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Show Under The Capitol Dome e e e e By J. J- Cahoon Special Representative Utah State Press Association Salt Lake City. (Special to tht Bingham Bulletin) Utah legislators legisla-tors returned to their homes this week, with members of the Anti-Maw Anti-Maw faction wearing brojd smiles smil-es because of their last-round knockout victory over the governor gov-ernor after previous rounds in the battle had made the decision Jook as though it were going to be a draw. The knockout came in the closing minutes of the session, find was delivered in what is ordinarily an uninteresting and unexciting measure the appropriations appro-priations bill. Maw supporters dropped their guard for an hour, and when they looked around to .study the appropriations measure mea-sure if they have done so yet they found that the chief executive execu-tive had been hit right in the most effective spot the pocket-book. pocket-book. For the past two years Gov-trnor Gov-trnor Maw has had millions of dollars at his control in the State Government Operating Account, to be transferred here and there at the governor's will. For the next two years, the governor will have control over about $64,000 his office and residence accounts and he might possibly have up to half a million dollars as a contingent fund toward the end of the biennium, provided there is any general fund surplus sur-plus "not otherwise appropriat-1 ed". I The appropriations measure ter every other such measure had been killed in one house or the other The welfare bill which finally passed was an exact duplicate of the earlier bill killed by the ! "Maw lobby" except that the ' new measure incorporated some j of the present statutes. 1 In the main, however, the bill ' provides that the maximum 1 grant to the state's old folks shall 1 not be more than $45, based on 1 a budgetary need. No minimum is provided in the measure. If 1 an aged person has an income of $35 and the welfare department deems this amount sufficient, the department would not have to contribute one cent. However if another aged person had an income in-come of $35 and the department found that this person needed $80 a month, the department could grant $45. In other words, the welfare department would control all grants by basing their calculations calcula-tions on the budgetary needs in each individual case. The views of both sides differed on the attitude at-titude of the aged in the state toward the bill. One side said the aged fully agreed with the budgetary-need basis of the bill, while . the welfare bloc in both houses charged that the state's aged wanted the assurance of a fixed, minimum grant. Apparently the senate re-introduced the welfare bill after the house had repented somewhat some-what from their earlier action of killing the measure and had assured as-sured the senate that the house would pass the bill. sets up definite operating accounts ac-counts for every state department depart-ment and institution and absolutely abso-lutely no provision is made for nny transfer of funds from one department to another. The bill even goes so far as to break i down departmental expenditures into personal services, travel, current expenses, equipment and nermanent improvements, and provides that funds can not be transferred from one such sched-1 ule to another schedule in the same department without approval ap-proval of the Board of Examin-1 ;rs. Appropriations bills passed during the term of office of Governor Gov-ernor Henry 11. Blood gave the chief executive the power to transfer, funds from one department depart-ment to another, or to order any department or institution to curtail cur-tail its expenditures lor a three-month three-month period. Governor Maw lias been deprived of any semblance semb-lance of such power by the new appropriations measure. Neither lie nor his Board of Examiners may transfer funds from one de-; oartment to another, and depart-: merits may exceed their appro-' priations only with unanimous eonsent of the Board of Examin-- Examin-- ors. ' Even the governor's contingent J'und is a "maybe" fund, because the appropriations measure provides pro-vides that it is to consist of "sur-, plus moneys which may accrue in the general fund and which are not herein otherwise appro- , j XT.. I priated. No surplus no contingent con-tingent fund. If any such surplus sur-plus does accrue, the governor may use it to provide for additional addi-tional needs for any state department, de-partment, institution or agency. The reason for extreme pessimism pessi-mism regarding a governor's con-lingent con-lingent fund arises from the fact j that the appropriations bill re-1 veals that the cost of operating the state government and all I Mate institutions will amount to. S19,404,17ti for the next biennium. bien-nium. This 19-million dollar total comes from the $7,562,773 appropriated ap-propriated from the general fund, plus another general fund expenditure ex-penditure of $3,290,000 to increase teachers' and school employes' .salaries. Add to these figures special fund appropriations of 85,758,551 and another $2,792,852 collected in the form of fees and you have the complete picture. In most respects' Utah's Twenty-fifth Legislature, which finally final-ly went home late Sunday alter a 63-day session, was an ineffectual ineffect-ual body. However, the lawmakers law-makers boosted their stock in a flurry of last minute action which saw the death of the horse-racing bill and an "anti-labor" measure mea-sure to rewrite Utah's "Little Wagner Act", and the passage of an eleventh-hour welfare bill af- onnnRnnnnnnnnnni |
