OCR Text |
Show By KENT BIRCH Utah's proposed constitutional constitu-tional amendments have raised little controversy according to Lt. Gov. David S. Monson in a recent report. No one has bothered to write any kind of opposing argument to be included in a pamphlet for interested voters on any of the four measures. THE FOUR amendment proposals are: First, an executive execu-tive article revision; second, a tax article revision; third, a prisoner work release amendment; amend-ment; and fourth, a legislative compensation amendment. The executive article revision revi-sion will do away with the position posi-tion of secretary of state and form a new office of lieutenant governor who will run for election elec-tion on the same ticket as the governor, similar to the way the president and vice president presi-dent of the United States are elected. THE REVISION would also remove some other archaic limitation still placed on officials. offi-cials. It would not longer be necessary for the governor to relinquish power to a second in command when leaving the state on business. The revision also clarifies details of the succession suc-cession of a governor. The revision of the tax article arti-cle of the constitution will make it legal for the state legislature leg-islature to remove certain personal per-sonal property taxes, such as home taxes and also gives greater leeway for other future tax revision. The proposal would also remove tax on cattle cat-tle since it is a very difficult tax to administer. THE THIRD revision is a prisoner work release amendment amend-ment which would permit the voluntary contracting of prisoner pris-oner labor outside the prison grounds. The amendment would also make it legal for women to work in underground under-ground mines. The fourth amendment will raise the compensation of legislators from $25 per day as set with a $15 expense allowance allo-wance to $40 per day with a $40 expense allowance. The state which now ranks 48th in the amount of compensation allowed to state legislators would then rank 46th. THE PROPOSALS are the result of recommendations by the Utah Constitutional Revision Revi-sion Committee which was established in 1968 and charged with the duty to do an ongoing study of the Utah State Constitution, and to "update "up-date articles and language that is clearly outdated, to change provisions that no longer meet the needs of the citizens of the state and modernize the overall over-all functions of state govern ment." Suggestions of study areas come to the commission from citizens and citizen groups as well as from the legislators. Once the study is completed a recommendation is made to the legislature which then approves or disapproves the recommendation for inclusion on the ballot where the voters have final say. THE commission itself is made up of 16 members. Three each are appointed by the gov ernor and the president of the senate and speaker of the house. Those nine pick an additional six members and a director of the Office of Legislative Legis-lative Research w ho is the Kith member of the commission. A deadline for opposition to any of the proposed changes is Aug. 6. So far, according to Monson, no citizen or cilien groups are opposing any of the changes which will appear on the ballot in November for taxpayer's tax-payer's vote. |