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Show FLOOD OF BILLS I BEFORE LEGISLATURE Nineteen New Measures Introduced in the Lower House at Monday's Session, Breaking Record. The record for new bills was broken in the house on Monday, Feb- ruary S, when nineteen new measures were introduced. They provide laws affecting educational boards and institutions; in-stitutions; mining and smelting; one touches on the penal code of the state and another proposes to estab- ; iish a public service commission for the regulation of public service corporations. cor-porations. One is a combination bill restricting the sale of liquor, prohib-1 itlng it and providing local option: one provides for the repeal of an existing ex-isting law; others affect the work of county commissioners and fees and salaries of public officials are affected, affect-ed, while numerous other subjects are touched upon by the proposed legis-lation. legis-lation. Bills were passed providing for the creation of a good roads commission; relating to construction of state roads: relating to salaries . of state officers; relating to time of filing ap-i jplications for titles to properties in townsites. Six bills, five from the senate and one from the house, were passed in the upper house Monday and four new bills were introduced. Bills were passed providing punishment for convicts con-victs who assault prison guards; appropriating ap-propriating $1,500 to refurnish the offices of-fices of the governor and secretary of state; appropriating $3,000 to the widow of Deputy Sheriff Clark of Weber We-ber county, who was murdered; making mak-ing testimony of a husband or wife competent in abandonment cases; niaking assault by convicts serving fife imprisonment sentence punishable punish-able by death: defining vagrancy and I providing a punishment. The members ' of the state legislature, legisla-ture, the governor and state officials, were 'guests of the Agricultural college col-lege at Logan on Saturday, February 6, and as a result there was no session of the senate or house. Three hundred and twenty-five per-1 pons were in the party that left Salt Lake on the special train. The party fncluded the slate officials, the members mem-bers of both houses of the legislature, the regents and faculty of the University Univer-sity of Utah, the directors of the Agricultural Agri-cultural college of Utah and their invited in-vited guests. Speechmaking, a banquet and an inspection in-spection of the college was the order of the day, the visitors being royally entertained by the people of Logan. The legislators met with President Widtsoe to consider the appropriations appropria-tions asked for. The agricultural school asks for maintenance appropriations appro-priations of $159,000 and the experi-pient experi-pient station for a publication fund of $5,000. The president pointed out the need of each department and the manner man-ner for the apportionment of the appropriations ap-propriations to the various departments. depart-ments. A great portion of the session of the house on Friday, February 5, was taken tak-en up with discussion of the prohibition prohibi-tion bill, the Cannon bill being up for discussion and finally being referred back to committee. In addition to seven petitions presented to the house in favor of prohibition at this session, the first protest against the passage of a prohibition law was filed. The protest was signed by a large number of representative taxpayers, business Imen and heavy property owners of Bait Lake City. Nine new bills were introduced, one bill was withdrawn and another measure meas-ure was killed during the session. Representative Brigham Clegg asked tha,t H. B. No. 60, which relates to the prosecution of persons who overdraw their acounts at banks, be reconsidered. This was permitted and a motion was made to strike Out the enactment clause. This was done by a practically unanimous vote after it had been Explained that such a measure meas-ure would be unconstitutional. One bill was passed, H. B. No. 27. by Thompson, which provides for the establishment of an engineering experiment ex-periment station in connection with the state school of mines, providing for its organization and control, defining de-fining its duties and powers, and making an appropriation therefor. When the house adjourned, il was decided to take a holiday on Saturday and meet on Mondav afternoon at 2:30. Four bills, which have beeen in the hands of committees since their introduction, intro-duction, were passed by the senate Friday. The first three of these arc bills 22. 23 and 24. all by Senator Badger, Bad-ger, and providing for the amendment of the election laws in such a way as to make it compulsory for all parties to carry but one ticket during election elec-tion campaigns, to provide for the nam-, nam-, ing of candidates by petition, and pro-, pro-, viding the manner of their declining nominations at the hands of conventions conven-tions or petitioners. S. B. No. 53, by Senator Kuchler, provides for the return of election figures fig-ures immediately after the cloKe of the polls, to county clerks. The object ob-ject of the bill is to make complete election returns available before such time as an official count takes plaeo, and should it become a law will fill J a long-felt want, especially for news- y papers. -T In the house on Thursday, February 4, Senate Joint Memorial No. 1 was passed. Th memorial is the one asking ask-ing for a