House passes local option amendment

On a 51-19 vote, the Idaho House today passed HJR4, the constitutional amendment designed to make it much harder for Idahoans to solve transit issues on a regional basis. The Senate will vote next week. It needs two-thirds to pass, then it would go on to need just a simple majority from November voters to become a very, very bad law.

Here's hoping the Senate can kill the bill before it goes that far. Given even a slight shift in the legislature next year, a more reasonable and regionally oriented local option bill could prevail next winter.