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Show I for custodial cases where possible and the house agricultural com. mittee measure centering respoo-. nihility for soil and water con-j .-icrvaUon activities In Utah witii thi; state beard of agriculture. i The old familiar home-tead ex. eruption bill emerged aga-in under i jihe authorship of Representative! T. Earl Foote (D-Provoj. The financial troubles of the State Liquor commission 1 would be given legislative relief under the legislative proposal of Represen. tative Selvoy J. Boyer (D-Spnngville) (D-Spnngville) and Clifton G. M. Kerr iR-Tremonton). Representative Representa-tive Fred J. Milliman (D-Mam-moth) would expedite divorce proceedings for, it is said, the benefit of war hasty brides and grooms, while Senator Sol Selvin (D-Tooele) and Representative Frank Bonacci (D-Helper) have both introduced a bill which would prevent racial discrimination in public places. The house gave its approval to fourteen varied measures last week none of which developed much debate or opposition. They killed two proposals, one for a constitutional amendment that would permit 18 year olds to vote, the other calling for a certificate cer-tificate of inspection of motor vehicles before transfer of title can be made. Bills they passed included authority au-thority to tax federal property with the consent of federal authorities; au-thorities; enabling counties to set up reserve funds for post war planning and employment; extending ex-tending the permission for women wom-en to work in mines; extension of the soldier voting law; continued con-tinued abbreviation of the school year to provide farm labor and some others of less consequence. The senate disposed of thirteen measures, among them authorization authoriza-tion for pay increases of 15 per cent in counties of the first and second class and 25 per cent in What the Utah Legislature Is Doing By William T. li(l-luirt It the voters of Utah don't Lave new laws to guide them at the next election it won't be be. cause the current 2'ith session of the state ligi.-slature isn't trying to frame legislation that will permit per-mit them to know just how to vote for whom. Half a dozen bills ranging from an extension of the county attorney's term to four years, to a headless ballot are already In the hoppers of both houses and as the third week of the session has closed, assurances had been given that additional bills will be submitted to clarify the methods meth-ods of both voting and counting the votes. There will be no more Maw-Lee ballot difficulties or their like say the lawmakers. The legislature really got down to business this past week with all committees in both houses functioning smoothly and turning out the new ones for considera. lion. While the joint appropriations appropria-tions committee were subdividing their chore of meeting new demands de-mands with what money there may be the demands by no means ceased coming in. Among lust week's new requests for instance in-stance Senator Alonzo Hopkin D-Woodruff) would create a new centennial committee to plan for 1947 and would give that committee $275,000 to work with. The agricultural committee of the house would create a new dairy department in the state department of agriculture, and so on with minor appeals to the xchequer. These and others are not contemplated In the governor's gov-ernor's budget. all others; reducing the age of girl attendants at theatres and other places of amusement to 16; providing for retirement of members of county fire departments, depart-ments, changing the make-up of the state board of , health to permit per-mit the appointment of three lay members and various others making minor technical amendments amend-ments in existing laws. The big controversial measures remain to reach the floors of both houses. Thus far It has been a remarkably calm and peaceful gathering with no broken heads or hurt feelings reported yet. But there are plenty of potential fireworks fire-works that may begin to explode before very much longer. Nor are the requests for in-' in-' creased salaries from everybody in public service from town board members to justice of the state supreme court, including all state elective and appointive officials s well as all employees of the state. The legislature promises to scrutinize those lists rather ' minutely. min-utely. Other revenue taxing proposals include the provision for civil service and retirement benefits for non-teaching employees of the schools and employees of the State's custodial institutions. There may not be harmony as regards all of these but the past week did produce a notable example ex-ample of what harmony can be when representatives of the state's major industries and of the principal prin-cipal unions of organized labor got together and ironed out their difference on proposed broadening of the scope and benefits of the state workmen's compensation act and the occupational disease act. Quite a number of the 112 bills submitted to the house and 123 in the senate give teeth to existing statutes such as welfare provisions making parents and guardians financially responsible |
