March 5th Update

Greetings, friends, family, and constituents:

We are now in the month of March! We have no estimates at the moment regarding when we will be done with the 2026 Legislative Session. The session cannot end until all the JFAC budgets have been approved by the House, Senate, and Governor. Although the JFAC budget Recission Bill (aka budget cut bill) passed the Senate, the remaining 10 Maintenance budgets, which fund most of the agencies have yet to be introduced on either side of the Capitol.

I have a few quick updates to share.

Firstly, I would like to let you all know that I have filed the candidacy form to run again for Idaho’s District 7 Senator as a conservative Republican. I am grateful for the chance to continue serving my constituents, state, and nation. There are still many things I want to see accomplished throughout my time here.

One of my goals for the next 2 years is to work with the State Department of Education and Superintendent Critchfield on a simple, more effective K-12 funding formula, which will allow me to continue my quest to properly fund education for all students on a per student basis.

There is a group of us currently working on a new funding formula for public school funding. The ideas are in place, and after the legislative session is over, this diverse group will continue to meet and hopefully have drafted legislation to introduce next session. If we can get this done it will be a heavy lift for the Legislature.

My other main goal is to continue to correct the Idaho budget and its spending. This will be a diverse goal that requires a lot of time and focus. However, it is something that I am passionate about and plan to work diligently on. It would check a box on my original list of goals when first running for this office.

I want you all to know that I am truly appreciative of your support. and I hope to continue representing you all to the best of my abilities as your District 7 Senator.

Our District 7 Reporter and Intern, Jill Manley, created a short video showcasing some of my floor debate this week regarding the Budget Recission Bill (aka budget cut bill), which barely passed the Senate with a vote of 18-17. If this same bill does not pass the House, we will quite possibly be here another 6-8 weeks.

Best Regards,

Cindy Carlson

District 7 Senator

&

Jill Manley

District 7 Reporter & Intern