Idaho increasingly saying ‘no’ to local government control

This seems to be the year that Idaho lawmakers move against local control, considering an array of measures to restrict local governments or even local communities through ballot measures from setting their own local policies on a range of issues. In his comments to the Idaho Press Club last week, Gov. Butch Otter said, “You have to remember this, not only are cities but also counties, are creatures of the state. I don’t think it is out of character or out of their responsibility for the state — in a very limited way — to continue to have oversight.”

Two proposals have already been introduced during this year’s legislative session that would prevent local governments from implementing their own rules on plastic bag bans and minimum wage levels, writes AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi. And lawmakers are considering various measures that would impose new requirements on local elections midway through the election cycle, including changing rules for recalls and altering election procedures for community college districts. In Idaho, cities and counties already are banned from setting their own regulations on guns, water quality, tax policy and timber. The trend doesn’t bode well for Idaho local governments’ long battle to win local-option taxing authority.

“I think it’s a real shame, local control is part of our heritage,” said Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise. “Different communities have different concerns.”

Kruesi writes that it’s part of a nationwide trend, in which states pre-empt local governments from setting their own course on various issues, one that’s intensified in GOP-dominated states like Idaho where progressive pockets in cities can have different priorities than state lawmakers. You can read her full report here .