Legislation driving voters to distraction

Most bills now do little but distract voters from the real work legislators are elected to do.

The education voucher bill, just advanced out of the Education Committee to the Idaho Senate floor, will cut into money passed into law during a special session called by Governor Little a few short months ago. The money was intended for public schools, the voucher bills want to fund private schools. The special-session law was a last-minute scramble to compromise with a citizen's initiative proposed to fund public schools.

The majority of voters wanted that bill to fund public schools and the legislature knew it and so they passed Little's bill.

Last week, almost twice as many Idahoans testified against the voucher bill as were in favor.

The main effect of the bill is to distract voters, and instead focus our attention on a divisive issue and propose an answer that will divide us even more.

To get a legislature to address our needs and is able to compromise, we have to vote for people who are likely to do so.

Just a reminder: don't get distracted. Keep signing and voting for citizens' initiatives. It works. That's how we got Medicaid expansion and public school funding.

NANCY GERTH

Sagle