BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — Boise State University’s School of Public Service in conjunction with the Idaho Policy Institute released their annual Idaho Public Policy Survey. Asking Idahoans what they think the direction their state is going and where officials should place their focus.
Polling 1,000 Idaho adults throughout the state, 42 of 44 counties being represented. They were asked a series of questions ranging from the direction they believe Idaho is going to topics like housing, employment, healthcare and public lands.
The state of Idaho
An overall majority, 46%, believe the state is headed in the right direction and about 38% thinking the opposite. Political alignment likely playing a role in these results. The report finds republicans answered more positively at 68%, a mirror of 69% of democrats answering the state is moving in the wrong direction. Independents leaning more towards the wrong direction at 43%.
The direction Idaho is going according to respondents in the 11th annual Idaho Public Policy Survey provided by the Idaho Policy Institute and BSU School of Public Service
While Idahoans tend to think the state is moving in the right direction, they are showing some pessimism towards the state’s economy.
The survey asked respondents whether they expect the economic condition will get better or worse over the next two years. In last year’s report, roughly 44% felt the economy would get better. This year it dropped to 25%. With people thinking the economy would get worse doing the opposite, going from 23% last year to 42% this year.
The future status of Idaho’s economy according to respondents in the 11th annual Idaho Public Policy Survey provided by the Idaho Policy Institute and BSU School of Public Service
Priorities and the budget
With the Idaho Legislature in session, talks of the budget are front and center. Respondents were asked, given the current status of Idaho’s budget, what their top priorities would be for lawmakers.
For the third consecutive year, the topic of housing is the top priority. 39% of respondents said they want legislators to focus on housing affordability. Later in the report, they were asked what policy change would help bring the cost of housing down. The top answer, regardless of political affiliation, was lowering of property taxes.
Priorities for lawmakers according to respondents in the 11th annual Idaho Public Policy Survey provided by the Idaho Policy Institute and BSU School of Public Service
Roughly 39% of respondents, when asked what form of tax relief they would like to see within the next year said property taxes, with 52% of respondents saying they are too high.
The second highest priority, at 26%, is K-12 education. Generally people finding the quality of Idaho’s K-12 public schools “fair.”
Policy and ballot initiatives
Respondents were presented with a series of policies, ballot initiatives, and legislation to determine their support of these measures.
One of these questions was around the possibility of a constitutional amendment. Half of the respondents were asked if they would support or oppose a federal balanced budget amendment. Roughly 60% had some form of support.
The other half were asked if they would support a term limit amendment. Roughly 64% expressed an amount of support. While the two sound close, term limits had much more intense of support with 42% saying they strongly support compared to balanced budget’s 27%.
The respondents were split in half again when asked about a potential ballot initiative centered around reproductive healthcare. Half of those questioned were given a title of the “Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act.” The other half were just given the wording of what the proposed legislation would do.
That text read “This act establishes a right to make private reproductive health care decisions, including abortion up to fetal viability and in medical emergencies.”
Overall support for the initiative was greater than opposition. 61% of those given the title were in support and 59% of those not given the title were in support.
Relating to education, respondents were split again and asked if they would support House Bill 93, or the Idaho Parental Choice Tax Credit. Half were given the name and the other half were given the bill number.
Same as the reproductive healthcare question, a majority from both groups supported the legislation. 56% of those given the name supported it as well as 61% of those given the bill number.
Immigration
The surveyors asked two questions related to immigration. One with a focus on pathways to citizenship and the other about immigration enforcement.
Respondents were asked “If U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, were to increase its presence in Idaho do you think it would help or harm Idaho’s agricultural economy?”
53% of respondents said it would cause harm, 19% said it would help and 18% said it would have no impact.
They were also asked if they would be in favor or oppose a “pathway to legal working status for dairy workers and their families who have lived in Idaho for over 10 years and have no criminal record.” An overwhelming majority were in support at 85%.
The Idaho Policy Institute and BSU School of Public Service conclude their report by highlighting the contradicting results of Idahoans thinking the state is heading in the right direction while simultaneously expecting the economy to get worse. Saying “Navigating these contradictions is a challenge faced by policy makers every year.”