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Show Saturday, January 24, 1998 The Park Record A-7 52nd Utah State Legislature Legislative agendas: Jan. 26-28 If r I f ilM COPY Utah State House sch'edule Utah State Senate schedule The following is a tentative schedule for the Utah State House of Representatives for the next three days at the state capitol. To obtain a list of times and room numbers for individual committee and subcommittee meetings, call the House at (801)538-1029. (Lunch is held daily from noon until 2 p.m.) Monday, Jan. 26: 8 a.m.-lO a.m. Standing committees 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Floor time 10:30 a.m.-noon Standing committees 2 p.m. -5 p.m. (" Appropriations subcommittees Tuesday, Jan. 27: 8 a.m.-lO a.m. Standing committees 10 a.m.-noon Floor time 2 p.m.-3 p.m. Floor time 3 p.m. -5 p.m. Standing committees Wednesday, Jan. 28: 8 a.m.-lO a.m. Standing committees 10 a.m.-noon Floor time 2 p.m. -5 p.m. Appropriations subcommittees The following is a tentative schedule for the Utah State Senate for the next three days at the state capitol. capi-tol. To obtain a list of times and room numbers for individual committee and subcommittee sessions, call the Senate at (801)538-1035. (Lunch is held daily from 12:15 p.m. until 2 p.m.) Monday, Jan. 26: 8 a.m.-lO a.m. Standing committees 10 a.m.-ll:45 a.m. Floor time 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Access time 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Appropriations subcommittees Tuesday, Jan. 27: 8 a.m.-lO a.m. Standing committees 10 a.m.-ll:45 a.m. Floor time 11:45 p.m.-12:15 p.m. Access time 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Standing committees Wednesday, Jan. 28: 8 a.m.-10 a.m. Standing committees 10 a.m.-ll:45 a.m. Floor time 11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Access time 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Appropriations subcommittees Senator Alarik Myrin warns that tax dollars should be spent prudently Submitted by Senator Alarik Myrin, (R-Altamont) The 1998 legislative session started yesterday and the senate got off to a good start. One of the major dilemmas of the session will be how to fund everything. The budget is always one of the most difficult issues we deal with, but this year it is compounded by several sev-eral factors dealing with the 1-15 highway funding plus the usual growth in education, prison needs, etc. We have had- a tremendous economy over the past few years antf ithat has . ma.(Je, .mqrs, (ta revenues rev-enues available to the state. Part of the challenge in years like this is to not built a base budget up so high that in years when the economy econo-my is not so good that we cannot make ends meet. In a sense that makes the 1-15 project timing good. $230 million of 1-15 funding has moved ahead because the project pro-ject is moving faster than expected, and because federal highway funds are coming to the state slower than expected. That will save money in the long run, but it means we have to put more of the current budget into highways than was planned last year. Part of the challenge then becomes to make sure needed projects pro-jects in other areas of the state are not totally put off so that we end up with just 1-15 being funded. Since more than just fuel taxes are going into roads this issue spills over into other areas of state government. gov-ernment. Education is somewhat protected from this in that income taxes according to the state constitution consti-tution can only be spent on education. educa-tion. The constitution was recently recent-ly amended to where some of the income tax can be used on higher education. You can contact me by leaving a message at the Senate at (801)538-1035. (801)538-1035. The address is Alarik Myrin, Utah State Senate, 319 State Capitol,- Salt - Lake City, Utah 84114. r rr l UAC leaders review property taxes Leaders representing Utah's 29 counties recognize that the legislative legisla-tive session which began this week may go down in history as the property tax session. A myriad of bills dealing with property taxes, including one proposal by Sen. Robert Montgomery (R-North Ogden) to eliminate the "uniform and equal" provision of Utah's property tax laws, are on the table. "Property taxes are the most hated taxes there are," Sen. Howard Stephenson (R-Draper), told the Legislative Committee of the Utah Association of Counties (UAC). Sen. Stephenson is formulating formu-lating his own plan to cap taxes on primary residences. "We support his concept," says Summit County Commissioner Sheldon Richins, President of the Utah Association of Counties. "There is great interest inter-est in providing predictable property prop-erty tax bills to homeowners, especially espe-cially the elderly and those on fixed incomes." Sen. Stephenson says his bill will not be a tax limitation measure, mea-sure, but it would freeze the value of a primary residence to the date of purchase. "This means families could budget for property taxes," says Richins. "The only time a home would be reappraised is when it sells. I think we need further fur-ther analysis on this issue, but my feeling is the Senator is on the right track." As with most property tax revisions, revi-sions, Stephenson's proposal would take a constitutional amendment and approval by the voters before going into effect. In Utah the property tax is the main source of income for school districts, municipal governments, county governments and special service districts such as mosquito abatement, recreation, water and sewer improvement. "We must never forget that property taxes pay for many, many essential local government services and the majority of public education in our state," says Richins. "Fine tuning it could be easier said than done." The UAC Legislative Committee will hear next week from Montgomery who will explain his property tax proposal. While taxes are always a hot button issue for residents and local officials, there are many other issues which concern Utah's county coun-ty officials. Among them are: Amendments to the collection of motor vehicle fees. Amendments to the laws providing pro-viding for special service districts. Creation of a state elections commission. Special district elections. Elimination of voting rights for convicted felons. Quote of the week from the UAC: "Why do my property taxes skyrocket just because some guy from California pays too much for a house in my neighborhood?" Anon. Don Rubalcava Crnimir Til' liisliilliilioii Ni'W or irmodcl 25 veins i'xH'ririiii' (435) 655-9093 G2fG ( Executive A uite J MOM THAN JUST FOUR WALLS. Everything you need for an office is right here in Park City. (435)655-9696 wmv.cnng.com 1 f t' ,! I., Ill J .1 .- ;fi , . -.' (! ." i-' 1 ' f; I v, c:V m '" wi limn j'jK Woods Metals Verticals Shutters Draperies Shades Free in-home estimates! 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