Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, deliver a comprehensive end-of-session breakdown of what’s happening — and not happening — at the Idaho Capitol. Nate opens with a sobering budget update: after the legislature attempted $813 million in spending cuts to bring the 2026 budget into balance, agency enhancement requests have not only wiped out those cuts but pushed spending $80 million above the original baseline. The state budget remains at $14.1 billion, and IFF’s “Pac-Man” tracker at IdahoFreedom.org shows the enhancements consuming every dollar of the intended savings.
The episode digs into a pattern of conservative bills passing the House with strong supermajorities only to die silently in Senate committee drawers. Immigration enforcement bills, a Medicaid work-requirement bill, and a teacher union dues bill were all directed to committee chairs who have refused to schedule hearings. Nate holds Senate Pro Tem Chuck Anton responsible for directing bills to those committees and for failing to redirect them, and he documents that only 8 of 35 senators voted to pull the teacher union bill onto the floor. The same dynamic plays out in the House Health and Welfare Committee, where chairman John VanderWoude’s own community engagement bill advanced while stronger reform bills remain buried.
Nate presents the 2026 Idaho Freedom Index mid-session numbers: of 105 legislators, only 13 score in the A range and 11 in the B range, meaning just 24 are voting consistently for freedom principles. He notes a clear trend — the longer legislators serve, the lower their scores fall — which he attributes to absorption into good-ol’-boy establishment politics. Bob and Ron also cover a disturbing episode involving the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, which sent a letter to Senator Glenita Zeiderbeld’s husband informing him that his business contracts were being pulled because of his wife’s votes on immigration. Nate calls it thuggery politics and urges Idahoans to make their views known to the association.
The episode closes with Nate promoting two upcoming IFF events: Capital Clarity on Thursday at noon in the Lincoln Auditorium at the Capitol, featuring Second Amendment Alliance president Greg Pruitt and Senator Christy Zito; and a Firearms and Freedom Dinner on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Hotel Renegade in Boise, celebrating 10 years of constitutional carry in Idaho. The Freedom Index will be published five to six days after session ends, with 30,000 to 50,000 copies distributed statewide ahead of the election.
0:01 Budget Update: $813 Million in Cuts Swallowed by Enhancements
Ron Nate opens with a full budget breakdown, explaining how Idaho entered the 2026 session facing a spending-versus-collections gap, enacted 4% in rescissions, and targeted $813 million in spending cuts for FY2027. Agency enhancement requests — tracked live in IFF’s Pac-Man graphic at IdahoFreedom.org — have since consumed all of those cuts and added $80 million in new spending, meaning the legislature is on track to increase spending rather than cut it. Bob confirms the 2026 budget sits at $14.1 billion.
5:28 Is Idaho Actually Conservative? Spending Outpaces Inflation and Population Combined
Bob challenges whether Idaho can call itself a conservative state given six consecutive years of budget growth. Nate responds with IFF’s data: over six years, Idaho’s spending has outpaced inflation plus population growth by approximately 23%, representing a roughly 60% total increase. He uses IFF’s bathroom bill graphic — the budget choosing the “irresponsible bathroom” — to illustrate the point, and argues the legislature confuses a decrease in the rate of increase with an actual cut.
10:08 Key Bills Buried: Immigration, Teacher Unions, and the Senate’s Pocket Veto
Nate describes multiple conservative bills that passed the House by supermajority only to be sent to hostile Senate committee chairs who refuse to schedule hearings — a practice he calls a pocket veto. Immigration enforcement bills sit in Sen. Guthrie’s committee, a teacher union dues bill is buried in Sen. Foreman’s drawer, and only 8 senators voted with Sen. Christy Zito to pull the union bill to the floor. Nate argues the Pro Tem is responsible for this outcome by choosing which committees receive the bills.
14:27 Medicaid Expansion: Repeal Bills Buried, Toothless Bill Advances
Nate details three Medicaid-related bills: a full repeal bill (HB 850) buried in committee by chairman John VanderWoude, a work-requirement bill (HB 912) also in his drawer, and his own vanilla community engagement bill (HB 913) — which Nate says is unenforceable and largely a feel-good measure — that passed the House 59-9 and is now sitting in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Nate argues the chairman advanced his own weak bill while blocking stronger reform.
19:37 Bill Volume vs. Real Results: 1,181 Drafts, 122 Passed Both Houses
Bob asks how Idaho can claim to be the least-regulated state while drafting over 1,100 bills per session. Nate puts the numbers in context: 1,181 drafts, 646 introduced, 80 resolutions, but only 122 bills have cleared both chambers. He proposes a rule limiting each legislator to three bill introductions, arguing it would force prioritization, increase cooperation between senior and freshman members, and eliminate nuisance legislation — though Bob predicts lobbyists would never allow it to pass.
23:18 Idaho Freedom Index: Only 13 of 105 Legislators Score an A
Nate walks through IFF’s mid-session Freedom Index scores: 13 legislators in the A range (90+), 11 in the B range (80s), and the rest falling into what he calls squishes, establishment politicians, and Democrats. He observes a consistent trend — the longer legislators serve, the lower their scores drop — as they buy into good-ol’-boy politics. IFF plans to publish the full index five to six days after session ends, distributing 30,000 to 50,000 copies statewide before the election.
32:40 Dairymen’s Association Threatens Senator’s Husband Over Her Votes
Bob raises a disturbing story involving the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, which sent a written letter to the husband of Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld — a top Freedom Index scorer — informing him that his business contracts were being pulled because of his wife’s pro-legal-immigration votes. Nate calls the move thuggery politics, notes the association explicitly admitted in writing that their action was motivated by her political positions, and urges Idahoans to contact the Dairymen’s Association to make their disapproval known.
36:34 Firearms and Freedom: 10 Years of Constitutional Carry and Upcoming IFF Events
Nate closes by promoting IFF’s Firearms and Freedom Dinner on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Hotel Renegade in Boise, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Idaho’s constitutional carry law, which he, Rep. Heather Scott, and Greg Pruitt worked to pass in 2016. Speakers include Greg Pruitt, Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld, and gun rights attorney Alex Kincaid, with gun raffles and precious metals donated by Money Metals Exchange. He also previews Capital Clarity on Thursday at noon in the Lincoln Auditorium, featuring Pruitt and Senator Christy Zito on Second Amendment legislation, and announces a full legislative wrap planned for the following week.
