out grants and protective equipment to Idaho businesses, and then added he was moving bars from a mid-June restart to possibly, hopefully later this month. As with this announcement, bars will probably learn their legal start date a couple of days before, and that's just sad. 

The covert salon was set up at the clubhouse of the Ada County Sheriff's Office Employees Association, off Liberty Street in Boise. It's unclear if the association is still giving haircuts at the location.

Idaho's business owners continue to be aggrieved by threats of license suspension and civil and criminal sanctions for butting up against the governor's orders. People like Doug and Christine Lohman, owners of Hardware Brewing in Kendrick, have risked everything to re-open their restaurant. Now, we need to help them challenge the legality of the government's actions.

The Idaho Freedom Foundation is launching its Small Businesses Defense Fund to defend these small businesses. We''ve got a well-known attorney, Harmeet Dhillon, on the case. In case you''re not familiar, Ms. Dhillon is a Women for Trump co-chair, Fox News contributor, and award-winning attorney. You can help small businesses to bring their plight to court, and regain their rights to make a living and feed their families.  

Click here to help small businesses like Hardware Brewing take Idaho to court!

Legislators plan for Idaho to exit Common Core

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Finally, some good news for Idaho public school kids and their parents: The days of Common Core in our public schools appear to finally be numbered. The House and Senate education committees signaled this week that they've had enough of the 10-year old failed experiment in national education standards.

Idaho city spending $30,000 to market bond rerun amid property tax relief debate

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

Rachel Lindsey, a longtime Fruitland resident and mother of five, has grown into a government watchdog. As her city heads toward a May 19 bond election, Lindsey is blowing the whistle. 

Fruitland city officials, she says, are wasting taxpayer dollars by advertising and marketing the bond, which is a measure identical to a measure that failed at the ballot box just months ago. 

Further incensing Lindsey: The city wasting $30,000 of taxpayers' money even as property taxes continue to shoot up for many Fruitland residents. 

Noteworthy Idaho Freedom Index analyses & ratings

Senate Bill 1384 - Weapons, firearms, school property
Senate Bill 1369 - Truth in music advertising act
Senate Bill 1386 - Daylight savings time
House Bill 601 - Legislative public records
House Bill 600 - Medicaid expansion, county share
House Bill 589 - First-time home buyer savings account

Petco, Delta Airlines, and Best Buy have sent me emails about how they're responding to coronavirus. It seems like every organization out there flooded my inbox last week, and probably yours, too. 

This is not one of those emails. Like others you may have heard from, Idaho Freedom Foundation is affected. Our office in downtown Boise will be closed to the public for a while, and many of our employees will be working from home. 

But our work goes on, because now more than ever, conservative free market principles matter. We are blessed to live in a free-market system. Many private businesses, organizations, and people have willingly united to combat this virus, and they have done so without the need for government mandates or instruction. In fact, we're corresponding with Gov. Brad Little's office to encourage more free-market solutions to this crisis. 

I want to thank you for supporting our work and the principles that make our free, capitalist society possible. 

With that said, let me share some non-virus news: 

• Lawmakers agreed with us that, finally, it is time to replace Common Core with better education standards! 

• As of this writing, a proposal to provide fair property tax relief is on its way to passage. Additional good news: This bill will likely restrain local government spending. While it isn't as robust as the tax relief we prefer, the bill is a good start and checks a lot of important boxes. 

• After fighting the social justice agenda on our state's college and university campuses, I can report that the schools will see almost no increase in taxpayer support, and won't increase student fees or tution. 

• Yesterday, lawmakers agreed to IFF's proposal: Idaho will require each university to report its efforts to return to a core educational mission, as part of their cost reduction plans. While this doesn't directly stop leftist nonsense on campus, it puts a lot of pressure on the higher education system to get back on course. 

• Occupational license reforms we have worked on for close to a decade were passed by the Legislature and await the governor's signature. 

With your help, IFF will not stop fighting for taxpayers and for better education, and together we will see meaningful tax relief and accountability in schools. 

The cause of liberty doesn't stop in a crisis. Indeed, there's nothing more crucial. Thank you for standing with IFF to make sure our state's backbone of individual liberty and fundamental freedoms stays strong. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. While access to our office downtown is restricted, our staff remains an email or phone call away. Here's hoping you and yours stay healthy and safe this spring. 

Yours for freedom, 

Wayne Hoffman

IFF asks Little to eliminate regulations, embrace free markets in response to Covid-19

Dear Gov. Little,

The cause of liberty doesn't stop in a crisis: Indeed, ensuring our state's backbone of free enterprise and individual liberty stays strong is key to helping those hurt by COVID-19, and minimizing the damage. 

The purpose of this letter is to encourage you to employ free market, conservative principles for solutions during this critical period. When many other states turn to state control, Idaho should lead by embracing more private, voluntary solutions. Too often, a crisis is used to expand government control, and that is always to our detriment.

