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Show Clp '"0 1 BY HARHY MARLOWE Sen. Alonzo F. Hopkin (D-Wood-rutf) made this clear when he said during the Tippetts-prompted discussion dis-cussion that rural counties "will not stand by and have three counties coun-ties control the legislature," which would happen in the case of Weber Salt Lake and Utah Counties on a reapportionment on a straight pop ulation basis. He said rural counties coun-ties were on the "lefensive" because be-cause urban areas had "forced the issue." Senator Hopkin then added ad-ded that "we intend to defend a way of life as dear to us as is. the way of city life to the uban legislators." leg-islators." Meanwhile, the legislation passed pas-sed by both houses has been non-controversial non-controversial and unspectacular. The Houge, however, did pass a bill to provide a gas tax refund on motor fuel put to non-highway use This would mean money in the pockets of farmers if it passes the Senate and is signed by the governor. gov-ernor. Proponents said it would take some $500,000 per year from gas tax revenues, which would mean that an increase in gas taxes would be forthcoming if the highway high-way fund is to be kept intact. Senators agreed to accept the measure for discussion in a full-scale full-scale consideration of the Utah Legislative Council's highway program, pro-gram, including a raise in gas taxes tax-es and an increase in truck licensing licens-ing fees. One thing the House did before ending the fourth week was remove re-move necessity of notarizing state income tax returns this year. When the Senate bill for that purpose reached the lower house, an emergency emer-gency clause, to make the lew effective ef-fective on approval, was attached. Now all it needs is a signature of the governor to release taxpayers from this little annoyance and fix it up so all that is necessary is to Legislature, something that hasn't been done since 1931. For sometime some-time it appeared the issue might be sidestepped again, despite appearance ap-pearance of a number of bills - -all in definite rural or urban classifications class-ifications - - on the subject. But Sen. A. I. Tippetts (D-Ephriam) chairman of the Senate committee on state and municipal a'ffairs, which held the bills in the upper house, suddenly asked that the Senate decide whether it wanted to consider them or not. He insisted that feeling on the matter was so far apart and so much emotion had been generated over the issue that any agreement between urban and rural factions is out of the question. He suggested suggest-ed that rather than "waste" days of debate, the matter might well be submitted for legislative council coun-cil study for two years. This failed to meet the approval approv-al of a majority of the Senate, however, and on a vote of 10 to 13 the body decided not to submit the question for study, but to debate de-bate it -on the floor. Senator Tippetts Tip-petts was. the only rural senator voting' to submit the question. He Whether education or Gov. J. Bracken Lee will have the most to say about taxes in Utah for the next two years has come to the fore as the one big issue facing the 29th Utah legislature. And with the 60-day session half over, education, through its school boards and legislature, threatens to take the matter of taxes right out of the governor's hands. In his opening message to the lawmakers, Governor Lee asked that they give first consideration to a reduction of income and sales taxes. Now the schools have come ' on with a bill endorsed by boards of education to raise the classroom unit alllowance under the uniform school fund from $3300 to $3800, to increase transportation allowance by $325,000 and to jump maximum districts may tax over and above the minimum for buildings and operation by 20 per cent, for four mills. This bill went sailing through the Senate without dissent and without an amendment, and is expected ex-pected to get little more opposition opposit-ion in the House. This would mean that, unless the bill is vetoed and the veto sticks, about any chance of income tax reduction is out the window, since income taxes form a major portion of 25 of the uniform school fund. The latter fund would be increased more than $3,000,000 by the classroom unit raise. sign the return as the citizen does his federal income tax. was joined by urban Sens. Brock- bank, Cannon, Day, Jensen and Watson, all of Salt Lake; Fowles and Jenkins, Weber; Thorn and Clegg of Utah County. On the other oth-er side, two urban senators, Mar-fhakis Mar-fhakis and Elggren of Salt Lake, joined rural Sens. Reese, Box Elder Muir, Cache; Hopkin of Rich, Summit, Sum-mit, Wasatch, Daggett and Morgan; Mor-gan; Ash ton, Duchesne and Uintah Paxton, Beaver and Millard; Lar-sen, Lar-sen, Sevier, Garfield, Wayne, Kane and Piute; Beal, Iron and Washing ton; Adams, Emery, Grand and San Juan; Milliman, Juab and Too ele; Gibson, Carbon; and Burns, Davis. Over in the House, the question had not been touched through the fourth week of the session, and it may not show until after the measures mea-sures hit the Senate. On thing that could happen is the eventual presentation of the matter to the legislative council, since a resolution calling for council coun-cil study of reapportionment was introduced in the Senate as a compromise com-promise in case a long debate produces pro-duces nothing. It appears that rural lawmakers holding the very slightest, and sometimes questionable, numerical edge in each house, will not relinquish relin-quish control of the House on a population basis without a more certain edge being granted in the Senate, such as an aqual number of senators in each county or senatorial sen-atorial district. Not more than 75 of the fund can be collected through property tax, but tax commission officials already predict passage of the bill will raise the property tax levy by nearly four mills ($4 on every $1000 valuation), which would indicate in-dicate that every nickle that can be raised by income tax will go into the fund. So perturbed is the governor over ov-er the turn o'f events that he has made up his mind to take the entire en-tire problem to the people in a series of radio broadcasts. He'll talk about taxes for schools, his own tax reduction and balanced budget program and he'll even go to the citizens over the disposal of the old state prison grounds. In regard to the latter, he insists all but a 35-acre plot be sold for private pri-vate development. The 35 acres, he said, should be sold to the Salt Lake City school district for a new high school site. Bills in the Legislature Legis-lature call for retaining the ground other than that proposed for a high school as a state park. Under a 1947 law, it is all reserved at present for state park purposes. Second only to the tax question is that of reapportionment of the |