State budget writers invoke recession concerns amid cuts, sparking disagreements

Is half the country in a recession? Shelley legislator says budget chairs are 'fear-mongering' to justify cuts

Rep. Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley, on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, at the Statehouse. | Sean Dolan, Idaho Ed News BOISE (Idaho Ed News) — A Republican lawmaker is criticizing Idaho’s top budget writers after they claimed on television that 26 states are in a recession — a figure they could not immediately source as legislators debate spending cuts and whether to tap the state’s rainy day fund. The co-chairs of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee mad…

State budget writers invoke recession concerns amid cuts, sparking disagreements

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on February 19, 2026 By: Sean Dolan BOISE, Idaho — A Republican lawmaker is criticizing Idaho’s top budget writers after they claimed on television that 26 states are in a recession — a figure they could not immediately source as legislators debate spending cuts and whether to tap the state’s rainy day fund. The co-chairs of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee made their stance clear in a roundtable di…