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Show iatheson to address tax limits The issue of continued public spending by government agencies and "putting a lid on taxes" will be addressed by local Senator Ivan Matheson at the opening of the 1979 legislative general session. Matheson said he has drafted a bill which will put a budget ceiling on all f units of government in Utah based on the 1978 fiscal year. "The bill will require a 10 percent cut below that ceiling of all programs, with a provision that any unit of government could vote or bond beyond that ceiling for a specific purpose, such as a sewer system," Matheson said. "But the tax levied for that purpose would terminate upon the final payment of the project." The first term senator also said the bill would allow the budget ceiling to move up or down with economic growth, with the stipulation that any additional tax vote would terminate with the end of use. "This plan would do two things," he explained. "It would require an evaluation on that part of all government govern-ment units of programs in progress, but will not cripple any particular program to the point that it cannot function. It will also require the legislature to take a hard look at programs and re-establish priorities." Matheson said he considers budget ceilings and the elimination of deficit spending "an edict from the people." "The approach California has taken with regard to today's tax problems has brought to the fore the fact people have had all the taxation they are willing to stand, but that same approach ap-proach would be insensitive to Utah's problem." The Senator stated the proposition 13-type approach would not "suit" Utah because Utah law now provides that local governments operate through property taxes, besides funding the school system. "If we were to slash only property taxes we would be crippling local governments because of the provision in our constitution that disallows state sharing of revenues with local units of government. The budget ceiling this bill would propose would not eliminate any programs or services offered by various units of government govern-ment butr would require an evaluation of priorities and elimination of low-priority programs in favor of funding those with high marks. Hopefully we would be weeding out part of the burden we don't need." Matheson, a resident of the Enoch-Midvalley Enoch-Midvalley area, also said he is drafting a bill which would require that regulations "promulgated by the various state departments be reviewed by interim legislative committees to weed out needless regulations by which we are all oppressed." op-pressed." Matheson said the second bill would make the bureaucracy answerable to elected officials and would, in turn, require those legislators to be responsible to local criticism. |