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Show I 1 - By Harry Marlowe Utah's 30 Legislature was a session of compromise a strange combination of decreased decreas-ed taxes and increased spending. The spirit of compromise held right to the last hours of the session when a joint conference committee settled the problem of fish and game license fees amid feverish preparations for adjournment. ad-journment. Compromise was apparent in nearly every major issue settled by the lawmakers even if Gov-J." Gov-J." Bracken Lee did have to help the trend out once in a while with some well-placed vetoes to keep the balance between tax reductions re-ductions and spending. There was no doubt that the 19f)3 session was a spending session. ses-sion. The appropriations bill, which finally hit the figure just under SGl.OOO.OOO represents the greatest total outlay of revenue for state expenditures in the history his-tory of Utah. And the upwards of SSOO.OOO approved by the legislature in special bills which were not covered cov-ered by the appropriations bill shoved the spending nearly up to the $70,000,000 mark. Yet, the most notable achievement achieve-ment of this quizotic session was reduction of state income taxes a reduction which will actually be felt in dollars and cents by practically every person in the state. And another notible feature of the session is that big as it is, the budget, even with the outside out-side special fund spending, still balances even though there might be precious little for unexpected un-expected monetary needs. There were several measure included in-cluded in the 800,000 special bill appropriations which probably will not get approval of Gov. Lee, which will bring the budget bud-get even more into balance. Included in these special funds not likely to get gubernatorial approval are such proposals as $250,000 for establishment of an educational television station, $150,000 to the State Board of Alcoholism Al-coholism for a clinic for alcoholics, alco-holics, and $50,000 for establishment establish-ment of Pony Express statues in l Utah and Washington, D.C. Then there is such things as $100,000 for establishment of a State Tourist and Publicity Council, Coun-cil, $30,000 for printing and distribution dis-tribution of information pamphlets pamph-lets at the state capitol, $-11,000 for improvements at "This Is The Place" monument park, $25,000 for rainmaking research, $10,000 for cricket control, and a $30,000 revolving fund for purchase of surplus property. There were no state-wide provisions pro-visions made for money for public pub-lic school use, unless you count the transfers made from sales tax revenue to the schools to make up for revenue lost to schools because of the income tax cuts and the property tax removal. re-moval. And this very fact might bring about sufficient pressure to force the governor to call a sjeciai session which could thrown more burden on the state's coffers, tilt the balanced budget out of whack and necessitate a statewide state-wide property tax levy. The governor gov-ernor has indicated that he is in no way committed to call such a session, but has declared he will give careful eocnsideration to a legislative council study of the recommendations of the 60-man 60-man public school survey commission. com-mission. Right now, the consensus consen-sus is that the council recommendation, recom-mendation, after making the study, stu-dy, will be for a special legis-lative legis-lative session to study the school fund problem. The schools did get a $2,157,000 fund for emergency state aid to districts which have exhausted all local methodst of raising funds. But even this is not going to solve all the problems the school survey commission raised. And educators say this extra aid will not even scratch the surface of needs in the districts involved. One of the events of the final days of the session which showed most clearly the compromise spirit spi-rit which pervated most of the session was the final action on the bulky fish and game code. This measure, which achieved the dubious distinction of being the most amended proposal of the whole session, was kicked around in the Senate for three week';. When it came over to thp House, it carried provision for a S7 fee for combination licenses and a $4 charge for individual hunting, fishing or game bird permits. The House passed the bill once, then got it back in the last mo-jments mo-jments of the session to cut the ! combination fee to $6, leaving !?he other rates at trie present $3 figure. Neither body would budge 'from their version of the bill, so la compromise committee went to . work. Final form of the bill was $6 for the combination fee. and $3.50 for the others. One thing this session accomplished accomp-lished that no other legislature since 1031 has been able to touch was the disposal--for the time being at least--of the reapportionment reappor-tionment issue. This again was a compromise. The Senate compromised first, setting up a bill halfway I1-tween I1-tween the aims of the rural and urban factions. This measure died in the rurally-dominated House. Then the House passed its own version of the bill. In the last (lavs of the session the Senate capitulated and passed the House proposal. Briefly the House measure calls for a constitutional amendment which would give each county in the state one senator, and set House membership at 75 persons. per-sons. This proposal will go to the voters of the state on the 1954 general election ballot, and if approved, will have to be implemented im-plemented by legislation by the 1955 Legislature. Under terms of this bill, if approved by the electorate, control con-trol of the Senate would pass completely into the hands of the less-populous counties, but control con-trol of the House will be overwhelmingly over-whelmingly in the four county Salt Lake, Weber, Utah and Davis Da-vis area. Davis county would benefit the most, getting three representatives representa-tives instead of the one it now has. Salt Lake City would go up to 27 representatives and Utah and Weber counties would also get increased representatives. But at the same time, the outlying out-lying counties which now get a senator by agreement every so many years, would be represented represent-ed in the upper chamber each time. In all, the 1953 session accomplish accomp-lish a creditable record. Even Gov. Lee, whose vetoes and threats of vetoes managed to keep most of the spending to within the realm of state income, had a kind word for the legislators legis-lators in his closing message. The chief executive, who had been greatly displeased with tho legislators up until the final week, mellowed in the end helped no doubt by the fact that every one of his seven vetoes was upheld. Only two Sunday closing clos-ing and py hikes for court reporters re-porters were even tested. On the subject of pay hikes practically every elected official in the state and all the top appointive ap-pointive officers got pay hikes. All the bills in this category' were passed into law without the signature of the governor, but the pay question was settled. |