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Show ~ * Bae S LARS EUCETEREME PERO ERS SS ST En AEN eT eTse ees eens Sunday, March 5, 2006 DAILY HERALD EDITORIALS DailyHerald EDITORIAL BOARD Albert J. Manzi, President & Publisher RandyWright, Executive Editor Donald W. Meyers, Editorial page editor NancyHale, Public adviser IN OUR VIEW Looking back at THE TOLL ROAD OVERPASS 2006 Legislature nothersession of the Utah State Legislature has cometo a close. Senators and representatives wrapped up siness at midnight Wednesday. Looking back,it was 45 days marked with some goog achievementsinterspersed with mean-spirited andself-serving behavior. Attempts at reforming Utah's antiquated tax structure died onthe last night. Days before,it lookedlike both sides had worked out a compromise to createa fairer,flatter tax and reducethe food sales tax. Unfortunately, the deal wentout the window Wednesday night, tossed by legislators who thought Huntsman was pushing them too hardto dohis will. They put the bill on hold and letit die whenthesession adjourned. Huntsman said he will call the Legislature back in May to straightenit out. Maybe if the Legislature did not have more than 700 bills to sift through,it could have worked outall the bugsin the tax reform packagebefore the session ended. On the bright side, Utah's open records law cameoutoft sion with little modificatio’. When the session started,it had appeared thatlegislators had declared open season on the Government Records Access and Management Act, Sen. Dave Thomas, R-South Weber, and Rep. Douglas Aagard, R-Kaysville, wereleading the chargewithbills that would have blocked public access to governmente-mail and changing the way people could appeal denials of records. Other anti-GRAMAbills attempted to declare minor's names protected data, make the voter registration information on judges private records, allow government to charge highprices for public documents and deny records re- questsbyclaimingtheinformation is available somewhereelse. One Utah County senator, Eagle Mountain Republican Mark Mad- sen, jumped in the fray with a proposal to declare inspection reports ; private unless the governmentis- sued a citation for a violation. Madsenclaimed the bill was necessary because a businesscould be ruined if such reports werepublicized. Fortunately, the Legislature didn’t buy the arguments andinsteadlistened to open-government advocates’ arguments that the public has a right to documents unless the state can show a compelling reasonnot to disclose them. For now, GRAMAwill continuetoallow the public to keep better tabs on government, as it has for the past 14 years. There were also a ofcouplebills introduced that actually strengthenedthe public's oversight of government. HouseBill 14, sponsored by West Jordan Republican Wayne A. Harper, strengthens the Open and Public Meetings Act byclassifying workshop meetings as open meetings underthe law and requiring tape recordingsofall closed-door meetings. Thelatter provision addressesa legislative audit that found someschoolboards did not keepdetailed minutes of closeddoor meetings, making it imy sible to denne if the gatherings werelegal. Thebill will ensure that governmententities cannot block the public from attending a meeting by declaring it a workshop,as well as give the public the documentation needed to challenge a meeting closure. Rep. Craig Frank'sbill, House Bill 188, requires government employees who handle governmentrecords receivetraining in GRAMA’sprovisions. The Pleasant Grove Republican'sbill would makethe chief administrativeofficer of a governmental entity (city managerorschool superintendent, for example) responsible for seeing that the training takesplace. Utah Valley State College also fared well, getting $50 million for its Digital Learning Center and an extension of the Mountainland Applied Technology Center. While it does not coverthe full construction cost of the buildings, the money will allow UVSCto upgradeits li- brary to meet the needs of an everexpanding student body. The Legislaturealso corrected oneif its worst mistakes on transportation funding this year. House , Bill 112 directs the state to put nearly half of the state sales tax generated bycar andcar-related products into transportation funds. Thebill was sponsored by Rep. Re- becca Lockhart, R-Provo, who also sponsored theoriginal Transportation Investment Fundlegislation last year thatcalled for the tax to go to transportation. The first deposit into the Centen- nial Highway Fundwill be $149.6 million, and the moneywill then go to the TIF once the Centennial fund’s obligations arefulfilled. As anyonewhotravels onInterstate 15 knows, Utah’s road system is nearing,if not alreadyin,a crisis. Lockhart’slegislation creates the funding mechanism thatwill help solve the problem. Sen.D. