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Show FRIDAY, OCTOBER Poge Eight 18, 1974 THE SALT LAKE TIMES Need For Utah Is Utah Legislature Ponders Major jrcat Gen. Compromise Atty. Says Is In Use .and Act Counties - State Relations of Hallmark Fed Changes In Interim Stud Activity Rural The need for land use plan- State Legislatures across the nation have recently established a marked trend toward more sophisticated interimm (between sessions) legislative ivgular and management study programs controls. Utah appears to be at a point of decisions: to follow Mu trend or to stay with its present interim structure and program, according to Utah Foundation, the private, nonprofit research organization. Features of the current trend in interim activity, the Foundation reports, are: Involvement of more individual legislators in interim study activity. Use of regular legislative standing committees as joint interim study committees, with the aim to provide better correlation between interim and insession activity. To achieve this objective, many states have reduced the number of standing committees and provided that committees of the two legislative houses have the same names and jurisdictions. Provision of, and greater reliance on, expert professional staffs in the fields of research, legal, and fiscal matters. Tighter management control of interim activities. Considerable controversy surrounds the new developments in interim activity, the Foundation notes. Differences of opinion are so basic that frequently proponents and opponents of the new proposals view probably results in entirely different lights. For example: Opponents of expanded interim activity see it as a step toward langer legislative sessions. possigly culminating in e legislative activity, comparable to that of the Congress. This, they assert, would r, who force the on a his livelihood for depends of out or business profession, public life. This, in turn, would force reliance on the "professional, who makes a career of legislative activity. Proponents of the proposed change take an opposite view, and assert that only by expanding interim activity to include all members of the Legislature and providing them adequate professional staff can the on individuals be reduced sufficiently to permit the Htizen-legislatto continue to his traditional role in play pv.'rjcan public life. Present-da- y conditions are so complex lhat interim activity cannot adequately be carried out by a few members of the Legislative Council and other established interim groups, they say. time-deman- ds or mMMc ..rd&riT?r- - Utah established its Legislative Council in 1947 and extensively revised its organizational format in 1966. In 1966 the Beehive State created three additional interim groups, the Joint Budget and Audit, Legal Services, and Operations Commit tce. all of which have grown in activity and influence since that time. Appropriations for conduct of the Legislature itself have doubled since 1966, the Foundation reported, reflecting both inflationary factors and the establishment of annual legislative sessions. In the same period of time, appropriations to the Legislative Council have virtually doubled, and those to the three interim committees established in 1966 have increased from To-four- - to nearly seven-folcost of all interim activity comprised half the total approbation to the Legislative Branch of Utah government in 1967-6and has grown to more than 58 in 1974-7Bills providing for abolition f the Legislative Council and of the three interim committees created in 1966. and substituting for them a new and more extensive structure along the lines of current national trends, have been introduced in recent Utah legislative sessions but have not come to final vote, the Foundation reports. It is considered likely, though not certain, that the issue will reach the action stage during the 1975 regular legislative session. Whatever decision is reached may be expected to have efg and fects on Utah State Government, the Foundation reports. -- d. nl 7, 5. full-tim- citizen-legislato- far-reachi- ng long-lastin- Commissioners Refuse to Act on Leave Time of Merit Workers This past week the Salt Lake City Commissioners refused to act upon a proposal which would trim the required leave time merit workers must take when tehy campaign for the political to take a leave while elected officials continue to get their pay while they campaign for other offices. Mayor Jake Gam, who ;s campaigning for the U.S. Senate. challenged the lawyer, sayoffice. ing elected officials are entireThe city officials did indicate, ly different. Their jobs arent however, that they would aid protected by the merit system the Utah Public Employees As- nor do they get its benefits. sociation which requested the There is no discrimination. change in lobbying for a state Finance Commissioner Jenlaw to set up a uniform cam- nings Phillips Jr. said that the paign leave. city requires lhat the leave beJ. Francis Valergc, UPEA gin after the primary. The counlawyer, said that the change in ty requires 120 days before the the city rule was sparked by Alfred L. Olsen who is seeking general election and the state the county auditor seat. Mr. requires a leave as soon as the Olson, as accountant for the worker declares candidacy. He city auditors office, began his suggested a uniform state law. leave of absence after qualifying Parks Commissioner Conrad in