OCR Text |
Show IrSme Specter Bmmhes IP II mi IF of SessSomi t'ln&flJ&A K" Infill REP. SHELDON It. BREWSTER Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, Sheldon R. Brewster of Salt Lake, stirred state politics with a big stick Tuesday when he abruptly assigned as-signed his chair to Rep. Earl J. Glade (D-Salt Lake) and then proceeded to propose a plan which would assure the calling of a special session of the Legislature Legis-lature during 1960. On the grounds that the state of Utah is "big business," the Speaker pointed out that in the rapidly moving world of today, it has become accepted practice for industrialists and businessmen business-men to formulate plans on expenditures ex-penditures and improvements even on a month to month basis. "No businessman would consider con-sider it practical to attempt to set up his budget for over a two year period," he said. Means of which the special session would be assured would be the simple expedient of House and Senate voting against only 44 per cent of the appropriation? allotted to departments. Once the state was out of money action would have to be taken to pass further appropriation measures; but, said the Speaker, this would give House and Senate members ample opportunity to devote the ensuing months to a thorough study of the state's financial needs. - Reception of the Speaker's remarks re-marks became confused to the extent that one news agency reported re-ported an attack by the Speaker on the Governor, while Rep. Brewster himself expressed surprise sur-prise at the interpretation, saying, say-ing, "I thought I might have gone too far in agreeing with the Governor on his stand on spending and increased taxation. I tried to learn over backward." Admiting that the problems concerning the budget and providing pro-viding funds with which to meet it have cost him some "sleepless nights," the Speaker told House (Continued on page 4) House Speaker Broaches Plan For 1960 Session and that they will definitely take a reduction in services rather than a tax increase. "They are depending on us as their elected representatives to do something about it. How much money should be spent for state government is entirely a matter for the legislature to decide. Excessive Ex-cessive spending cannot be put on a Governor or anyone else. "I have a plan to propose to you," he told listeners and then proceeded to suggest an amendment amend-ment to the appropriation bill under wheh only 44 per cent of the biennial budget can be spent without further legislative action. ac-tion. This, of course, calls for a special session when the 44 per cent is spent. "I know every objection in advance ad-vance that will be offered to this plan of procedure. One of the loudest will be the exhorbitant cost of a special session of the Legislature. I have no hesitation to spend a few thousand to save ill; J T (Continued from Page 1) Members, "For many years I have watched with dismay the mushrooming cost of our state government. In my opinion it has been out of proportion with the increase we should expect, even taking into consideration the inflationary trends and growing grow-ing state. "A growing economy has increased in-creased our tax income, but the administrative costs have increased in-creased even faster, so that each legislative session we come more to the realization that we must do something about it. Our capital capi-tal improvements are going farther far-ther and farther behind, our reserves re-serves are being depleted and now we are being faced with demands for increased taxes and bonded indebtedness. "It was in my previous term as speaker that we set aside the funds which would pay off the state's outstanding bonds plus interest to maturity, and I could the majority of taxpayers will agree with me. The Legislature costs less than 1 per cent of the cost of state government, and is not fulfilling its proper posi-! posi-! tion in the check and balance of state government. The speaker then went on to compare the outmoded practice of attempting to plan progress and improvements in a large business for a period of over two years. "Big business now plans on even a month to month schedule," sched-ule," he said. iOt have felt better to have paid ;ff the mortgage on my own ome. I still have the same aberrance ab-errance for bonded indebted-less, indebted-less, except for the revenue bond ariety. The fact that things may ost more in the future doesn't way me. "To take the easy way out by ncreasing taxes is also just as objectionable. "If there's one thing I'm very certain about, it is that the vast majority of the taxpayers of the state are extremely tax conscious |