| NCA NEWSFAX FOR YOUR INFORMATION
NCA • P.O. Box 6407 • BOISE, ID 83707 • 208-342-5402 • Fax: 208-342-0844 10/07/2009
Idaho Press Tribune, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 – Editorial
Lawmakers wise to hold off on roads plan
Give panel credit for realizing that agreement with Otter to transfer funds for road work should be shelved — at least for a year Earlier this year, Gov. Butch Otter and the Idaho Legislature — the House, in particular — were caught up in a showdown of Wild West proportions. Otter was vetoing legislation that had been passed because lawmakers were unwilling to play ball with him on raising money to pay for road work. House members were refusing to raise the gas tax during a recession. Neither side seemed willing to blink. Finally, a deal was struck to end the marathon 2009 session. Frankly, it wasn’t a very good one. The agreement called for $20 million in existing gas taxes to be taken from the Idaho State Police and Department of Parks and Recreation and be directed to pay for road construction. Now an eight-member interim task force set up to look at the hot-button road funding issue has decided this compromise arrangement should be shelved, at least for a year. The group also recommends killing completely the part of the deal that would remove $4.3 million from the parks department’s trail maintenance fund to pay for the road work. Rupert Republican Sen. Dean Cameron, who chairs the task force, said the group fell short of its goal. But sometimes admitting an idea is a bad one and that you should start over should be regarded as an accomplishment, not a failure. Give credit to Eagle Republican Rep. Raul Labrador, who candidly told The Associated Press, “We have all learned that we made a mistake here.” The group recommends that action be delayed until at least July 1, 2011, which in all likelihood means the compromise deal is dead in the water. But given what has happened since the agreement was reached, it may be just as well. Revenue to the state has been even worse than the sober projections made during the 2009 session, and as a result, Otter has instructed agencies to further cut their budgets. And road construction prices are lower because contractors are eager to make deals to keep their employees working, which means the state can do more projects and spend less money. The 2010 Legislature will most certainly be another difficult one. That’s to be expected during a recession many experts say could last another year or two. It’s wise to go back to the drawing board as we tackle the contentious issue of road funding. |