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Show 4A The Salt Lake Tribune, Wednesday, February 16 19, Prison Gets OK Double Bunking at Young-Adu- lt By Douglas Parker g Tribune Political Editor The Legislature's budget-draftin- g committee Tuesday approved a 153 million corrections appropriation for nest fiscal year that will permit double bunking in the young-adul- t prison facility. The new direction backs an plan to utilize double bunking throughout the State Prison main facility as well as a separate section. It also settled a dispute brought adnvn-istratio- n young-offend- A-- House (Bishop) Remove requirement memthat firemen's retirement-systebers make redeposrts within two years of reemployment. By House HB160 (Bishop) Permit employers to credit. Inpurchase retirement-serviccluding credit for military service. By 61-- 0 SENATE BiHi transfers, the governor urged that supplemental appropriations be approved by the Legislature before it adjourns next week. He requested $825,400 be appropriated to higher education to allow colleges to keep classes open during the spring quarter, and $310,000 to cover utilities bills and continue existing programs at area vocational education schools. The governor said hes discussed his vetoes with legislative leader-shland oo veto override is anticipated. The governor said hes sure of at least a $25 million shortfall, thus p, requiring him to make painful choices in approving nearly all of the Legislatures cuts. He had recommended the shortfall be covered with money from a reserve fund. As he cleared the cuts on Wednesday for this fiscal year, a new revenue forecast for next fiscal year was being prepared that may estimate even deeper reductions are necessary in proposed spending. Legislative caucuses put budget discussions Tuesday on a tentative basis waiting for the latest forecast. The House and Senate caucuses approved a goal of a 1 percent salary hike for public employees pending a revamp in revenue estimates. But this is only half of what the governor recommended and the 2 percent amount pending approval for schoolteachers in the school aid formula. Gov. Bangerter let the $2.4 million cut in school building aid become law without his signature, a device used to express minor displeasure. At the same time, he urged renewed building aid appropriations for Sevier, South Sanpete and Wayne school districts, totaling about $175,000. flood-contr- 58-- HB159 37tti Doy ol great reserva- tions about taking any cuts because of building commitments. However, he added, education must participate in some of the overall budget trimming. The three small school districts should get some more money because the impact would be most serious there and operational problems would surface this school year, he said. Also without his signature, the third budget-cuttin- g bill takes away about $2.7 million for the University of Utahs performing arts building and $4.6 million for a womens prison diagnostic unit for this fiscal year. Gov. Bangerter urged the projects be given top priority in next fiscal years budget. The budgetary planning for next fiscal year, from the House caucus perspective, is now relying on using e about $28 million in funds, leaving some $25 million remaining in reserve. Should a newer revenue forecast indicate up to $10 million less revenue available next year, then more cuts in proposed spending or further tapping the reserve would be necessary, legislative leaders indicated. flood-reserv- Should even less money be available in this fiscal year than the $25 million already forecast, then the governor would likely be left with authority to trim budgets across the board at a later date to keep the budget balanced, leaders explained. House Potted pass), HB284 (McKeochnle, Lewis) Provide the Securities Division with cease and desist power ogalnst violators of the Uniform Securities Act. By House 61-HB288 (Sellenett) Prohibit the operation of o boat by an operator under the influence of alcohol or drugs. By House 58-HB301 (Browning) Amend provision for Civil Air Patrol expenditures. By House SB24 (Stratford) Repeal old oct concerning private arbitration procedures, which was reploced by a newer act. By House 63-Resolutions Passed H JR 24 (Browning) Direct the Utah Arts Council to hold a contest to determine the official state song. By House 65-HJR29 (Skousen) Supporting loint programs for parents and their children to reduce teenoge pregnancy. By House Bills Introduced HB397 (Brown) Set formula for reimbursed overhead for higher education. 49-1- HB48 (Moss) Provide develop teaching skills. pilot program to By House small-busines- 60-- hours under certain conditions. By House 40-3- (Myrln, et al.) Streamline and modify regulations affecting motor carriers. By House 59-HB101 LEGISLATURE I I Utahs consumers, they must have some independence. for a bill Senators also voted that would allow the state to regulate agreement contracts between contractors bidding on public construction jobs and their subcontractors. who Sen. Paul Rogers, sponsored the bill, said the measure would promote competition in the construction industry because it 16-1- 0 Priority Labels To Speed Bills You can tell the Utah Legislais winding up to wind down. With just a week left in the parley, House and Senate leaders have served notice that, by tures session y Thursday, legislation declared priority" will take precedence over any others awaiting committee or floor action. It means House and Senate rules committees will lapse into "sifting" duties, with leaders wiping floor dockets clean at the end of each day so that priority" bills stand a better chance than others by adjournment Feb. 