Trib: Potentates fight local control
Idahoans believe government closest to the people governs best. But here’s the message coming out of the state Capitol Dome: Big Brother is calling. In four weeks, lawmakers have unleashed a barrage of attempts to preempt, frustrate or eliminate any possibility that elected officials running the schools, cities and counties will even contemplate doing anything that is contrary to legislative fiat. Consider the following:
- Now on its way to the Senate is the House-passed bill prohibiting any city, county or local agency from banning or taxing the use of plastic bags. Nobody has enacted such a ban in Idaho, but lawmakers just want to make certain the natives don’t get any ideas.
- Republican members of the House Business Committee backed a bill preempting local officials - or the voters themselves - from raising the minimum wage. Never mind that 53 percent of McCall voters last fall rejected an initiative to raise the minimum wage from the current state standard of $7.25 an hour to $8.75 this year and to $10.25 next year. Lawmakers will decree it shall never happen again. More here.
Question: So much for “government closest to the people governs best,” right?
* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Huckleberries Online." Read all stories from this blog