A SWAT team slashed. Prison staff furloughed. What budget cuts may mean for Idaho

Sarah Cutler and Carolyn Komatsoulis, The Idaho Statesman on Jan 31, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho State Police may have to eliminate its only SWAT team. The Idaho Department of Correction could be forced to furlough all of its prison staff, leaving inmates locked in their cells and potentially leading to increased violence and riots.

Because of midyear budget cuts Gov. Brad Little called for in August, Idaho State Police are already facing patrol staffing shortages and reductions to administrative and support functions, the department said in a Friday memo. Further cuts, which the department was asked to consider for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, would “directly impact safety,” the memo reads.

“Reduced staffing will compromise safety, disrupt essential services and increase legal and fiscal risks for the state,” said Bree Derrick, the director of the Department of Correction, in the department’s memo.

These are just some of the possible consequences of cuts to the state budget the Legislature is considering, state department heads told lawmakers Friday. They did not mince words about the impact of the cuts, if they are implemented.

The departments shared these concerns in memos to Idaho lawmakers. They were responding to a request from the Legislature’s Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee, which asked department heads to offer ideas for where they would make an additional 1% or 2% in cuts beyond what Little had recommended in fiscal years 2026 and 2027. Along with Little’s proposed extension of 3% budget cuts, those would mean a total of 4% or 5% in cuts each fiscal year.

Lori Wolff, Little’s budget director, told reporters Friday that the one-time cuts Little proposed in his annual State of the State address would already offer a balanced budget, and that the additional proposed cuts would cause lasting damage.

“The governor did not want to cut too deep to create long-term impacts, and what you’re seeing in these additional cuts are long-term impacts,” she said. “Doing cuts like this start to erode some of the progress we’ve made in the things that have made this state great.”

Budget cuts could endanger public safety, officials say

On Friday afternoon, protesters gathered outside the Idaho State Capitol after federal agents on Jan. 24 killed a man protesting the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis.

But if lawmakers implement the cuts Idaho State Police proposed, there could be fewer officers available to respond to such protests, the agency said in its Friday memo. That’s because the agency would need to eliminate six positions and furlough commissioned personnel for 50 hours each to cut its budget this year by 1%, the memo said.

If the Idaho State Police complied with higher cuts of 2% for this fiscal year, they’d furlough people for more hours and cut even more positions, increasing response time to crashes, the memo said.

In its memo, Idaho Department of Correction said it would have to furlough all of its prison staff to comply with proposed cuts for fiscal year 2027. Doing so would delay response times to medical emergencies, fights, suicide attempts and fires. Furloughs would also force many staff — who already work 12-hour shifts — to seek second jobs. This would “contribute to fatigue and exhaustion” and further erode safety in prisons, the department’s memo said.

No more K-12 cuts, state superintendent says

The Idaho State Board of Education on Friday submitted its suggestions for cuts that could affect secondary and postsecondary programs, but only after Superintendent Debbie Critchfield on Thursday told the committee that she was refusing to make additional cuts to K-12 schools.

“When funding is cut too deeply or carelessly, student opportunities shrink, programs disappear and costs shift to local taxpayers,” she wrote.

As of Friday afternoon, the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare had not yet submitted its memo — due at noon — to the committee, said Joan Vargas, a spokesperson for Little, nor had it responded to a request from the Statesman for the document.

Sen. Scott Grow, R-Eagle, the co-chair of the budget committee, told the Statesman on Tuesday it was leaning toward the additional 2% cuts.

Asking department heads for this input is “giving us options,” Rep. Josh Tanner, the other co-chair who is also an Eagle Republican, told the Statesman on Tuesday. “The more cards we have on the table, the more areas we can actually look through at doing things.”