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, and Rep. AaronTilton, RSpringville,failed in their attempt to overregulate school administrators whenit comes to studentclubs. Buttars’sbill madeit through the Senate amid heated debate and. claims that gay-straight clubs like the one at Provo High School were recruiting students to be gay, butit died in the House. This was not Buttars's first attempt at a “message”bill this year. Healsofailed to get creationism: into the curriculum. The House killed Buttars's bill by a substantial margin. This year seemed like the year that lobbyist reform would be passed. House Majority Leader Jeff Alexander'sbill re legislators to report any gift worth morethan $5,cleared the House, itself an incredible achievementfor an ethics bill. ~ However, the Senate amended the bill to first set the reporting trigger at $100, and later lowered it back to the current $50 level. Sen. HowardA.Stephenson, RDraper andthe sponsorof the amendments,said the lobbyist gifts and dinnerseasethesacrifice lawmakers maketo serve on Capitol Hill, andthatit is only the media thatis painting legislatorsas dishonest for accepting the swag. Stephensonalso hadthedistinction of having bill vetoed during the session.SenateBill 70 would have allowed the Legislatureto override the governor's rejection of a waste-dump permit applica- tion. Retaining the governor's existing authority to reject waste dumps is a necessary protection for Utahns. Wecan only hope that the Legislature will reflect on this session andstriveto do better next time. MEDIA VOICES Don’ttry to hideticket costs From the Dallas Morning News on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 h, give us a break. It’s not enough that airlines employ the most byzantinepricing structure known to humankind; now some older, traditional carriers want to be able to hide part of the real cost when they advertise their fares. Say, for instance, enticing you to buy a ticket at a certain “fare” and then adding on a “fuel surcharge.” Like you're going to fly ona planethatcarries nofuel, right? Isn't that little like saying the hamburgeris 99 cents, but the meat is $2 extra? Yes,life is tough for the older airlines, which must withstand the ever-increasing onslaughts of the low-cost carriers. No oneis eager to see moreU.S.airlines slip into bankruptcy or go out of business. But the last time welooked, a good business modeldid not rest on tricking the consumer — frankly, that's what this proposal smacksof. There are reasons most Americans wouldrate buying a car right up there with getting a root canal: Do airlines really want their customers to feel that way. about buying ticket? Besides, Web sites such as Expedia and Orbitz undoubtedly know how to add; they can lure even more oointe their ae figuring up ane lishing tl oe bottom-line costs. How does that benefit the airlines? ... Whynot makeall those companies disclose the bottom line, right up front? The decision rests in the hands of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. Those in eae he’slikely to OK the ect its departmesd's raion is to bolster the nation’s commercial transportation networks.If he thinks this is one way to do that, he’s wrong. Truth in advertising senfe es ee In the long Tun, it's good business. HERALD POLL asked readers if Utah should offer Herald poll state-funded vouchersto pay forpri- Recenth Editor's note: The Daily Herald recently vate-schooltuition. Here are the comments we received: ' School vouchers use public funds to support privatefirms Theridiculousness of her argument we asked the follawing question ily wave Neraldextra com . “Should Utah offer vouchers to pay for private-school tuition?” Vouchers take money away Provo from underfunded schools Public education hasbeenprovided for manyyearsto benefit the public good.People have alwaysbeenable to send their children to private schools at Tax moneyshould follow kids taxpaying parents who wantto ensure thebest education fortheir children. This lack of accountability to parents ofschoolage childrenresultsin a politically expedient, and often substandard, education. » Elaine Augustine, Lehi Total votes: 1455 Current poll: their own expense, but tax money was “Should UVSC be given universitystatus?” Polling is open at our Web site util Thursday at 11:45 p.m. STATE 0), oe They mustacceptevery child that wants to enroll, just as a public school does. Taxes cannot be used to support schools promotingreligious themes, otherwise the laws need to be changed allowing seminary credit, nowdenied, to count toward graduationasan elec- tive inpublic schools. bJohn Pool, Vouchers take resources away from proven public system