26. Therefore, several measures that stand a shot today could be gone and never heard of again by tomorrow. would allow the participation of non- union contractors. Under the bill, the state could regu- late agreements that set certain w ages for different kinds of jobs that would be done on the project. Propo- nents of the bill say the agreements usually set union wages for all subcontractors to abide by, so it unfairly inhibits the participation of nonunion contractors. Opponents of the bill, including cities and towns and other entitites that let out large construction projects, said the current system works well and the new law could invite lawsuits. The opponents also claimed the proposed law would prohibit partici- contracpation from several hundred tors in the state that have exclusive contracts with union subcontractors. The Senate defeated a measure that would have taxed generating equipment and transmission lines of utilities owned by municipalities, as long as the equipment is outside the corporate boundaries of the municipality. said Sen. Omar Bunnell, taxpayers from outside municipalities with their own utilities would have to subsidize the muncipalities status of because of the those entities. But opponents of the bill said the municipal utilities make up for the break in other forms of tsxes The bill failed on a vote. It takes 15 votes for a measure to pass in the Senate. pt 14-1- 2 House Gives Bill for Free Bus Service a Ride to Senate By Dan Bates Tribune Staff Writer The Utah House of Representatives dispatched a bill Tuesday to provide free rides on public-transbuses between rush-hou- r periods to justify tax subsidies and promote use among the masses. Geared toward the Utah Transit Authority, Rep. Samuel Taylor, Lake, has been waiting to make a dent in the issue for years now, and House colleagues were willing to let him take a run at it. it Senate OKs Bid to Let Oath Takers Call on The measure must now pass the Utah Senate. d Lawmakers have kept on UTA operalegislation tions largely at bay in the past. "I think its about time we take this bill seriously, said Rep. Steven Rees, Valley City. Representatives agreed by a margin. Though commending Rep. Taylor as an able UTA watchdog, Rep. Lake City, said Bradshaw, the Wasatch Front mass-transsystem was one of the best operated in the United States." She has served on the UTA's board of directors. Rep. Bradshaw said mandating free rides during ridership hours would force the bus service to cut its budget by 10 percent. She applied a prevailing argument to the issue, claiming the UTA needed to remain financially viable to maintain quality service. With federal grants and a share of the states sales tax at its disposal, the UTA has been "wasting money on Legislator In May Reach $10 Million Taylor-sponsore- 49-1- 1 Af-to- n lt it The Spotlight Gods Help A newly elected person taking the oath of public office can include the words "so help me God, if that person so chooses, according to legislation that passed the Senate on Tues- day. The resolution, sponsored by Sen. would Wayment, propose to change the constitution to allow the inclusion of so help me God, in the oath of public office. Sen. Wayment said the wording in the constitutional amendment would be permissive, so the individual would not be compelled to say so help me God if that person did not want to. If the resolution passes both houses of the Legislature, it will be placed on the general election ballot in November for voter approval. Opponents of the measure said there is nothing now to prohibit including the words so help me God" in the oath, so the constitutional change is not necessary. "Tell a mother of two dead teenagers that you shouldnt separate beer and gas, countered Rep. Evan Olsen, Ward, who sponsored HB174 with Rep. Frank Johnson, Lake. We're always saying were against drunk driving. If we're against drunk driving, then lets do something to cut it down, Rep. Johnson said. Why do we sell convenient cold beer at a gas station? Because it's convenient to drink it," said Rep. H. Craig Moody, But Rep. Brent Goodfellow, Valley City, made a motion to outlaw beer sales completely if lawmakers were really serious. Otherwise, he said the bill would only sacrifice "little stores" to the benefit of "big stores." st A n Jor- Rep. Lloyd Frandsen, dan, one of the committees told the committee that as much as $10 million might be cut n from appropriations as the budget process continues. budHe said the get will be discussed Wednesday by the Legislatures Executive Approa body often priations Committee referred to on Capitol Hill as the hatchet" committee because of its trimming of agency budgets approved by legislative subcommittees. public-educatio- public-educatio- sacred. For that reason, the Republican senator from Cedar City often speaks out against proposed laws he believes put too much government into the lives of citizens and squelches individual freedoms. Tve always stood on the premise that we all have the freedom to do what we want until we step on someone else's freedom," said the lifelong farmer and rancher who was an Iron County Commissioner for 14 years before his election to the Senate 10 years ago. Sen. Matheson said he believes government that is closest to home is that which governs best and the less government involvement there is the better. He is working for legislation that would allow local governments to hold over surpluses to include in the next fiscal year's budget. Under current state law, they cannot hold over their surpluses, he said, so they cannot built up a nest egg. stops, but ridership continues to slump, said Rep. Taylor. The bus system "has more money than it