Instead of culture war nonsense, here’s what Idaho legislators should focus on

Idaho legislators return to Boise on Monday to begin the next legislative session. Usually, there is little doubt that some far-right legislators will push hot-button, culture-war bills that seek to address imaginary problems.

Given that this year is an election year, it’s almost a certainty.

Chipping away at transgender rights or a citizen’s ability to vote, check out a library book, go to the bathroom at school or perform in a drag show are likely to be up for debate. Who knows what other made-up crises some lawmakers will come up with?

So what should they focus on instead? What are the real problems facing this state and everyday Idahoans that this elected body should address?

Abortion: Idaho’s extreme ban criminalizes necessary medical procedures, puts the government between patients and doctors, threatens the health of mothers, and is driving patients and doctors out of Idaho. Fix the language in the bill to stop this health care crisis playing out right before our eyes. We still disagree with banning abortions, but at the very least, fix the crisis you’ve created. And if legislators really want to reduce unwanted pregnancies, they could expand sex education in schools and expand access to contraception.

School buildings: As the Idaho Statesman’s Becca Savransky, in partnership with ProPublica, has been reporting all year, many of Idaho’s school buildings are in deplorable condition. The Legislature can do a few things: Make more state money available for school repairs and new buildings; establish a revolving loan fund available to school districts; and reduce the current undemocratic supermajority requirement needed to pass bonds.

Support public education: Just say no to school vouchers. Don’t spend our taxpayer dollars on private schools.

Support higher education: Idaho’s universities are the lifeblood of economic development. Idaho should be increasing state support and supporting university presidents in their efforts to run the universities the best ways they see fit. It’s a competitive environment in higher education that will become more competitive in the coming years. Idaho doesn’t need extremist legislators meddling and micromanaging decisions.

Child care: Amid a historic labor shortage, Idaho employers have to fight for workers. Unfortunately, Idaho, like many other states, has a child care shortage that some call a crisis. One easy step legislators can take through policy is to provide a tax incentive to build new child care centers. Beyond that, legislators can provide child care tax credits and expand the child tax credit. Idaho’s child tax credit is only $205, not enough to pay for a week.

Property taxes: Yes, we know legislators passed a complicated, mish-mash of a bill that took money from several buckets of state revenue to offset local property taxes, primarily school taxes. And it worked. For now. It’s not a permanent solution — just a Band-Aid approach to solving the real problem of escalating residential property taxes. The real solution is to bring back the index to the homeowners exemption so that property taxes are more fairly distributed among different types of properties.

Build a state mental health facility: Idaho is set to become the last state in the country that houses people who are determined to be dangerously mentally ill in state prison, even though they haven’t been charged with any crime. Legislators should approve $25 million to build a state mental health facility for these patients and get them out of prison.

If that weren’t enough of a list, Idaho has plenty of other problems that would be appropriate for legislators to address: a physician shortage; lack of high-speed internet access, especially in rural areas; and a worker shortage.

Those are real problems that Idaho is facing, unlike the types of nonsense that far-right legislators generally focus on to dominate the start of the session. It would be nice if the lawmakers concerned themselves with solving problems rather than introducing bills to gin up extremists in an effort to scare up votes in a closed Republican primary.

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Mary Rohlfing and Patricia Nilsson.