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Show Hinder MeA With the heavily loaded calendars cal-endars now in the hands of sifting sift-ing committees, the Utah Legislature Legis-lature turned much of its attention at-tention this sixth week of the session to the appropriations bill. Expected next Monday, the bill will include general fund appropriations amounting to approximately ap-proximately $15,000,000 or more than $2,500,000 above the governor's gov-ernor's proposed budget. They will be based on estimated general gen-eral fund revenues, including 1947-49 surpluses, of considerably consider-ably more than $15,000,000, as compared to Gov. J. Bracken Lee's estimates of $13,200,000. Sen. Fred J. Milliman (D.-Mammoth), (D.-Mammoth), chairman of the joint appropriations committee, said the committee wants to present pre-sent the bill as early as possible in order that the Legislature might get it to the governnor well before the 55th day. This would give the lawmakers a chance to act on any vetoed items in the measure. The bill is supposed to be in the House by the 40th day, which is Friday Fri-day of this week. Senator Mil liman said it would be necessary to use this week-end for final preparations and that it would be ready on the first session day after the 40th day. Well might the legislature get the bill to the governor before be-fore the 55th day, which is the last day it can be assured of & return on executive action. (The governor has five days to act on a bill while the legislature is in session, and 10 days after adjournment). Since the governor has already al-ready shown his hand on bills of appropriation and expansion, the legislature can certainly expect ex-pect a veto on many of the items in the appropriations bill. It appears definite the governor will attempt to keep general fund appropriations within his own estimated revenues. He vetoed the bill to expand Weber College to a. four-year institution, stating he could not sign the measure and remain "consistent" with the economy polocies advanced in his budget message. For the same reason he vetoed an emergency appropriation approp-riation of $40,000 to the Utah Symphony Orchestra. In fact, the only bills he had ; signed through the first 35 days of the 60-day session included a bill providing $3400 to replace fire-damaged equipment at the Central Utah Vocational School in Provo, an emergency measure meas-ure calling for a $250,000 revolving revolv-ing fund to aid winter-ridden livestock owners in Utah, and a bill ratifying the Colorado River Upper Basin States Compact. Incidentally, Weber College remains a dead issue since more than enough votes to Sustain the ; veto have been pledged in the senate and it is doubtful if it could get the required two-thirds in the house. Symphony people, however, still have hopes of get-; get-; ting some kind of an emergency appropriation. , Final inspection of state institutions insti-tutions as planned by members of the appropriations committee : took place over the Lincoln i . birthday week-end. Visiting B A C at Cedar City, Dixie at St. : George and Snow college at Ephraim were Senators Milliman, Milli-man, B. Manning Jolley (R-Orem) (R-Orem) and L. N. Marsden (R-Cedar (R-Cedar City) and Reps. Ernest H. Dean (D-American Fork), Frank M. Openshaw (R-Salt Lake) and Wayne Hinton CD-Hurricane). CD-Hurricane). Senator Millirlan said all of the state institutions except Carbon College at Price had been visited by the group. He added that problems at the Price institution, where they are still enjoying romparatively new buildings and facilities, are quite well known to the committee. In regard to state institutions of higher learning, he said appropriations ap-propriations will be consider- j ably above recommendations ofj Governor Lee, which were slightly over $5,000,000, but also under the more than $10,000,000 requests of the schools. Also there was mention that the Utah Water and Power Board may receive re-ceive about a half million dollars. dol-lars. Meanwhile the senate was at full strength for the first time since the opening .day with appointment ap-pointment of Mrs. A. C. Jensen (D-Sandy), a former member of the upper house, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Sen. J. Arthur Bailey (D-Salt Lake), on Feb. 10. Sejiator Bailey had been able to attend the opening session to take the oath of office. The Democrats also have their 12-11 senate majority intact for the first time, but this is expected expect-ed to mean little since there has been no split to date along party lines. Rather the legislature legisla-ture has been split up into blocs. One of the more powerful of these is the education bloc in the huose, where HJR 5 and HJR 6, proposing the constitutional ameindments to remove the state superintendent of public instruction instruc-tion from the elective offices and provide for appointment by a state board of education were pushed through by a section headed by Rep. A. I. Tippets (D-Ephraim), (D-Ephraim), a member of the Snow College faculty. Fish and game measures continued con-tinued to receive attention in the two houses, with final passage coming to a bill to bar successful success-ful elk and antelope permit applicants ap-plicants from applying for two years. This was a house measure meas-ure passed by the senate, which also passed its new version of the .22 rifle bill. As it now stands, the bill makes parents responsible for misuse of the .22 by minor children up to $500 damage to livestock and equipment. equip-ment. A provision making them . responsible for unlawfully killed I wildlife was eliminated. In the house a bill to provide for "badge" type fish and game licenses was passed, along with one to allow aliens to carry firearms fire-arms for hunting purposes and another to grant hunting permits to persons over 65 for 10c. The senate was first to hand its overloaded calendar to sifting sift-ing committee, with approximately approxi-mately 200 measures on second reading going to the group early this week. The committee was set up on motion of Sen. J. Francis Fowles (D-Ogden) a week ago. The senate attended Senator Sen-ator Bailey's funeral Monday and reconvened Tuesday morning morn-ing for its first morning session. |