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Show STATE LEGISLATURE FACES HUGE TASK IN LASTJEN DAYS Speaker Granger Looms as llihly Important Uurure in Closing Days of Session by U. S. P. A. Service Members of the twenty-first Utah Legislature have completed another the seventh week of lawmaking efforts with the bulk of major legislation still on the session books as unfinished business. busi-ness. Ten officially-allowed days remained re-mained Monday of the sixty allotted al-lotted to the current session. Stopping of the legisla'ive clerk a resort often resorted !o to give additional lawmaking t : -may add another one, t . or three days. In this shun, t me such all-important all-important matters as a slate liquor li-quor control law. personal income and corporation franchise taxes, social relirf, and appropriations must be threshed out by the assembled as-sembled lawmakers. The liquor question is expected to be solved in comparatively 'speedy fashion through passage by the senate and concurrence by the house of a compromise state stores bill, with the finished product pro-duct providing for state chores and by-the-drink sales in licensed hotels, restaurants and clubs. A few other changes in the house-adopted house-adopted measure will likely see the committee oT 4 9 proposals agreed upon in practically their entirety. The end of the seventh week found house and senate deadlocked deadlock-ed on personal income and corporation corpor-ation franchise taxes. Neither side midst verbal fireworks would recede from its position on property tax offsets and exemptions exemp-tions in the individual income tax measure and the offsets in the corporation income tax bill. Concessions Con-cessions must be made by one house or the other if either bill is to be passed. Otherwise thore can be no income tax changes. Speedy passage by both branches branch-es of a bill enabling the state to reap advantages of bond refunding refund-ing suggestions made by Governor Henry H. Blood will doubtless result re-sult in increased appropriations for various governmental dopart- (Continued on page four) LEGISLATURE (Cc-.Jnued from first page) ments as it means $750,000 in additional revenue without resort to more taxes. Legislators were also quick in joint enactment of several measures meas-ures clarifying the water supply question. Enactment o these clears the way for cities to participate par-ticipate in reclamation projects, enabling Salt Lake City in particular par-ticular to take part in the proposed propos-ed $10,000,000 Deer Creek-Utah Lake water project. The bills passed both branches after Governor Gov-ernor Blood had urged their speedy adoption. Important, hut controversial, measures passed by the house in-eluded in-eluded the much-talked-of bill changing the present workmen's compensation act and another levying levy-ing a tax of 4 cents per 100 0 cubic feet on natural gas delivered and used in Utah. Agriculturists won marked victories in the house through passage of bills abolishing abolish-ing the tax on common and contract con-tract carriers on public highways and a new produce dealers' license bill. All of these measures are expected to meet determined opposition op-position with probably consider able amending in the senate. Schools will be financially aided if the house passes a senate-adopted measure granting educational institutions a share of the sales tax revenue in excess of the $2,-000,000 $2,-000,000 allowed for relief after the general fund has been allotted $150,000 of the surplus. The upper up-per house also favored continuance continu-ance of the committee of nine, largely to study effects of the $2,-000 $2,-000 homestead tax exemption as proposed, development of Utah's coal resources, and feasibility of consolidating school districts. The senate took final action last week on 39 measures, passing 3 3 senate bills, two house bills, already al-ready passed by the lower branch, and one senate joint memorial. It killed one senate bill, one house bill and on& senate joint resolution. resolu-tion. Bills passed were: S.B. 33 to 51, inclusive, state bar association associa-tion bills having to do with court nrnpfirinrfi- S B. 7. relating to Dro- cedure for conducting primary elections; S.B. 178, approving and confirming bonds and other obligations obli-gations heretofore issued by public pub-lic bodies of Utah for public works projects; S.B. 204, authorizing the governor to deed to the federal government lands in the bed or on the margin of Utah Lake; S.B. 