The Legislature’s performance on allocating federal emergency funding for COVID this session is a testament to why they shouldn’t be more involved in emergencies. They finally passed a bill providing $175 million in rental assistance to Idahoans after dithering about it for six weeks.
There’s a reason emergency powers are in the hands of the governor. Decisions about emergencies shouldn’t be made by a group of people who have to posture for the crowd back home.
Of course, governors will make some decisions that turn out to be wrong. The need for nimble action during emergencies trumps the need for broad representation, though.
I’m afraid the various attempts to limit the governor’s power, to the extent they are successful, will lead to legislators spending more time in Boise and more money on fringe ideas. That’s something we can do without.