knows what to do with," claimed the longstanding UTA critic, but poor management has shortchanged potential passengers. Also Tuesday, the House advanced n to the Senate an intricate measure designed to open Utahs highways to competition among commercial carriers. relaxHouse Bill 101, adopted 59-es a myriad of certification processes $47,000 bus trucking-deregulatio- conducted by the Utah Public Service Commission and expands carrier rights over certain intrastate routes. The deregulation issue was considered by the Legislature last year, but further study resulted in a compromise between existing carrier interests and those wishing to get a foothold in the state. Finally, the House passed a resolution to resolve an official state-son- g snarl, deciding to let private contributors fund a contest under the auspices of the Utah Arts Council. $6 Million Axed From Public Education With More Budget Cuts Possibly on Line cut. Sen. Ivan Matheson has spent his life on the land in rural Utah and believes a man's freedom is lion in annual revenues generated by beer taxes and license fees. economic-developm- ent" public-educatio- Dona Panel Rejects Bill to Ban Dual Beer and Gas Sales off-pea- k By Peter Scarlet Tribune Education Editor Nearly $6 million was cut from allocations Tuesday by the Joint Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee after one of its chairmen told lawmakers public schools may face a $10 million budget Sen. Ivan Matheson Continued From A-- l eluded the Utah Highway Patrol and the Utah PTA. A PTA spokeswoman stressed that even the Soviet Union was taking a hard line" against making alcoholic beverages accessible to its citizens. By allowing Utah retailers to sell both beer and gas, that's saying, drink and drive, in my book, she said. Yet committee members were persuaded by arguments that there is no statistical proof of a link between drunken-drivinaccidents and the org of purchase. igin This bill is discriminatory," said Jim Olsen, director of the Utah Retail Grocers Association. He said as many as 100 convenient stores would close and some 600 jobs lost if the choice between beer and gas sales was pushed. He added that state and local governments would lose nearly $1 mil- - d facility into a units in the your.g-adul- t center diagnostic "I bring this before you," she told the executive committee, "because this budget represents a major policy change in corrections policy this Legislature has established in past " years Mr. DeLand cautioned that that money to contract for outside jail space, as well as double bunking, will likely be needed next year if the prison population climbs at the current rate. 15-1- HB273 (Wornlck) Modify the painted medlon width requirement when stopping or passing a school bus from two feet to 10 feet. By House 57-HB274 (Gates) Authorize service districts to require mandatory sewer hookup under certain conditions. By House 57-- HOUSE said. Sen Wayment also objected to the plan for turning one of four non-unio- n 45-1- Bills Passed HB7 (T aylor) Require public tronslt disto In off peak run trict buses no-fa- Double bunking is the mosi economical way to provide space and deal with the increased inmates, he By Paul Roily Tribune Staff Writer The Senate passed bills Tuesday that would give more independence to the state agency charged with representing the little guy in utility rate heanngs and to make it easier for contractors to bid on public construction projects. But the body rejected a bill designed to tax some properties of municipally owned electric utilities. The Senate voted 0 to pass on to the House a bill giving some autonomy to the State Committee of Consumer Services. The committee exists under the auspices of the Division of Public Utilities in the Department of Business Regulations and is charged with representing residens consumers in tial and utility-rat- e hearings before the Utah Public Service Commission. The measure, sponsored by Sen. would allow the Karl Swan, citizen committee to appoint the executive director and give the director some independence from the director of the Business Regulation. The bill was proposed after members of the committee complained their executive director, Joe Ingles, has been under pressure from the current officials in Business Regulation and that there have been rumors Mr. Ingles may be dismissed. Sen. Sean said in order for the director of the committee and the committee itself to do its job on behalf of 63-- HB161 (Bishop) Hold retirement refunds prior to 60 days from the lost day paid and until service credit Is verified. By House 53-H8163 (Bishop) Subject exempted officials to employment penalties By House 63-HB164 (Bishop) Amend definitions and benefits under the public safety-retiremesystem. By House 61-HB237 (Brown) Exclude sailboards from registration and life preserver re64-quirements. By House HB245 (McKeochnle) Chonge the formula through which money In the Mineral Lease Account Is allocated. By House (Rogers) Prohibit any requirement for labor collective bargaining or ottier employment conditions in bidding for work on public construction protects. By Senate 16-1S8116 (Swon) Make the Committee of Consumer Services on independent state ogencv, able to hire Independent legal counsel and provide utility bill Inserts By Senate, Allow public airSB 133 (Bongerter) ports to receive money from the sale or use of motor fuel for construction. Improvement, operation or maintenance purposes. By Senate HB21 (Warnick) Relate bicycle laws to those of vehicle drivers. By Senate 21-HB91 (Warnlck ) Provide uniform specifications for school-crossin- g zones. By Senate 22-HB144 (Stephens) Make statutory provision for