Tam against school vouchers. Ina * statelike Utah, we cannot afford to use our taxes to pay families to havetheir - children educated in a private school. Wedon’t have enough moneyas it-is forour public schools, and the public schools system has beeneffective ever since our country began. » Chris Roberts, Springville Alpine Vouchers a way to make schools better by competition Even thoughI'm studying to become a high schoolscience teacher, I think thatit would be a greatidea. It fosters a healthy sense of competition which gives public schools a reason for improving. » Brian D.Beadle, Orem School vouchers parents back in control education Vouchers step toward limiting Vouchersare a good idea for Utah schools. Governmentcontrols that which they fund and educating children is not part of the properrole of government. Parents, not government have responsibility to educatechildren. In orderto properly handle the current problems ofdeclining performance andincreased enrollment we need to movecontrol of education backinto the hands of their parents whereit belongs. Vouchers would be a movein that direction. » Henry Todd, Provo Allowing vouchers takes our community back to the Dark Ages, when education was only for the few. School vouchersput privateandelitist into education and.take out public, Thereason we havepublic education is to educate the public — the whole public. When webegin to take public mioney from ourpublic schools and give it to private entities we will deserve the Makeprivate schools follow public rules if taking vouchers If private schools are allowed to use taxpayers’ money,they must operate on the same principles as a public |. They cannot deny students because of academic ability, behavioral problems nor levelof parental involvement,Private schools cannot set class size limits, nor total enrollmentlevel. system. Theyrealize that common sense and reasonare ontheside of vouchersandtherefore, are forced to concoct absurd rationales for their » Adam Dynes, |. administrative assistant, Parents for Choice in Education, Salt Lake City provide an equal opportunity forall childrento receive an education. I do not want mytax dollarsto fund private businesses. » Verna Johnson, vested interest in education. Vouchers, if doneright, are a great idea for Utah’s schools.Full per-pupil funding should follow eachchild so parents can truly choose where and how their children are educated. Utah Education Association President Pat Rusk seems more concerned about taxpayers who don't currently havechildrenin school than mentis becoming in justifying its stranglehold on the public education support of the status quo. Schoolvoucherswill take away money from public schools. It will not Asa parent and a taxpayer,I have a showshowdesperate the establish- to be used for the public good,notindividualdesires. If people wantto send their children to private schools, they should pay for them themselves and not expect the taxpayersto help them. Tax moneyshould be used for public schools which have been underfunded by our Legislature for decades. Taking more money away from public schools will only hurt them more. » PerryForsberg. Bountiful. Public money never intended for supportingelitist schools I teachin a Title I schoolthatis not failing. The parents in my school happento like our school, but if they want» to go somewhereelsein our public schoolsystem, they have manychoices. Besides, the voucherbills I've seen have neveroffered enough moneyfor our parentsto take advantageofprivate school. Few private schools will accept the typesof students I seeasreally needing them:behavior proolems, ESL, learning problems.| don't like to see public money supportinginstitutions that can reject anyonethey like. Use public dollars to support public institutions. » Mary C. Lamb, Salt Lake City education to select group negative backlash thatwill produce.If wethink that crime andlawlessness: are bad now,take away the excellence of public education and see what happens. Everyone deservesto be educated , not just a few. » Susan Schow, Pieasant Grove UEA’s opposition evidence vouchers good for education Does Pat Rusk honestly believe thatby letting parents decide where their tax dollars should go, Utah will ultimately rob choice from taxpayers? | How to comment E-mailletters to dhletters@heraldextra.com | Fax to 344-2985 Mailto P.O. Box 717, Provo, UT » Letters must include the author's full name, address and daytime phone number. » Weprefershorterletters, 100 and 200 words. Letters ‘ maybe edited for length. » Writers are encouraged to include their occupation and other personal information. » Because of the volume of letters, wecannot acknowledge unpublished letters. . b Letters becomethe property of the Daily Herald. |