the September primary elecHarrison said the city ordinance tion. Mr. Valerga suggested the gives merit workers a break leave be trimmed to one month when they run for Salt Lake and asked commissioners to for- City posts. The reason is that the mally propose such an amend- primary is two weeks before the ment to their ordinances. Mr. Valerga also said that Ihc general election and thats the ordinance is discriminatory be- - only time workers must be away cause it requires merit workers f from their jobs. J ning is statewide but some of the jrealest need for the Utah Land Jse Act is in the rural counties. John Preston Creer, chairman of the Protect Land In Utah Sensibly (PLUS) Committee told the Richfield Ro-aria- ns Monday. Examples of the rural counties needs for land use planning assistance range from Rich County in the north which is faced with the Sweetwater Development and has no local planning resources to Kane County n the south which is the site of he proposed Kaiparowits Power Project and has a grand total of $234 budgeted for county planning, Creer said. One of the major provisions of the Act is that it would enable he state to assist the counties in and use planning, Creer said. Control, however, remains at he local level. Make no mistakes about that, he said. Twelve of Utahs 29 counties presently have no money budgeted for planning activities, Creer said. YYet, it is these rural counties that are under some of the heaviest development pressures because of the energy and population booms, he said. Land throughout Utah is being bought up by wealthy simply as an investwithout ment, regard for its best use, Creer said. If a rich Californian buys prime agricultural land and then just lets it sit there, he is contributing to the stagnation of Utahs rural economy, not our growth, the proland use spokesman said. The Land Use Act would give the county commissioners the information they need to say, LLook, this is prime agricultural land Much represents only four percent of the states surface and thats the way it should be used. Creer said. out-of-stat- ers Sen. Moss Statement On President Fords Economic Message Assistant State Attorney General Robert Hansen said this week that compromise should be the hallmark of federal-stat- e relations in Utah. This was the summation of he remarks Mr. Hansen made ;o the Federal Executive Association. Mr. Hansen called for more give and take in settling differences peacefully. It would be totally impossible for the court to resolve all the conflicts that arise between state and federal agencies. Intelligent compromise of position is almost always to the mutual advantage of the agencies and the public. Mr. Hansen said that lately Utahs relationship with the ederal government is much improved. As an example, last week the five federal law enforcement agencies met with state and local lawmen to work out a cooperative agreement on enforcement. If this continues there will be a great improvement in our area. There is certainly enough for all the agen- cies to da. Of the most importance, the areas which are generally in conflict with the federal author- ities include Utahs suit against the secretary of the interior to gain title to the extensive oil shale lands in the eastern part of the state and the anti sex discrimination rules the Department of Health, Education and Welfare has proposed. The HEW proposal calls for the state universities to form womens intercollegiate football teams as well as deny official recognition to fraternities and sororities or lose federal grants. Mr. Hansen said. The conflicts with the Protection Agency have also played a role in straining the relationship between state and federal government, as have struggles over the ownership of the Great Salt Lake and federal habeas corpus cases. In regards to the habeas corpus cases state prisoners have been released from jail by fed Envi-ronmemn- tal eral judges because their federal constitutional rights may have been violated. But often state officials have been able to get the ruling reversed in the appeals court, Mr. Hansen said Free Audio-Visu- al Teaching Aid Offered To Schools A unique audio-visu- al long-playin- or fore-seetb- le out. School principals, administrators, teachers, school board members and PTA officials in- terested in obtaining a kit for a school system are urged to contact their local, authorized Beltone dealer, or write: Public Relations Department, Beltone Electronics Corporation. 4201 West Victoria Street, Chicago, Illinois 60646. Birds have the highest body temperatures of all creatures 104 to 110 degrees F. thought the President made a very strong appeal for a number of things which he says will help us to halt inflation. I think he was a little in saying that we could halt inflation immediately, because I am sure its going to be a longer period of time and it will take a considerable effort. I agree with most of the things he recommended. In fact, in some instances, I would even be stronger in my suggestions in dealing with this problem. But the President seems to be determined to go the voluntary route as far as possible. I am with him and I hope that we can make the voluntary route work, but am a little skeptical that we can I over-optimist- ic do so. One thing that troubled me a little is that the President asked the Congress to do some things before we went in recess. 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