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Show $tdet J BY HARRY MARLOWE dous increase in population due to the oil development. With passage of the Weber College Coll-ege bill, the House this week prepared pre-pared for work on a measure to appropriate $50,000 to the school lo initiate the two senior college years. That is the amount Weber wants for the first two years, but I sponsors of the bill admit they will seek much more in the year to I come. i "We won't ask for any more than the University of Utah or Utah , State Agricultural College two ' years from now," promised Sen. L. Rulon Jenkins (D-Ogden), however with his broad grin when asked how much the school would seek in the future. He was questioned by Sen.Mel-ich Sen.Mel-ich and Sen. Rue L. Clegg (R-Salt Lake) after the latter pointed out that . Weber College expansion would run into "several millions of dollars at the least." Principal arguments in support of the school in both the Senate and House point to a need for the school because of the advance in popualtion in the Ogden area and the claim that more than 80 percent per-cent of the students would come from the home area, as is the case at the University of Utah and Utah State. The Twenty-eighth Utah Legislature Legis-lature approached the mid-way point in its 60 day regular session this fourth week with most of its controversial issues yet to hit the two floors but with some rather definite policies taking shape. After all the favorable action ; during the third week in the direc-I direc-I tion of Weber College at Ogden, it appeared education is in for a 1 better deal than Gov. J. Bracken Lee rfecommended in his budget speech. At the same time, it appeared ap-peared evident the Legislature, as predicted, will Sake the "liberal" road, rather than one of strict economy ec-onomy in the propriations bill. Passage of the measure ' to set up the four-year Weber State College Col-lege places the matter squarely up ; to the governor, who has pledged i himself agaainst "expansion" of state services. Interesting in connection with the debate in the Senate on the Weber College bill (after it had passed the House, 42-16) was the announcement by Sen. Mitchell Melich (R-Moab) that if the bill passed he would ihtroduce measures meas-ures for creation of junior colleges in Richfield and the Uintah Basin. Considerable speculation has grown out of the latter announcement announce-ment and the consensus was that the senator's statement vas not just "idle talk." There was rather definite feeling that two-year pun-ior pun-ior colleges at Richfield and Vernal would be the next additions to the state system of" higher eucation, with many figuring the Uintah section sec-tion more entitled to such an institution in-stitution than most other areas, whether already with junior colleges coll-eges or not, because of the tremen- boys and girls under 16. A bill to repeal the state's excise ex-cise taxes on margarine went thru a stormy session in the Senate and finally came through after being amended to cut only the tax on yellow margarine from 10 cents to five cents per pound, the same as white. This alteration was made to please objectors who cited the fact that repeal of the tax would take some $600,000 per biennium from the state revenue. Also in the Senate during the third week, a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to ear mark all sales and use tax funds for welfare purposes was killed and a measure setting up the State Board for Alocholism as a separate agency instead of under the welfare wel-fare department was passed. Both these bills, plus the margarine mar-garine measure, presented the House with its first real controversial controver-sial action of the session other than Weber College, this week. Another An-other argument in the House was expected over a Sunday closing law bill introduced by Rep. Linn C. Baker (D-Ogden). Some fireworks were set up during dur-ing the week with introduction of several new measures in the two houses. Of particular note are new "severance" tax and welfare bills in the House. Introduced by Rep. Frank Bonacci (D-Price), Wayne Hinton (D-Hurricane) and others, ! the bill to tax resources would revise re-vise the current mine occupation tax 'bill to tax all natural resources on a graduated scale. This bill replaces re-places H. B. 85, a "severance" tax of five cents per ton on all resources, re-sources, which was killed in reference refer-ence committee. Repeal of the welfare lien law is sought in the latest welfare bill to appear. It was introduced by Mrs. C. L. Jack (D-Salt Lake). Early this week a bill to increase the "gas tax" from four to six cents was inroduced by Reps. Le-Grand Le-Grand Parman (D-Orem), Cyril K. Munk (D-Smithfield) and William M. Brotherson (R-Boneta). This bill would .exempt gasoline used for non-highway purposes. Among new bills to be introduced introduc-ed in the Senate is one by Sen. Lewis H. Larsen (R-Kanab) to exempt ex-empt homes and homesteads up to $2000 from taxation. Others, introduced intro-duced by Sen. Newell Knight (R-Salt (R-Salt Lake) would permit cities, towns and counties to set up a one percent sales tax. Senator Knight also entered an alternate set of 'bills which would raise the state sales land use tax from two to three percent with one percent to go to cities, towns and counties for "public improvements". Meanwhile, the joint appropriations appropria-tions committee buckled down to work, with indications the appropriations appro-priations to public institutions would come late on its schedule. The entire. House and Senate members mem-bers of the appropriations committee commit-tee visited state institutions in U-tah U-tah county Tuesday and will visit Utah's Dixie Feb. 11. The Senate voted against "junkets" as a 'body. I The third week, incidentally saw 'passage of two bills through both houses. One of them, a measure to set up a revolving fund of $250,000 for relief of winter-ridden livestock, was rushed through both the Senate Sen-ate and the House, and signed by Acting Gov. Heber Bennion, Jr. in one afternoon. Senate Pres. Alonzo F. Hopkins (D-Woodruff) started the measure on its way at 2:30 p. m. Wednesday and by 5 p.m. hay for stranded sheep was being ordered or-dered from Omaha, Nebraska. The bill provides for purchase of the hay by the State Agricultural Department for resale to sheepmen at cost, less one-half the freight charges, which are borne by the state. The other measure passed and sent to the governor would limit special deer permits to one per person per-son per year. This is the first fish and game bill to come up, but it is far from being the most controversial. A furore continues to rage on Capitol Hill over la measure introduced by Sen. Elias L. Day (R-Salt Lake) to ban the use of .22 caliber rifle and pellet air guns from everything but target shooting. A hearing during the third week, however, found Merrill Hand of the State Fish and Game Department Depart-ment explaining that original intent in-tent of the bill is to permit the fish and game department to designate 'congested hunting areas from which the .22 will be barred. Others however, hope to add another a-mendment a-mendment to the bill to make parents par-ents responsible for the use of the .22 rifle and pellet air guns by |
