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Show LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS MANY BILLS Old Age Assistance Gets Play in Lower House Thursday Activities of the 25th biennual legislature of the State of Utah in brief are as follows: Senate bill No. 2, to permit the use of stickers in lieu of metal auto license plates, was passed on final reading under a suspension of the rules and sent to the : . house. The bill emended so as to mase it a temporary provision which did not require the amending of existing exist-ing sections. Senate bill No. 1, to relieve, members of armed services of the automobile property tax, was killed by striking the enacting clause. Senator George M. Miller (D), Fourteenth, the sponsor of the measure, made the motion to kill it, nft,r an amendment had been sistance grants, which likely would add $2,000,000 a year to Utah's relief costs If enacted, was introduced in trie house of representatives Thursday. The house also received a bill to ease the burden on income taxpayers by -increasing the exemption ex-emption on single persons from $600 to $300 a year, on married persons from $1200 to $1600 a year and on each dependent from $300 to $400. The old age assistance bill would increase the maximum grant from $30 to $40 a month, i and limit the deduction of ether j income from the grant to cash income. At the present tim-3 such things as free shelter,, commodities com-modities of various kinds which might be received, and board and room paid by relatives are deducted de-ducted from the grant. If the bill were enacted It would mean that practically all of tile 15,000 or so persons of 65 years of age or over who are now receiving old age assistance would claim the $40 maximum. Old age assistance now costs be- tween $4,000,000 and $5,000,000 I a year, and takes half of all state relief funds. A recent state welfare department depart-ment report showed that in June i 1942, the average payment per I ,.r nivIorif rtp nTrl n rid ccictona ill i Speaking on personal privileges Representative Kerr said that many of those who voted for the chain store tax bill two years ago hvae been severely criticised, particularly since it was defeated by the electorate last fall by a vote of more than two and a half to one. He read from a newspaper clipping that two large chain store organizations had been indicted in-dicted for violation of the Sherman Sher-man tnti-trust act, and told the house: "I am not sponsoring another an-other chain store bill, but if these charges are true the legislature was not so far wrong in passing a regulatory measure two years ago." : , limiting the exemption to military personnel below commissioned commis-sioned rank. Bills introduced included: Three companion measures designed de-signed to permit metal mine leasing leas-ing in this state without the owner of the property being compelled com-pelled to assume liability for the various kinds of employe insurance coverage. A bill to make Utah, a community com-munity property state for income tax purposes. A bill to establish a system of county courts in place of the existing ex-isting justice courts. Two bills to effect a transfer of liquor revenues to a state bond retirement fund, there to be invested in-vested and used to pay the remaining re-maining state debt as the outstanding out-standing bonds fall due or are offered of-fered for redemption. The community property bill came in under the sponsorship of five senators. If enacted into law it would place Utahns on equal footing in income tax payments with residents of eight other states which have community property pro-perty laws. . Under the measure husbands and wives could divide earned income, in-come, regardless of by whorn earn-e, earn-e, and thereby keep out of the higher income tax brackets. Presumably Pre-sumably they also could take the $624 victory tax exemption for both husband and wife instead of for the husband only where the wife has no earned Income. The county court bill, introduced introduc-ed 'by the senate judiciary committee, com-mittee, -ffbuld provide for the establishment es-tablishment of county courts to replace city and justice courts by July 1 of this year and the election elec-tion of county judges in 1946. During the interim the judges would be appointed by the county commissioners, the appointments being made from the city bench in counties' where there are now city courts. Rich and Cache counties would "have one judge. A bill to liberalize old-age as- Utah was $27.07, eighth highest in the United States. No state gave $40, the highest being $36.47 in California. Under the present social security laws the federal government will match state and local funds up to $40 a month per recipient of old age assistance. A bill sponsored by Representatives Represen-tatives Mozley and Cannon providing pro-viding that the season for elk and pheasant hunting and for fishing shall start on Saturday, instead of Sunday, was passed by the house with only seven dissenting votes. The bill has been hotly opposed by several sportsmen's organizations and a heavier "no" vote in the house was expected. Mr. Mozley said it is the opinion opin-ion of the sponsors that more persons would be benefited by Saturday than by Sunday openings, open-ings, because it would give sportsmen a two-day fling, and those who object to fishing or hunting on Sunday "could get back home for their Sabbath observance. observ-ance. Representative Grant Midgley (D), Salt Lake, who was one of the seven to vote against the measure, asked if the fish and game department, with whom the matter is now optional, had ever been requested to open the seasons on Saturday. Mr. Mozley said he thought not. The house passed under -. suspension sus-pension of rules a senate bill permitting per-mitting the use of windshield stickers, instead of license plates, on automobiles, thus completing legislative action, except for the formalities of enrolling and engrossing en-grossing and signing of the bill by the presiding officers of the two houses. ' The measure will then go to the governor, and as soon as it is approved by him will become the law of the state. The state tax commission can then .start issuing 1943 registrations. The house also approved a senate bill adopting and legalizing legaliz-ing the six-volume code annotated, 1943, which is a compilation of all Utah laws since statehood. |