Another bipartisan housing miracle, this time in Idaho

Another bipartisan housing miracle, this time in Idaho

August 12, 2026 · 1h 2m

About this episode

The episode discusses Idaho's recent bipartisan housing legislation and the compromises made to pass it.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.volts.wtf/subscribe Last year I did a pod on Montana’s surprising burst of bipartisan housing legislation. Turns out Idaho was watching. This year its legislature passed six housing bills of its own (two others failed). Republican state Sen. Ben Toews and Democratic state Rep. Megan Egbert join me to walk through what passed, what didn’t, and what they gave away to get it done — plus the property tax cap that quietly works against all of it, and why duplexes turned out to be the red line. Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction and the Idaho housing package 02:43 – How each guest came to the housing issue 06:39 – Inside the interim housing study committee 09:05 – SB 1354, ADUs by right, and Dillon’s Rule 12:52 – The 5,000 to 10,000 compromise, and HOAs 15:03 – SB 1352 starter homes, manufactured homes, lot splits 16:28 – HB 706 and single-stair buildings 18:11 – The permitting shot clock and the 6-day rule 19:48 – Living with the compromises, and why counties were left out 22:54 – The two bills that died: duplexes and YIGBY 28:41 – HB 389, the property tax cap, and the…

People in this episode

Host: David Roberts

Guests: Ben Toews, Megan Egbert

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Volts

Places: Idaho, Montana

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