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Show u By Harry Marlowe I From a post-season vantage point, it appears the Twenty-ninth Twenty-ninth Utah Legislature is in somewhat of a six-months recess. Actually it adjourned sine die at the end of its 60th day last Thursday, all even with Gov. J. Bracken' Lee on tax Issues, but It has a promise that it will be called on to resolve the school tax problem before the year is out. Within 24 hours after adjournment, adjourn-ment, Governor Lee said he is planning to get a study of the uniform school fund completed and to call a special session "in the fall" to set up a "proper' classroom unit figure. He was about as upset over the appropriations bill, but insisted in-sisted he could fit the budget to revenues by vetoing several items in a supplemental bill forced out of the Legislature. In the closing days of the regular reg-ular session, the lawmakers put through a new school bill to fix a classroom unit figure of $3500 against the present $3300. This got the same veto treatment as the $3,600.00 bill passed previously, pre-viously, and the governor's action ac-tion was sustained in the House. First, however, it was overridden overrid-den in the Senate on a vote of 16 to 7, exactly the two-thirds majority reauired. As a result of the action in the House, the governor got his way on the school tax issue after being be-ing Ignored in his request for reduction of income and sales tax. In both veto messages on school bills, the chief executive stressed the need of a study to determine just what the class room figure should be. He wanted want-ed it left as at present, a study made and a special session to determine the final amount. "Even if it should go to $4000", he remarked, "we could be sure the amount is based on fact." Farticularly was the governor bitter about what he called the "pressure school lobby". In his closing statement to the legislature upon its adjournment adjourn-ment he said: "It is to be hoped that in future years those individuals indi-viduals and groups who are interested in-terested in legislation which is of concern primarily to themselves, them-selves, will recognize the handicaps handi-caps and, after presenting their problems, will permit the members mem-bers of the Legislature to delib erate, debate and decide these problems without undue pressure or strain." Study of the uniform school fund and the minimum classroom class-room unit will be the responsibility responsi-bility of the Utah Legislative Council. This organization will not be set up for a few days yet. with Speaker of the House Clifton G. M. Karr tR-Tremon-ton) and Senate Pres. J. Francis Fowles (D-Ogden) yet to name the five representatives and five senators to serve. In addition, each of the house leaders will specify a member at large and the governor will name his representative. rep-resentative. Governor Lee will urge that the council study possibility of placing the state's responsibility to the State Teacher Retirement fund into the uniform school 'fund. State appropriations to the (fund, required to meet teacher contributions, are about $9,000,-,000 $9,000,-,000 in arears, and are scheduled to get ever fr.rther behind during the next bivnnium. There is only I $1,800,000 provided in the appropriations ap-propriations bill against the $2,- 450,000 necessary to meet teach-er teach-er contributions. The governor and many others oth-ers would attach this appropriation appropri-ation to the minimum school program and directly to the minimum min-imum classroom unit figure, which definitely would run it between $3500 and $4000. The only issue in which the governor was overridden was basic budget for higher institutions institu-tions on a classroom unit basis. He vetoed this measure with a plea that the bill be amended jto include dedicated credits (tuition (tui-tion fees, etc.) in the formula. The Legislature passed the measure mea-sure over the veto after Sen. Marl D. Gibson (D-Price), member mem-ber of the Utah Legislative Council Coun-cil who headed a subcommittee , that worked out the formula with I college leaders, had agreed with (the governor that dedicated ere dits should come into the formula. for-mula. He added, however, that "this is such a big step forward that I think the bill should be passed and the other matter studied and determined in the next two years. Re-apportionment was finally I side-tracked by the Senate and 1 sent to the legislative council for study after a brief flurry between urban and rural senators. Sen. Alonzo F. Hopkins (D-Woodruff) summed up by pointing out that urban lawmakers had been the aggressors in the issue and that despite their higher population, the rural areas would not give over complete control of both houses to the city dwellers. "We are just as jealous of our way of life as you are of yours, and we'll fight to preserve it," he declared. While the tax issue was "middle "mid-dle of the rood", there were plenty plen-ty of other issues, medium and minor, that were settled in the 141 bills and several resolutions passed by both houses. A highway high-way program was settled upon by lawmakers, with a gas tax increase in-crease of one cent included. Also the Legislature arrived at an agreement on an increased truck licensing scale after downward alterations had been made on smaller trucks as used on farms. Also the lawmakers passed again a bill to refund tax paid on gasoline put to non-highway use, applying largely to farm equipment and the like. This bill has been approved twice in the past, only to be vetoed. Allocation of $4,670,000 was also made to education and welfare wel-fare institutions for construction, with funds to come from the building reserve set up from emergency relief fund surpluses. |