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Show A PREVIEW OF THE 40th .SESSION OF THE UT AH LEGISJJATURE The unusual situatio n of entering a fiscal year with a surplus of f'u.:n,l s is the basis of many controv ersies about to take place before the· 40th !Jegisla ture. It ·will be int€ires ting to watch whether the ·-delight in cutting taxes in one form or another can out-bala nce the desire to take meaning ful step~, fo,rw~rd 1.n fulfilli ng the needs of our State. This will be the- main • f ;eatur-e of the next 60 days_. During ;the 39th Session 250 bi11s were passed by our lawmake rs; 150 were defeated ; over half the bi11s proposed did not even reach the f1oor of either : chamber. :Everyone seems to anti ci pate the nu..rn.bers ·w ill grow to even higher proporti ons dur;ing this ses ffi.or.:" · In terms of League program the fo11owin g is a resume of what we expect to be forthcom ing. It is in no way an a11-inc1 usive list. Environ mentally speaking , bills should reach the floor containi ng provisio ns for a Beverage Containe r Minimum Deposit, the creation of a J'Jand Use Departm ent or Commiss ion, the creation of the Jordan River Authori ty, and the fundin,g .o_fthe Jordan River Parkway . In spite: of the fact that the funding forinula, of Utah schools is lc1own to be one of the ;,best'.--:in ': the- -nation~ . consider a~ion vp.11 be . giv~n t9 • changing this formula. ·· The 1egis1a tors wi11 be concerne d with classroo m size, average daily attendan ce, and the prcrp<?sal to weight , cer\q,in types of students .a nd/ or,.::61a.ssrooIDs~ The elim:i..nat16n ' of book rental fees · at the • seconda ry 1eve1 wi11 be of top concern, .i-t i-s : rel t. • Increase d support for corG"rm Jtlty schoo1s, the di.sad·van tag0d child , and vocation al educatio n will also be ·~ jor items before the Educatio n Committ ee. One of the most controv ersia1 issues attacked this yoar wi11 be to ratify or not to ratify the Equal Rights lrnondme nt. ThE, ERA will probably arouse one of the most bitter battle s to be fought this y8ar. Of great interes t also to our Human Resourc es Comrrl. ttec: is the Uniform Tonant-J Jandlord Act . .··The Housing Coalitio n· ha's boen most inst'r urnonta1 in getting this bill consider ed. Much j},iT\J time wi11 be spent convinci ng LE:gis1a tors that this bill protects the rights of th0 landlord as wc11 as those of the tE::nant. Conside ration w:i.11 be given :to .raising welfare subsidy from 75('?a to 80% of client needs. Help in the form of the e1imina tion of sa1es tax from food and drugs may cause the sales tax on othsr i ttms to be incrE::as0 d. Property tax abateme nt for the low income' and the older1y will probably be of concern to some. 1 Several bills creating a Departm ent .of Transpo rtation are being initiate d. The PLATCOM proposa l to amend the basic pl anning enabling .le gislatio n wi11 be fo11owed c1ose1y by cur P1anning and Zoning people, and they wi11 be interest ed also in the ·formatio n of ·the :rJand Use Commiss ion. No one ·wi11 be surprise d if thE:y hear the phrase "JJoca:L Option Sales Tax" once again. Some:· ar0 expectin g an 0xtensio n of SB92 "t-rl.th tl;'l.e possibi1 i ty of unifying cities and towns into Counties . Provisio ns all owing for legisla tive reform may occur through a Legislat ive Procedu res .Act, a JJDbbyis t R0gistr ation . Act, a J"Jegis1a tive D:isc1os urEJ and Ethics Act, an · Open Meeting s .Act, and the idea that the 20-day Budget Session be extended to a regular 60=day Session . Revision of the &ecutiv e Governm ent Article is a1so___expected . . . (over) salt lake voter 1-10/73 page 4 |