Resist, or politicians will take your liberty

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Let's be crystal clear about this: The U.S. Constitution and most state constitutions have been suspended. Your freedom to earn a living, travel, worship, and even mingle with others have been abridged. It seems many people are OK with that. I'm not, and I wish you wouldn't be either. It never ends well when a government official, whether a mayor, governor, or a president, is treated as an omnipotent being whose decisions cannot be questioned. Granting mere mortals unlimited power turns politicians into rulers, and the rest of us into prisoners or slaves. 

(Photo: Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP)

Valley County now controls who can rent to whom

By Lindsay Atkinson | Policy analyst

On March 30, Valley County commissioners sent a letter to all short-term rental establishments, hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, and RV parks within their county boundaries. Their letter states that landlords of short-term rental properties can now only rent to individuals who are providing essential services in the community, or are quarantining themselves.

Any violation of this order (aka renting to the wrong person) is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

Coronavirus pandemic demands skepticism, good data

By Dr. John M. Livingston | Medical policy adviser

I am having a difficult time matching what the experts have told us and reconciling what is happening worldwide on the ground. As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am a contrarian and a skeptic. I never mean to imply that a certain group of people don't care, but rather that the premise of their caring and the premise of their recommendations can be the result of their real world experiences. 

North Idaho woman faces misdemeanor for yard sale in violation of stay-home order

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

Christa Thompson of Rathdrum might be the first Idahoan charged for violating Gov. Brad Little's stay-home order, which he first issued in late March and renewed April 15. Christa earned the misdemeanor charge for helping her husband, truck driver Peter, sort and sell his late father's belongings. 

State staffer threatens non-compliant Idahoans with quarantine through the end of 2020

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has apologized after a staffer threatened, via email, to continue the COVID-19 shutdown until state residents comply with the governor's stay-home order, which began more than three weeks ago.

On Friday, DHW staffer Ryan Soukup sent to his colleagues a meme that threatens Idahoans with an indefinite shutdown. 

Ask IFF anything: Disobey Idaho edition

Join the Idaho Freedom Foundation for a Zoom webinar on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 pm. IFF President Wayne Hoffman, Vice President Fred Birnbaum, and others will talk disobedience, protests, and recovery

Click below to  register for the webinar!

Join us for Disobey Dodgeball on Wednesday

On Sunday, we revealed that Boise City had removed the basketball rims and backboards from city parks to enforce the stay-home order. 

To protest, we''re going to play a game of Disobey Dodgeball. Click below for all the details. We''d love to see you if you''re in the Boise area!

We will play no matter the weather.

Education, taxes, and medical debt: Selecting legislators at random starts to have merit ?

By Wayne Hoffman | President

H.L. Mencken once suggested that legislative seats be filled at random instead of by election. Admittedly, Mencken wrote that doing so might result in the selection of idiots. But, he said, "No matter how stupid they were, they could not be more stupid than the average legislator under the present system. Certainly, they'd be measurably more honest, taking one with another." Here are some random musings from the last several days of Idaho lawmaking that makes Mencken's proposal seem brilliant.

Free movie screening: Just Mercy ?

If you''re in the Treasure Valley, we invite you to join us for a free screening of Just Mercy, a powerful film about America''s justice system.

The screening is set for 7 pm on Thursday, March 5. Tickets are going fast, so click below to reserve your seats today! 

Yes, a property tax freeze would help homeowners

By Fred Birnbaum | Vice President 

In recent debates about legislation to freeze property taxes, opponents claimed that a freeze would not reduce the property taxes of most homeowners in Ada County.

Opponents are wrong.

Latest Idaho Freedom Index ratings & analyses

Senate Bill 1350 - Increased transparency in statewide citizens initiatives
Senate Bill 1345 - Industrial hemp
Senate Bill 1338 - Public records exemption
Senate Bill 1336 - Assault & battery, enhanced penalty
House Bill 538 - Tobacco, electronic smoking devices
House Bill 518 - Property tax notices
House Joint Resolution 5 - Property tax on rented public property

Idaho's university system moves ahead with social justice initiatives

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Boise State University is at the epicenter of Idaho's publicly-funded social justice programming. To maintain pole position, BSU will soon hire a "vice provost of equity and inclusion."

The school has ended its advertising for the position, but the university student newspaper quotes campus sources who indicate that plans remain in place to fill the position this year.

Social justice bill would rig charter school lotteries, cut education choice for middle-class kids

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director 

A few years ago, my wife and I surveyed the education landscape, evaluated school options for our then-six-year-old son, and decided to enter him into a lottery to attend a new charter school in Garden City. 