205, validating contracts between water users' associations and the federal government for reclamation reclama-tion projects; S.B. 142, relating to underground waters; S.B. 211. permitting the state engineer to initiate actions in the courts of other states or the United States courts; S.B. 20 6, providing for agreements between the state engineer en-gineer and the U. S. Geological survey for cooperative investigation investiga-tion and survey of underground water supplies and appropriating $10,000 for the work; S.B. 156. creating a new committee of nine; (Continued on page five) i LEGISLATORS ir ' (Continued from page tour) iaS.B. 132, permitting representa-! representa-! tives descendant of a Utah volun-fr volun-fr teer from the Ladies' G.A.R. to I'' attend the national G.A.R. en-" en-" campments; S.B. 96, permitting ' unequal assessments against wa-4 wa-4 ter shares; S.B. 99, permitting the state land board to sell farm lands acquired under foreclosure at an appraisal price, and giving mortgage mort-gage debtor preference right for 30 days; S.B. 92, providing for use of surplus sales tax for deficiencies de-ficiencies in state district school fund and state equalization and general funds; S.B. 153, permitting permit-ting the state land board to pay the necessary costs -of maintaining maintain-ing state-cvned property; S.B. 203, permitting the state land board to sell, without mineral reservations, re-servations, lands acquired by foreclosure; fore-closure; H.B. 132, the metropolitan metropoli-tan water district act previously passed by the house, and H.B. 1S2, relating to reversion of water wa-ter to the public by abandonment or failure to use. The memorial passed was S..J.M. 1, urging the sa'j cf the Fiute, Central Utah and Carbon water, laud and power company projects. The joint resolution re-solution killed was S.J.R. 7, amending the state constitution to provide for appointment of supreme su-preme court and district court judges. The senate bill killed was S.B. 6S, creating a legislative bureau, bur-eau, and the house bill defeated, H. B. .The lower house passed nine house bills, four senate bills, and defeated one house bill. Bills) passed were: H.B. 1S2, the water reversion measure; H.B. 24, the new produce dealers' license bill protecting farmers in selling produce; pro-duce; H.B. 62, increasing premium pre-mium taxes paid by insurance companies from one and one-half per cent to four per cent, with a two and one-half per cent tax in cases where 30 per cent of the company assets are invested in Utah; H.B. 16, the gas faxing measure; H.B. 137, fixing a three-man three-man road commission; H.B. 138, prohibiting a member of the road commission being an ex-officio member of the commission; H.B. 7 7, the truck licensing bill; H.B. 4, rewriting the workmen's compensation com-pensation act to include occupational occupa-tional diseases as compensatory and give the state sole authority to write industrial insurance; S.B. I, the corporation franchise' tax bill much amended; S.B. 88, the individual income tax bill also considerably con-siderably amended; S.B. 159, au- ' thorizing the issuance of refunding refund-ing bonds per the governor's tax saving suggestion, and S.B. 20 5, a water bill. H.B. 268, extending the time in which 19 3 5 auto licenses li-censes could be secured 30 days, was passed in the house and killed kill-ed in the senate. H.B. 89, extending ex-tending various powers of the state board of education, was defeated. de-feated. Senator Wilford Day of Paro-wan Paro-wan voted yes on all the judicial procedure measures excepting S.B. 3, 37, 33 and 34. He was absent and not voting on these. He voted vot-ed yes on all other measures acted upon by the senate last week excepting ex-cepting S.J.R. 7, H.B. 26S and S.B. 68, voting no on these. He was absent and not voting on S.B. 7. Speaker Walter K. Granger of the house voted yes on all meas ures acted upon in the lower branch excepting H.B. 77 and H.B. 137. He voted no on H.B. 77 and was absent and not voting on H.B. 137. Vast power in the appointment of house conference committees rests in the hands of Speaker Granger inasmuch as it now seems certain that such committees will have to say about important legislation, le-gislation, particularly as to tax measures and other controversial matters in regard to which the conferees will seek to reach compromises com-promises between the deadlocked houses. Representative F. J. Bowler of Gunlock voted yes on all measures passed or defeated in the house last week. |