That's what the Opinions pages are all about. We've done our best throughout the year to explain to readers why we think certain issues are important and why certain legislative actions desirable. Even if you disagree with some of our positions, we hope you'll find the Scorecard useful because it sums up how lawmakers conducted themselves on a wide array of issues. The biggest hero here was Gov. Jane Hull, who pushed both measures through over the initial objections of many members of her own party. Lawmakers failed to keep up the momentum.
Blame goes primarily to leadership.
Senate President Brenda Burns and House Speaker Jeff Groscost failed to develop a legislative consensus on a number of critical issues, ranging from mental health to kids issues, tobacco settlement money, education and others. This is a legitimate concern in a vacuum, but mental health services have been woefully underfunded in this state for decades. A governor and Legislature responsive to this need would reprioritize to rectify this tragedy. Again, dock the leadership. We've known this money will be coming for more than a year and lawmakers are no closer to deciding what to do with it today than they were in the last millenium.