Mow, hoe, trim and water. That's Rep. Maxine Bell's routine during the summer at her home in Jerome. It also describes her role as a co-chair of the Legislature's budgeting committee - with a lot of whacking and slashing thrown into the mix. In recent years, the slashing has gone through the summer with holdbacks, or the threat of holdbacks. That's not the case this year, which makes Bell and others involved in budgeting rest easier these hot summer days. Thanks to an improved revenue picture, Idaho at long last has some predictability and stability in state government and there will not be a holdback this year. "That's a relief," Bell said. "At the end of every session, we can only hope that we did our job well enough to avoid a midyear budget holdback"/Idaho Statesman Editorial Board. More here.

Question: What do you think the state should do with its $92.5 million budget surplus?