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Show By Harry Marlowe The 31st Utah Legislature will be marked as the one which authorized the greatest regular session spending bill in history. It will also, unless Gov. J. Bracken Lee's veto power takes firmer hold than has been indicated to date, be known as the legislature which raised taxes. Both labels tend to be critical. Yet, neither in any way will reflect the actual record of the legislators who served the 1955 session. They are victims of circumstances beyond their control, and on the whole they have done a good job. Utah finances were ripe for legislature to get stuck with the label of record level some sweeping Qses of some carefully care-fully hoarded state reserve funds, spending and tax raising. But for the 1953 Legislature would have compiled a fiscal record of even more awesome proportions than will the 1955 legislators. During the 1955 regular session, ses-sion, lawmakers have authorized spending on r budget calling for some $72,000,000 being spent from state funds. The 1953 so-Ions so-Ions came up with a figure in the vicinity of $64,000,000. Yet,' before being critical of the 1955 lawmakers, remember that the 1953 special session authorized the transfer of some $15,000,000 from sales tax revenue and state surplus funds for school spending. spend-ing. Without that, there would have been a whopping property tax levy statewide. With it, the spending for the biennium, from state funds, hit a staggering $79,-000,000. $79,-000,000. It is unlikely that biennial bien-nial spending this coming two years will match that figure. Face Serious Problems Lawmakers this year found themselves facing several inescapable ines-capable factors. First, money had to be found to operate the schools. There were no surpluses from which to draw $13,000,000 as the 1953 lawmakers did. The fit ate had grown and there were few services which could be cut. True, the 1955 lawmakers plan to raise taxes corporation franchise fran-chise taxes, broaden sales tax, take In more Income tax. And they will still leave the capitol with a certainty that some six mills or more will have to be levied on property. Had they not raised taxes all along the line, the property tax bite could have been eight mills or more. And, the 1955 lawmakers lawmak-ers could have authorized state spending on a far grander scale than they did. The budget they turned in contains little fat. The job of making laws Is not a pleasant one at best. It can lead to some searing criticism, some deserved, some undeserved. So before being too critical of the fiscal record of the 1955 Legislature, Leg-islature, pause to reflect. It could have been a lot worse. |