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Show LAUD HUWE LEGISLATION . PROPOSED Special Meeting of Associa- tion It Called for Capitol on January 19 to Di-cuss Di-cuss Important Subject LEGISLATION considered vital to the future progress of S' land drainage in Utah, impera- ' tivt'ly demnnding a change in existing laws by the next lcgis-lature, lcgis-lature, will be discussed at n special meeting ot the I'tuh JJrainaKeliis- tricts assoi'intlon to be held nt t!ie stute capltol in Salt Uike Janury It. Twenty-five delegates represent- Inir as many drain ie districts, em-triclng em-triclng 150,000 acres, will be present. Tlio proposed changes will then be discussed, adopted r.nd urged before Hie lawmakers. According to R. A. Hart, senior engineer In charce of government Irrigation and drainage In the Western district, the meeting has been called to hear the report of the special legislative committee of the association associa-tion appointed when the association was organized last October. There are three vital matters confronting the whole drainage proRram as worked out through the years of jiwotifem construction work, during which millions have been sient and wonderful results achieved. SYSTEM OF TAXES. These ore: First, a new system of collection of drainage taxes; second, a readjustment readjust-ment of benefits, and third, the Inclusion In-clusion of additional lands nfter the organization of the district has been perfected. Taxes are now collected by the regular tax collectors, but a system of evasion has been evolved whereby frequent heavy burdens are thrown on the finance of tha districts in keeping themselves solvent. Thia is the most serious of the problems to be met and demands legislative action ac-tion at once, Mr. Hart eald. Under present drainage laws a readjustment of benefits cannot be made. Lands taxed at a certain ratio at the beginning of the project sometimes some-times benefit more or less than orig- lnal estimates. A more elastic y?tem In these cases Is demanded. Frequently Fre-quently after a district Is organized and the construction work done, it Is found that lands outside of the district dis-trict are greatly benefited without bearing any of the burden of the district taxutlon. Some system should - be devised, Mr. Hart sild, wherehy these lands can be brousht within the district. CONSIDERED BY COMMITTEE. These suggestions were taken up by the special committee, consisting of L. R. Martineau. lawyer of Salt Ij.ke and supervisor of the Urighton district : Iean K. Peterson, supervisor of Millard county district No. 4 at Delta, and C. i. Odney, supervisor of the Corlnne district. Junt what this report would be Mr. Hart did not presume to aay. but through his connection con-nection with all the drainage work that hns been going on through the state hefflt ronfident that the sng- , gestions wculd be ""given rTott study." I-eroy Iixon, mayor of I'rovo and , supervisor if the Skipper Hay district dis-trict in I'tah county, en I led the ftpecial meeting for January 10. Hereafter the regular annual meeting will be held during atate fair week in October. |