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Show Problems Plague Session As End Hears, Bunnell Says "The problem of pending pend-ing legislative decisions as to income versus expenditures ex-penditures is demonstrated demonstra-ted by the deliberations of our Public Education Appropriations Committee," Commit-tee," Senator Omar Bunnell Bun-nell stated this week. Governor Hampton re-eothmended re-eothmended a budget which would increase funds for public education educa-tion by nearly nine per cent over last year, and would provide for increased in-creased state contributions contribu-tions to the school employees em-ployees pension fund of approximately six million mil-lion dollars. This proposal pro-posal would increase the state income tax by one half of one per cent if enacted. The new income tax passed two years ago produced less income than anticipated by about twelve million dollars a year and this levy would bring it up to that anticipation. anti-cipation. An appropriation which would raise state school funds by twelve per cent and reduce the pension contributions by about one half has tentatively been approved by the Public Education Committee. Com-mittee. Senator Bunnell told The Times-Independent Monday that this plan would require another 3 million in state funds and the enactment of some additional taxes to support sup-port the recommendation. recommenda-tion. The basic decision to be made is either raise the expenditure or raise taxes. "State and school employees em-ployees certainly can justify a twelve per cent cost of living increase and the taxpayers are vigorously vi-gorously resisting any expanse of state levies in any form," continued the Senator. Close scrutiny of two revenues is presently underway un-derway in the cigarette tax by fifty per cent (about $3,500,000; and the mineral min-eral severance taxes ($2 to $6 million depending on the rate and the application). ap-plication). "The stresses and strains involved in who do we pay and who shall . we penalize became, very,,,, uncomfortable' rmyha- sized SenatoT nZ.. t Z. The Senate placed all it's bills in a Sifting Committee Com-mittee beginning Eeb. 20. Every day this seven man committee must determine determ-ine which of several hundred hun-dred bills still pending shall be considered on that particular day. Generally, Gen-erally, this system assures as-sures that the most important im-portant legislation is considered con-sidered first, although Senator Bunnell pointed out that with nearly five hundred bills in the hopper hop-per and only three weeks to go, a lot of someone's favorite legislation is going go-ing to be lost in the shuffle. shuf-fle. "Again these are hard decisions," stressed Senator Se-nator Bunnell. The Senate gave final approval Friday, Feb. 21, to Representative Dmi-trich's Dmi-trich's HB 109 which release re-lease 25 of the collector road money for county road maintenance. This little item will save Carbon Car-bon County about $12,000 a year and should also be of some assistance to the other counties in our district. dis-trict. "I was pleased to gain Senate passage Monday of SB 187," Sen. Bunnell stated. This piece of legislation leg-islation was introduced by Sen. Bunnell at the request of Superintendent Superintend-ent Bill B. Meador and the Grand County School Board, and would make it possible for school districts dis-tricts to use revenue proceeds pro-ceeds of one mill of capital cap-ital outlay money in maintenance and opera tion of plant. "The bill will now go to the House, where Rep. John Garr has promised to help with its passage," Sen. Bunnell Bun-nell stated. The Senate vote was 19 to 4 in favor of the measure. |