By Ed Somers
June 23, 2003

Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne joined the mayors on June 7 to discuss intergovernmental cooperation. Gov. Kempthorne, who served as Mayor of Boise and a U.S. Senator, will become Chairman of the National Governors' Association (NGA) in August.

Kempthorne spoke of the success of the Unfunded Federal Mandates Act, which he championed with the Conference of Mayors, and has resulted in only two of 3,000 proposed federal mandates becoming law.

He also strongly agreed with Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley that the federal government must fully fund its commitments for existing mandates such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Kempthorne thanked the Conference for supporting federal fiscal assistance for the states. He also spoke of the difficulty states like his face due to budget shortfalls, where tough choices must be made. The Governor said that while he has signed numerous tax cut measures in the past, he recently sought a temporary sales tax increase to make sure that important programs that serve people can be funded.

Also, Kempthorne said that cities and states must continue to push the federal government on homeland security, knowing that the continued threat of domestic attacks are very real. "No state, no community is immune," the Governor stressed.

In concluding his remarks, Kempthorne said that he would work for closer cooperative efforts among the Big 7 state and local organizations when he assumes the chairmanship of NGA. "The Big 7 can do big things when we work together."