grant of 3,000.000 acres or the public domain in Utah for the purpose pur-pose of building a state capitol and establishing a system of highways. Other bills passed were: H. B. No. SS, an act defining robbery; H. B. No. 98, recommended by the committee on the State Mental hospital, enlarging the object and scope of the State Mental hospital; H B. No. 66, relating relat-ing to the issuing of worthless checks; H. B. No. 2S. relating to state aid for public schools. After a long discussion, house bill 33, providing for an amendment to the present law relating to estrays, was lost by striking out the enacting yt-clause. yt-clause. Mr. Bower of Utah introduced a bill. No. 99, providing for an act for a state Horticultural commission, providing for the publication and distribution of its reports, for the appointment of a state horticultural inspector and assistant as-sistant inspectors, and is wide in scope with reference to the inspection of trees and the eradication of fruit "--s. pests. An amendment was introduced, making mak-ing section 819 read that no teacher shall be employed or dismissed in any district without the concurrence of the county superintendent of schools. Senator Herschel Bullen, Jr., introduced intro-duced a bill amending the present law lelating to the composition of the state board of land commissioners. Under the terms of his bill the governor gov-ernor is made a member of the land board and its president. The bill also provides' that the secretary shall ap- I point all clerical help, making the ap- 'I proval of tjie land board unnecessary. Senate bill 39. providing for an assistant as-sistant district attorney for the Third judicial district, passed the senate by a unanimous vote. A new inheritance tax law, introduced intro-duced by Mr. Nielson. provides: "That if there be living a wife or issue of the deceased, then the tax herein provided pro-vided for shall be paid only upon the market value of the property in excess ex-cess of $5,000 for such surviving wife and $2,500 for each surviving child."' The bill introduced in the senate by 4 Benner X. Smith, providing for what appears to be a continuous course for legal actions from the lowest to the-highest the-highest tribunals, by means of appeal is an amendatory measure, which makes it possible to appeal from the final decision of the city courts, di- rect to the district courts. Three bills were approved by the-members the-members of the house of representatives representa-tives on Wednesday, February 3,. while a-large number of new measures meas-ures were introduced. One of the bills passed is known as the Sunday closing clos-ing measure, and provides that on Sunday no noisy amusements shall beheld be-held in this state. It prohibits horse-racing, horse-racing, circuses, gambling, the sale of liquor, the operation of skating rinks, vaudeville, farce, dramatic, and operatic performances. The bill was passed, after it had beeen amended by the insertion of the words "picture "pic-ture shows." H. B. No. 2, presented by Baker, was passed by a vote of 41 to 1. This measure refers to foreign corporations. corpora-tions. It confers upon them the same rights and privileges as are enjoyed by domestic corporations. The other measure approved, and" which now goes before the senate, relates re-lates to the carrying of concealed weapons, and was amended so that the sheriff, chief of police or town marshal shall have power to grant permission to carry deadly weapons. - Three bills, all by Senator Badger, were approved by the senate; as follows: fol-lows: S. B. No. 5. providing for the punishment of those found guilty ol indecency toward minors under four, teen years of age. S. B. No. 7, providing pro-viding that more than one counl may be ineluded in informations of indictment. indict-ment. S. B. No. 38. providing for the punishment of Ihosc convicted of the-exposure the-exposure of indecent pictures, paint ings, books, etc. Senator Badger also Introduced a divorce bill calculated to place new barriers in the path of seekers for freedom from the galling yoke of matrimony. mat-rimony. Under this measure an Interlocutory In-terlocutory decree may be entered bj the court, and this does not become absolute till after the expiration of ! six months from the tlflie of its entry,. 1 and only then in case there Is no appeal ap-peal from the decision decreeing the j interlocutory order. A marriage contracted con-tracted within tin- tint'- of the Interlocutory Interloc-utory period, and before t he affirmance of the final decree, is made null and void by the act proposed. There are ialso certain physical provisions to be-observed. be-observed. A measure was introduced in both the senate and the house, providing for an appropriation of $35,000 for the entertainment of the G. A. R. veterans at the time of the encampment to be-held be-held in Salt Lake City. ' Besides passing two bills, the mem- 'hers of the Utah legislature contrived f to get just nineteen new measures be I tore the senate and house for future i f onslderation at the session of Tuefi I day, February 2. ten In the sciurie and nine in flje bouse The bills approved by thcHrouse i were H. B. No. 45. relating tl he car tying of concealed weaptwffT and pro- '. iding penalties t ln-refor by Claud Y I RuSKolr.- -"ST-B Ni 32". relating to the keeping of accouns by pawn brokers and secondhand dealers, and providing provid-ing penalties for a violation of IIfp provisions; Claud Y. Russell. |