supplemental stop lomps on vehicles. By Senate 21-Resolutions Passed SJR11 (Wayment) Add the phrase so help me God," to the oath of office taken by all elected or appointed officers. By Senate 20-HJR32 (Wornlck, Brown) Commemorate the centennial of the Statue of LiberBy Senate 22-ty. By House 61-Bills Killed SB 146 (Bunnell) Provide for the od valorem property taxation of municipally owned utilities which are located outside the geographical boundaries of the city. Killed By Senate 2 (Needs 15 votes to SB89 enced since September, with new inmates entered at the rate of more than one a day, or the equivalent of 400 a year. He said a previously approved $30 million prison renovation providing additional bed space isn't expected to be available for a year and a half Senate OKs Consumer-Service- s, Construction- - HB142 (E. Knowlton) Make corrections the assessment of the oil and gas levy ond the voted leeway progrom levy By In l He said he had lt lt Governor Vetoes SI Million In Budget Cuts Continued From predicated on approval of a $213,000 supplemental appropriation to initidouble bunking ate the young-aduthis fiscal year, and another 1180.000 in operational costs next fiscal year. Subcommittee House members backed the plan, permitting more money for probation officers, and spurning a Senate counterrequest for $500,000 to contract for outside jail space to hold offenders. Gary DeLand, director, State Department of Corrections, said a surge in prison population has been experi subfrom the corrections-fundincommittee. House members urged the double bunking, but Senate members opposed the idea. Sen. Dona Wayment, subcommittee agreed with double bunking in the main prison for older offenders, but said the wrong social climate would be creatoffenders by such ed for young-adua cell system, a philosophy that will perhaps contribute to repeat offenders. The budget approved, however, is n Sen. Haven Barlow, the told committee's other legislators the proposed cuts were the result of consultations with State Office of Education officials and legislative analysts. After considerable discussion and unsuccessful attempts by several legislators to adopt motions, the committee agreed to about $5.7 million in budget cuts to several educational programs. Lawmakers agreed to reduce their previous $10 million teacher-caree- r ladder appropriation by $4.9 million. They further agreed to drop year-roun- d school appropriations by and outcome-baseeducation by nearly $100,000, thus saving a $150,000, d $108,600 allocation they previously made for teacher salaries at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind. Other programs affected by committee budget slashing included er-ladder funding in the state's five area vocational centers as well as a portion of funds previously allocated care- 4 lor students on waiting lists at the centers. The lawmakers also approved a motion offered by Sen. Brent Over-soJordan, to take $350,000 previously appropriated for "incentives for excellence to be applied to a supplemental budget request to restore Legislature-mandate- d budget cuts to school building programs in several school districts. Incentives for excellence is a portion of the $1 million requested by Gov. Norm Bangerter to finance training in schools for the use of school volunteers and to encourage schools to raise private funds by holding out the bauble of state matching funds. In addition to these matters, committee members heard a request by Lake, to Rep. Robert Sykes, e insert intent language into the bill specifying that at least 25 percent of teacher career-ladde- r funds be used to pay teachers bonuses lt school-financ- on the basis of their performance a form of merit pay. While language now specifies that only 10 percent of the career-ladde- r funds must be spent on performance or merit pay, he said most school dis- tricts allocate more than 25 percent to performance and that the state average is 27 percent. Betty Condie, president of the 15,000 member Utah Education Association, urged committee members to reject Rep. Sykes proposal, arguing that it would break faith with the career-ladde- r program before it has even been fully funded. Committee members couldnt vote on the proposal because there wasnt enough senators present for the quorum but agreed that the representative's proposal would be included in the school-financ- e bill's intent language if a majority of the committee's representatives and senators signed a statement in support of the proposal. Committee Stalls Bill to Outlaw Intentional Spreading of AIDS A bill designed to outlaw the intentional spreading of AIDS failed to pass out of a Senate committee Tuesday after a health official said the measure would make criminals of children who attended school with a cold or the chicken pox. The Senate Health Committee voted to hold a proposed "Medical Assault" law sponsored by Sen. Jack Bangerter. which would make it a felony to knowingly spread or threaten to transmit communithird-degre- e cable diseases. Sheldon Elman, deputy director of the state Health Department, said while the bill was 4 aimed at stopping AIDS carriers from spreading the deadly disease, the broad nature of the proposed legislation Was taking a fishing net instead of going after it with a spear," Sheldon Elman, deputy director of the Health Department, said the plan was obviously aimed at stopping AIDS carriers from threatening other people. He said the bill was probably spurred by an incident last year in Bountiful in which an AIDS carrier spit at other persons. But the only known methods of AIDS transmission are through sexual intercourse, blood mixing or heredity, he said. . ! ; -- . |