Herndon leading the way in Idaho

54 percent? Holy spending spree, Batman. Yet that's how much Idaho state government spending has increased in just the past four years. Since early 2020, therefore. To add further insult to taxpayer injury, the Legislature has in recent history, reviewed a mere 19 percent of total state spending before setting annual budgets.

Let's put these numbers in perspective. If I earned and spent $50K in 2020, could I now run out and spend $77K this year, while reviewing only $14,630 of that amount? My dear wife would have a fit.

Thankfully Sen. Scott Herndon is leading the way to ensure that our state legislators become far more responsible stewards of the public purse than before. In a 2/2 Idaho Capital Sun article, Herndon was quoted as saying: "We cannot cut taxes unless we cut spending. That’s the bottom line ... I suspect in future years agencies will be much more thorough in justifying their line item requests when they realize they will get a little more attention."

The first budget reform bill passed in the state Senate, 28 to 7, and in the state House, 38 to 31. With this victory, Herndon and other legislators can now vote on specific line items instead of all-or-nothing omnibus budget bills.

I appreciate Herndon's work on the state budget, as well as on other issues such as authoring a bill to reduce public library trustee terms from six years to four years. I urge others to join me in re-electing Scott Herndon to the state Senate.

ERIC LINDENBUSCH

Bonners Ferry