The Blog at MSPC

The growth of Idaho and Montana’s largest counties is not happening in isolation. It is part of a broader rebalancing across the West—one driven by policy, affordability, and opportunity.

Idaho homebuyers have few attainable choices in the existing marketplace. These proposed policies deregulate the housing restrictions that are barring new entrants, creating more attainable choices in the marketplace.

Let’s avoid the awkward situation of explaining to Idaho families why a program designed to help them ended up putting them on hold.

The Elevation Award is MSPC’s highest honor, awarded to individuals whose work has elevated public policy, strengthened communities, and inspired principled leadership across the region and nation.

The data suggests that the consequences are measurable—in dollars, in jobs, and in opportunity.

As Idaho’s application window for the Parental Choice Tax Credit has come to a close, the final numbers tell a powerful story. We now know the final numbers submitted to the state tax commission by the the March 15 deadline: 6,069 families applied, covering 13,568 students across the state.

The dinner is part of an MSPC flagship fundraising series which also includes the organization’s Fall Dinner and Montana Liberty Dinner. Collectively, these events are among the largest free-market policy gatherings in the nation, regularly drawing more than 1,400 citizens, business leaders, and policymakers each year.

By working together, educators and industry leaders can ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in the future AI economy. Through thoughtful collaboration and forward-thinking policies, Idaho is working to prepare students not only to navigate the AI age but to lead it.

Policymakers must now decide whether the overwhelming demand is worth additional investment. No bills this session have offered to expand the program, but there have been plenty of pieces of legislation by opponents wishing to cut it.

The impulse behind House Bill 542—the Stop Harms from Addictive Social Media Act (what lawmakers are calling the Shazam act) —comes from a legitimate concern: protecting kids online.

The agency has cost taxpayers more than $2.3 trillion. Yet despite this enormous investment, student performance has shown little meaningful improvement.

Transparency is high on the list of every politician’s priorities. They should follow them instead of opting to promote a more opaque government that gives unions a massive gift in the form of easy fundraising.

Supporters of the current system often emphasize that the federal government pays the majority of the cost. That is true. But it misses a key point: the state share still approaches $1 billion annually, and it grows as the program expands.

HB 583 establishes a clear statewide standard for short-term rentals (STRs), ensuring that local governments cannot impose arbitrary restrictions that effectively prohibit homeowners from renting their property.

While the goal of reducing bias in government technology is reasonable, the bill’s approach could discourage innovation, reduce competition, and ultimately limit Idaho’s access to the very tools policymakers want government to use responsibly.

If Idaho had the same population as Texas, the current participation rate would translate to roughly 184,000 students.

U.S. energy demand is expected to rise by about 3.5% each year through 2040. There is already severe stress on our aging energy infrastructure, even before accounting for the power-hungry needs of new technologies.

A new policy analysis released today by the Mountain States Policy Center raises questions about Idaho’s licensing requirements for journeyman electricians, finding that the state requires additional classroom hours that are not required in several other states with which Idaho maintains license reciprocity.

Parents in Idaho and Montana are among the most satisfied in the country with their children’s schools. In Montana, 51% of parents say they are very satisfied with their child’s school, well above the national average of 47%. Idaho parents report similar confidence, with 48% saying they are very satisfied.

For many families, childbirth is the single largest medical expense they will incur. Yet in most cases, parents enter the hospital with little idea what they will ultimately be charged.