How much power does the Idaho governor have to stop the Legislature?
Gov. Brad Little’s team is raising the alarm about lawmakers who are slashing budgets deeper than Little wanted.
His budget director, Lori Wolff sent a memo to the state’s powerful budget committee Tuesday, outlining how cuts will eliminate meals for 31,000 seniors and make fewer seasonal firefighters available. In previous weeks, she told the Idaho Statesman that the governor didn’t support cuts beyond his proposed 3%. Nevertheless, the budget committee voted for an extra 1% cut this fiscal year and 2% in the year starting July 1 — meaning up to 5% total cuts.
“If he thought we needed to do 5%, he would have looked at that,” Wolff told reporters Tuesday afternoon. “He looked at the plans, and he stuck with 3%.”
But would Little veto the deeper cuts? Wolff wouldn’t say. Recent history suggests that he may not.
Wolff’s words echo those of her boss in 2025. Asked then about the Legislature’s proposed $450 million in tax cuts, Little told reporters, “If I would have thought we could do $450 (million), I would have proposed $450 (million).”
He signed them into law, anyway. Democrats say that, and other tax cuts, are the reason Idaho faces a budget deficit this year.
In the past, Little has been known to sign other bills that he didn’t necessarily like, occasionally attaching a letter expressing his dissatisfaction. In 2022, he signed an abortion bill into law with a note that he worried it was unconstitutional. In 2024, he signed a bill that gave parents access to their children’s therapy notes. He wrote in an accompanying letter that the law might cause confusion for medical professionals and urged lawmakers to monitor negative consequences.
There are a couple of reasons why a governor would do that, said Jaclyn Kettler, a Boise State University political scientist. Little could want to ensure that there’s support for his own priorities, or he could be signing a bill he doesn’t personally like but he thinks it’s popular. For something like vetoing tax cuts, he could be trying to deny potential opponents ammunition in a future election.
“You can see the ads,” Kettler said in a phone interview.
Sometimes, a veto just isn’t possible, or is risky. The House and Senate can override a veto if they have enough votes.
Little previously told reporters he doesn’t commit on bills until he sees them.
This year’s 1% cuts will be their own bill. But next year’s 2% cuts are baked into what’s known as a “maintenance budget,” which is the amount of money needed just to keep an agency afloat. The state’s powerful budget committee is expected to vote Friday on the maintenance budgets.
But would he veto any spending cuts? Wolff said a veto would depend on what the final bills look like. Wolff and the governor have been meeting with legislators, and at the end of the day, lawmakers set the budget, she said.
Little has the ability to line-item veto, which he used last year when lawmakers attempted to get rid of his emergency fund. That’s also the only time he’s ever vetoed a budget bill, spokesperson Joan Vargas said in an email.
“He’s giving the Legislature an opportunity, eyes wide open, to be able to address some of those things that are going to cause long-term problems,” Wolff said. “Gov. Little is going all in on trying to inform both legislators and the public and the stakeholders the implications of cutting too deep.”
On Wednesday, budget committee member Rep. Kyle Harris, R-Lewiston, and co-chair Rep. Josh Tanner, R-Eagle, told the Statesman they weren’t worried about a gubernatorial veto. Harris said in an interview that he thinks they have the votes to override any veto.
Said Tanner: “I don’t think we’ll have a problem with the veto aspect. We’ve got a good working relationship right now.”
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 4:00 AM.
