OCR Text |
Show Tax Study Group Comments on Utah Legislature A few more days will see the end of the current 60-day legislative legisla-tive sessicn. This has been a busy time with momentum of activity increasing by the day. Many important im-portant pieces of legislation are well along in the mill, while others await action. In the days re-niaininf,', re-niaininf,', care and restraint should be used to prevent poor legislation legisla-tion in the rush and bustle of closing. clos-ing. In the last hours of the session ses-sion great care is needed. School survey commission did not submit its report until a month ago. It now appears that time before adjournment is too short to .thoroughly appraise the many far ct-ts of the report. The important recommendations ma.de should not be permitted to wither on the vine. It sems that at least a portion of the recommendations can and should now be enacted, leaving the remainder for subsequent treatment in a special session if necessary. Substantially more ; money will be needed if the re-1 commendations are adopted but : our schools will be materially im- j proved all along the line. j The general appropriation bill ' calls for around $61,000,000 for the support of state government for the coming biennium. This is somewhat above the figure for the current period but is not particularly par-ticularly out of line, considering the changes which have occurred in the two year period. Salary ire-creases, ire-creases, rising costs all have made demands for more money. We believe it is plenty high in the face of federal secrity demands. Salary increases are in process for state, county and city officials. On the state level this indicates the trend: Governor from $7,500 to $10,000; Attorney General $6,000 to $7,500; Secretary of State $5,400 to $7,200; Supreme Court Justices $7,200 to $9,000; General - Commissioners $4,500 to $6,000; District Judges $6,000 to $7,500; State Superintendent of Public Instruction not over $9,000. |