January 21, 2026
Some Idaho Licensing Boards Are Sitting on Millions. Others Are Bankrupt.
Today we killed proposals to double licensing fees and solve insolvency by squeezing practitioners harder. But one testifier admitted everyone did great work before licensing even existed.
By: Idaho Senator Brian Lenney
Idaho’s got licensing boards for everything…
Some are sitting on millions of dollars in reserves and others are underwater by over -120%.
So today in Senate H&W committee, a few failing boards proposed doubling fees (some wanted increases over 100%).
The boards are insolvent because they’re poorly managed. Or because maybe they shouldn’t exist in the first place. So their answer is to squeeze practitioners harder? Make them cough up double to fund bureaucrats who add zero value?
Nope. The real answer is elimination. Get rid of useless licensing boards entirely and let the free market work.
If someone’s bad at their job, word gets around. Customers figure it out. We don’t need a committee sitting on millions in reserves while another one drowns in debt, all while charging people thousands just for permission to work.
One testifier got asked what it was like doing acupuncture before licensing in Idhao existed. Her answer?
“Everyone was fine and did great work.”
We had a functioning market. Then government showed up and demanded permission slips for a problem that didn’t exist.
