Legislators, focus on budget & reform

The Iowa Legislature reconvenes Monday for an election-year session that promises to be nasty and partisan.

Still, we're holding out hope that's one promise lawmakers will find a way to break.

Iowa's pressing, big-picture issues are too important to be drowned out by small-bore political skirmishes. We could use a legislative session where lawmakers work together to find solutions instead of spending the entire planned 80-day session searching for ways to make the other side look bad.

We acknowledge there will be important partisan differences on many issues. Friction can play an important role. But cooperation could be key in other areas.

One critical example is the state's budget situation. Depending on who you ask, lawmakers face a $400 million to $1 billion funding shortfall in the fiscal year 2011 budget.

There will be plenty of cutting, shaving and reshuffling done to make the budget balance. But we also hope lawmakers will take this opportunity to consider fundamental changes in the way government operates. Are the state's education and human services systems as efficient and effective as they should be? Are there layers of bureaucracy and outdated functions that could be eliminated? From small towns to the Statehouse, do we need this much government?

It's not enough to rearrange deck chairs with hopes of simply staying afloat until good times return. The current fiscal crisis presents a real opportunity to mold government in a way that avoids a binge-purge budgeting cycle that harms both agencies and taxpayers.

But fundamental reform is usually bipartisan reform. It's unlikely that majority Democrats will be willing to go it alone, and Republicans lack the votes to move unilaterally. Both sides can bring something meaningful to the table, if they're willing to think about the state's future beyond the next election.

Gov. Chet Culver has already instituted a number of changes and will ask lawmakers to approve a long list of streamlining efforts. We applaud many of those ideas. But we're also wary of simply shifting spending around, such as Culver's plan to pay for the State Patrol using road-building dollars. That's not real reform.

Recurring budget problems keep the state from tackling priority issues - reforming property taxes, improving the state's schools, removing barriers to job growth, and protecting Iowa's communities from future flooding, among others.

We know there will be plenty of other issues on lawmakers' plate. Same-sex marriage, texting while driving, sprinkler system regulations, puppy mills and other issues will command attention. Lawmakers have time to deal with many issues - we just hope they don't get distracted from the big work of putting Iowa's fiscal house in order.