Final Lawmaker Ratings Released by Idaho Freedom Foundation

By Greg Pruett • April 25, 2025

The Idaho Freedom Foundation has released its final legislative rankings for the year.

What’s Happening: The IFF has one of the country’s most comprehensive scorecards for legislative work. This year, the organization rated 444 bills using over 300 policy bills and almost 100 budget bills.

IFF President Ron Nate said in an article about the index and the impact it has had on the Idaho legislature:

“Over the years, as the Freedom Index has been published and distributed, we have seen the Legislature move rightward. The index has an impact. It informs legislators, it affects what legislation passes or fails, and it gives truth to voters about what their legislators vote for and against in the Capitol. The Index is making a difference. Idaho’s Legislature is more conservative now than it was 13 years ago. We have better legislators, voting better, and better policies as a result. Idaho is winning, and the IFF is a driving force to make it happen.”

Digging Deeper: The IFF metric uses 14 different metrics to determine if a policy grows or shrinks government. The bills are voted on before a vote ever takes place.

This is a big difference between organizations like the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry, which rates far fewer bills (only 39 total), and the IFF. IACI’s system only rates you as positive or negative based on whether you vote as they want you to or not.

While the IFF faces criticism for its rating system, it seems far more likely that IACI was “rigging” its scores by only rating a handful of bills compared to the IFF. IACI rates bills after they are voted on, versus before a vote, based on the contents of the legislation itself.