The school, Future Public School, pledged to focus on STEM subjects. That intrigued my wife and I, and our son thought it'd be cool to be able to build robots in his classroom. 

We submitted his name for the charter school lottery. We crossed our fingers. Our son drew up robot schematics. 

Only a few tickets remain: Join IFF for a free screening of Just Mercy

What: Free screening of Just Mercy
Where: Overland Park Cinemas, Boise
When: Thursday, 6:45 pm - 9 pm
Who: You!

Recent Idaho Freedom Index ratings & analyses

House Bill 512 - Charter school lottery
House Bill 520 - New mandates & restrictions on day care facilities 
House Bill 521 - Data center tax exemption
Senate Bill 1351 - Occupational licensure
Senate Bill 1350 - Increased transparency in statewide citizens initiatives 

Free abortions, sex ed for pre-K students: McLean's transition team envisions Boise as the next Portland, San Francisco

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

The details are in a report, "A more equitable city for everyone." The document, released by the mayor's office in April, flew under the radar as Boiseans dealt with the Coronavirus-induced chaos. On Friday, the Boise Guardian wrote about the report and deemed the document as "worthy of discussion." 

Be skeptical about Idaho contact tracing program bait-and-switch

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Gov. Brad Little's contact tracing strategy is being implemented without legislative oversight. Worse, there's no guarantee the software used to monitor Covid-19 patients won't morph into something nefarious, as I predict it will.

Pro-Biden leftists pose as gun owners to support Marco Erickson, others

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

According to recent filings with the Idaho secretary of state's office, the Conservation Voters for Idaho Action Fund spent $6,570 to support moderate challengers to several liberty-minded House members. 

Post-session video chat TONIGHT: You''re invited!

What''s the deal with property tax relief? Why did colleges fail to get funding three times in a row? Did lawmakers really want to regulate what you name your band?

Come ask IFF policy analysts any questions you have about the 2020 Legislative session, and get the inside scoop on votes, victories, and villains.

Legislature fails; Now it's up to Little to lead with conservative solutions

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Idaho's Legislature, being more than 80 percent Republican, sure did struggle a lot to pass conservative legislation in the just-concluded 2020 legislative session. And don't blame viruses; the dearth of pro-liberty, limited government legislation was the rule well before Coronavirus got in the way. 

Only lawmakers can stop local governments from bleeding us dry.

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Contrary to the famous marketing campaign, pork is not white meat. It's red. I know this because the consumption of even the tiniest amount of red meat causes me to be covered in hives. Pork is no exception. This is the result of a tick that bit me when I was a teenager. (If you're curious about my condition, Google "alpha-gal syndrome.")

The other day, I thought a lot about that tiny critter, the source of my affliction, as an army of local government officials, like ticks on parade, pleaded with legislators to let them keep siphoning ever more money from property taxpayers, who were practically begging the same lawmakers for a break. The little parasite that burrowed his head under my skin more than 30 years ago probably didn't intend to hurt me, it just wanted my blood, just as local government officials don't want to hurt people. To the contrary. They're mostly decent people, the folks who work for cities, counties, highway districts, and other taxing entities. 

Weeds: The horrors of a property tax freeze.

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director

If you're easily frightened, I strongly suggest you close your browsing window - now. This story will get terrifying quickly. 

As members of the Idaho House of Representatives prepare to vote on legislation to provide property tax relief to Idahoans, local government officials are out in force trying to kill the bill. 

And the stories they tell are horrifying. 

Here's where it gets ugly. 

VIDEO: Frustrated Kuna taxpayer lets House committee have it over property taxes.

Michael Law pulls exactly zero punches. 

VIDEO: How government hurts Idahoans trying to rebuild their lives after prison

Plus, read our full report, Lockdown to Liberty, by clicking here.

New 2020 Idaho Freedom Index ratings & analyses 

Senate Bill 1314 - Handheld device ban
Senate Bill 1303 - Eminent domain by urban renewal officials
Senate Bill 1308 - Age to buy tobacco
House Bill 516 - Concealed weapons, citizens
House Bill 507 - Public moneys, abortion providers
House Bill 506 - Surprise medical billing
House Bill 499 - Home visitation for Medicaid participants

Idaho's university system moves ahead with social justice initiatives

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Boise State University is at the epicenter of Idaho's publicly-funded social justice programming. To maintain pole position, BSU will soon hire a "vice provost of equity and inclusion."

The school has ended its advertising for the position, but the university student newspaper quotes campus sources who indicate that plans remain in place to fill the position this year.

Social justice bill would rig charter school lotteries, cut education choice for middle-class kids

By Dustin Hurst | Communication director 

A few years ago, my wife and I surveyed the education landscape, evaluated school options for our then-six-year-old son, and decided to enter him into a lottery to attend a new charter school in Garden City. 

