The ‘carrot-and-stick’ method of legislating in Boise and how to change it

By Kathryn Larson
Reader Contributor

Our legislative session kicked off in Idaho this week. Buckle up. 

Last year, more than 1,000 bills were written, 789 bills published, about 350 voted on, 322 became law and all in fewer than 90 days. 

That doesn’t include time spent in daily committees, caucus meetings, answering calls and emails from advocacy groups, and reading the average of 300 pages a day of legal text to understand those bills. 

Legislators are paid about $25,000 per year, have full-time jobs and lack staff. 

Two kinds of bills get introduced (though this ignores appropriations bills, which determine funding for what’s already law):

• Bills written to address district problems identified by constituents. Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and Rep. Mark Sauter, R-Sandpoint, have track records of crafting, fighting for, and passing bills like these, tackling rural school financing problems, state redistricting rules, lake level commitments and local utility infrastructure; 

• “Model” bills crafted by lobbyists make up the vast majority of bills. Special interest groups hand legislators cut-and-paste bills with persuasive talking points to introduce the bill. The bills come with a “carrot” — top conservative ratings reward obedient support — and a “stick” — nasty and costly primary challenges that punish opposition. 

No group carries more weight than the Idaho Freedom Foundation. They broker the wishes of other groups, own the Republican central committees statewide and enforce compliance through the “Freedom Index” — the de facto conservative purity gatekeeper.  

We saw that in 2024, when our Senate primary for Bonner and Boundary counties cost more than $500,000 because a senator drew the ire of the IFF by prioritizing his district’s needs over the ideological enforcers’.

This “model” system is blatant in Idaho. Local Republican parties push legislators to pledge loyalty, in writing. Pledged loyalty supercedes district representation. No amount of data or citizen testimony matters. This is how power is wielded to control our Legislature. 

We do have civic-minded, hardworking legislators in Idaho — more than a few. While this system rules, sessions will be a brutal and rigged mixmaster that punishes thoughtfulness and rewards obedience. 

There is a disturbing pattern in “model” bills: 

• Power shifts from local to state authorities. Laws tie the hands of city councils, libraries, sewer districts, planning commissions, schools, health districts and county commissions to set their rules;

• Costs are pushed onto locals. “Model” bills are often unfunded. Locals bear more of the costs of infrastructure and schools, while being limited in ways to raise that money: raise property or local sales taxes. 

This pattern hits rural communities hardest. Our taxes skyrocket and we suffer from fewer services.

One bill promised this next session, makes all local elections partisan. Do we want the people making sure our poop is handled and protecting quality water to be loyal or competent? Other model bills would attack our citizens’ initiative process, sell off our public assets, undermine our local health districts, stoke the national culture wars and more. 

While those in power crow about their unprecedented tax cuts, we see skyrocketing costs and more potholes.   

Idaho has $930 million to improve rural health care over 10 years. What if our legislators had the time and focus to prioritize the use of these funds for the long-term benefit of local districts? Bonner and Boundary counties could pilot programs for health care innovation, clinician recruitment, mobile care units and innovative long-term funding. We could build the national playbook for rural care. Or we could reject our own tax dollars. 

We have pressing issues and a state legislative system designed to keep us living paycheck to paycheck.

To fix this, we could use the Freedom Index upside down. Look for scores below 70 and you’ll see who actually reads and considers the implications of bills. We also need accountability in the legislative process, meaning fewer bills; transparency on bill sources; documentation of the likely legal and financial impacts (“no financial impact” allowed); 48-hour voter notification on committee hearings; and required reviews of laws after five years. 

Also, tax cuts aren’t the only budget tool. When we propose “selling off grandma’s jewelry” (our public lands), we are already lost. Rather, we should stoke economic health. Local businesses face an increasingly uneven playing field. Let’s strengthen businesses that keep the revenue in state. If we want to create wealth for our community, we can be purposeful about rewarding local employers. 

District 1 is a critical international transportation corridor, for both rail and highway travel. How about monetizing a logistics hub or creating resilience in supply chains to capture sustainable revenue? 

How about exploring public-private collaboration on housing affordability, instead of sniffing out the voting records of our local board members? Other red states have attracted our federal tax dollars to build economic health. Why don’t we?

If we treat the next 90 days like another bill-cranking contest, we all lose. If lawmakers listen to constituents instead of scorecards, Idaho could walk out of this session stronger, safer and better prepared for the future. That’s the Idaho we deserve.

Show up, pay attention and insist on a Legislature that works for Idahoans instead of outside interests. Participate in committee hearings via Zoom. Before you believe the propaganda from a legislator, look up their Freedom Index score. If they’ve got a passing score, they are playing the corporate game instead of representing voters.

I’d like to see our legislators focus on tackling real, long-term opportunities and issues.

Kathryn Larson is a Reader enthusiast in Sagle. She’s an artist and treasurer at Sandpoint ArtWorks Gallery, manages communications for CAL and Bizarre Bazaar, just joined the CREC board and tries to do good in the community. She has a management consulting business. Her only political expertise comes from running for the Idaho Legislature in 2024.