The school, Future Public School, pledged to focus on STEM subjects. That intrigued my wife and I, and our son thought it'd be cool to be able to build robots in his classroom. 

We submitted his name for the charter school lottery. We crossed our fingers. Our son drew up robot schematics. 

Only a few tickets remain: Join IFF for a free screening of Just Mercy

What: Free screening of Just Mercy
Where: Overland Park Cinemas, Boise
When: Thursday, 6:45 pm - 9 pm
Who: You!

Recent Idaho Freedom Index ratings & analyses

House Bill 512 - Charter school lottery
House Bill 520 - New mandates & restrictions on day care facilities 
House Bill 521 - Data center tax exemption
Senate Bill 1351 - Occupational licensure
Senate Bill 1350 - Increased transparency in statewide citizens initiatives 

Post-session video chat: You''re invited!

What''s the deal with property tax relief? Why did colleges fail to get funding three times in a row? Did lawmakers really want to regulate what you name your band?

Come ask IFF policy analysts any questions you have about the 2020 Legislative session, and get the inside scoop on votes, victories, and villains.

Legislature fails; Now it's up to Little to lead with conservative solutions

By Wayne Hoffman | President 

Idaho's Legislature, being more than 80 percent Republican, sure did struggle a lot to pass conservative legislation in the just-concluded 2020 legislative session. And don't blame viruses; the dearth of pro-liberty, limited government legislation was the rule well before Coronavirus got in the way. 

Petco, Delta Airlines, and Best Buy have sent me emails about how they're responding to coronavirus. It seems like every organization out there flooded my inbox last week, and probably yours, too. 

This is not one of those emails. Like others you may have heard from, Idaho Freedom Foundation is affected. Our office in downtown Boise will be closed to the public for a while, and many of our employees will be working from home. 

But our work goes on, because now more than ever, conservative free market principles matter. We are blessed to live in a free-market system. Many private businesses, organizations, and people have willingly united to combat this virus, and they have done so without the need for government mandates or instruction. In fact, we're corresponding with Gov. Brad Little's office to encourage more free-market solutions to this crisis. 

I want to thank you for supporting our work and the principles that make our free, capitalist society possible. 

With that said, let me share some non-virus news: 

• Lawmakers agreed with us that, finally, it is time to replace Common Core with better education standards! 

• As of this writing, a proposal to provide fair property tax relief is on its way to passage. Additional good news: This bill will likely restrain local government spending. While it isn't as robust as the tax relief we prefer, the bill is a good start and checks a lot of important boxes. 

• After fighting the social justice agenda on our state's college and university campuses, I can report that the schools will see almost no increase in taxpayer support, and won't increase student fees or tution. 

• Yesterday, lawmakers agreed to IFF's proposal: Idaho will require each university to report its efforts to return to a core educational mission, as part of their cost reduction plans. While this doesn't directly stop leftist nonsense on campus, it puts a lot of pressure on the higher education system to get back on course. 

• Occupational license reforms we have worked on for close to a decade were passed by the Legislature and await the governor's signature. 

With your help, IFF will not stop fighting for taxpayers and for better education, and together we will see meaningful tax relief and accountability in schools. 

The cause of liberty doesn't stop in a crisis. Indeed, there's nothing more crucial. Thank you for standing with IFF to make sure our state's backbone of individual liberty and fundamental freedoms stays strong. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to get in touch. While access to our office downtown is restricted, our staff remains an email or phone call away. Here's hoping you and yours stay healthy and safe this spring. 

Yours for freedom, 

Wayne Hoffman

IFF asks Little to eliminate regulations, embrace free markets in response to Covid-19

Dear Gov. Little,

The cause of liberty doesn't stop in a crisis: Indeed, ensuring our state's backbone of free enterprise and individual liberty stays strong is key to helping those hurt by COVID-19, and minimizing the damage. 

The purpose of this letter is to encourage you to employ free market, conservative principles for solutions during this critical period. When many other states turn to state control, Idaho should lead by embracing more private, voluntary solutions. Too often, a crisis is used to expand government control, and that is always to our detriment.

BSU prof uses university email to encourage support for group that wants to defund police, end capitalism

By Dustin Hurst

A Boise State University assistant professor used her publicly-funded email account and access to students' contact information to raise funds for a group that seeks to end capitalism and defund police nationwide. 

Idaho university backs Black Lives Matter effort with leftist 'resources'

By Wayne Hoffman | President

Public money should never be used to support a political agenda. Yet, that's exactly what's happening at the University of Idaho, which decided to explicitly provide backing for the most radical elements of the controversial Black Lives Matter program. 

A university vice provost emailed students this week to announce the school's "series of Black Lives Matter events" "where discussions surrounding systems of oppression will occur." That's what tipped me off to the fact that the school also created a website containing "ways to get involved and support the Black Lives Matter movement."