OCR Text |
Show y'pl BggBil BY HARRY MARLOWE and has received a recommendation recommenda-tion of $130,000 from the governor and $214,497 from the committee. Carbon Junior College wants $267, 085, while the governor suggests $180,000 and the subcommittee recommends re-commends $278,479 against a current cur-rent appropriation of $185,000. Branch Agricultural College wants $427,370, while a governor recommends $300,000, the subcommittee subcom-mittee $367,000 and the current allocation al-location is $317,000. Experience of the University o Utah and the Utah State Agricultural Agricul-tural College is much the same as the junior colleges. Probably the only institution to be treated a little differently than the general pattern is the Utah State hopsital at Provo. Here the sub-committee recommended $75,000 more than institution requested, submitting a tentative figure of $2,100,000 a-gainst a-gainst the governor's recommendation recommenda-tion of $1,650,000 a request of $2,-025,900 $2,-025,900 and a current budget of $1,300,000. Committee action, to trim the appropriations to meet estimated revenue, will undoubtedly feature the sixth week of the session. And as a soon as it moves to the governor, gov-ernor, the attention will be fixed on that office. If the figures are too far out of line with the governor's gov-ernor's thinking, some vetoed i-tems i-tems might be expected and they might well be sustained. This was made quite clear when the first gubernatorial veto was sustained by the Senate during the 'fifth week.This veto was on a bill which allowed retailers to keep five percent, or not to exceed ex-ceed $100.00 per year in sales tax income as payment for colleting the tax. With the work of the appropriation appropri-ation committee of the Twenty-ninth Twenty-ninth Legislature about wound up and the big appropriations measure meas-ure ready for whipping into shape, it is evident that 1951-53 fund allocations al-locations are going to be considerably consider-ably higher than those of 1949-51. This may be directly opposite to the thinking of Gov. J. Bracken Lee, since in many cases the rec-commendations rec-commendations of the committee are higher than the amount suggested sug-gested by the chief executive, but lawmakers point out the commit-tee commit-tee stand also re'flects inflationary trends in connection with fixed costs. In providing for higher recommended recom-mended appropriations, the committee com-mittee is also higher than the governor in the matter of estimated estim-ated revenues, almost entirely because be-cause the governor figured his estimates es-timates on a reduction in income taxes and so cut his anticipated re venue by $1,500,000. Unable to take into account an income tax reduction because of the uncertainty of the proposal's passing in either house, the committee com-mittee set up an anticipated reven ue of $16,676,600. The governor estimates es-timates the available revenue at $15,095,022. Sen. Fred J. Milliman (D-Mam-moth) who heads the sub-committee on estimated revenue said that by adding $1,500,000 to the governor's gover-nor's figure, it very nearly approaches approa-ches that of the committee and is "Very realistic" in its aplication to the governor's budget. Examples of the appropriation sub-committee differences with the recommendations of Governor Lee may be found in tentative figures fig-ures for institutional appropriations. appropriat-ions. For instance, where the governor gover-nor recommended cuts of junior college appropriations, the com -mittee will be discussing its subcommittee sub-committee recommendations 'for 20 per cent increases over current appropriations. Weber Junior College at Ogden, which received $795,000 last bien-nium, bien-nium, asked a little over a million mil-lion dollars for the next two years, received a recommendation of $780 000 from the governoT and one of $950,583 from the sub-committee. Snow Junior College, at Ephriam recommended to get $200,000 by Governor ILee, will receive $241,-751, $241,-751, if the committees' suggestion sugges-tion is followed, against a request of $257,000, and a current appropriation appro-priation of $210,000. The same story is true of the others. Dixie College at St. George has a current appropriation of $195,000, has requested $232,000, In vetoing the item, the governor gover-nor said the bill would benefit only a small segment of the state's population and if the legislature wanted to benefit all the people, they could act favorably on his proposal to reduce income taxes. Since it requires eight votes to sustain a veto, in the Senate, the eight Republican votes and that of Sen. Marl Gibson . (D-Price) were more than enough to hold the line for the governor. Even Sen. Vern B. Muir (R-Logan), chief sponsor of the bill and a grocerman himself, him-self, voted to sustain. This would indicate the governor could depend de-pend on the eight Republicans to uphold his vetoes. It requires a two-third majority, or 16 votes, in the 23-man Senate to override. There are 15 Democrats and eight Republicans in the body. In regard to the Legislature's failure to act on his income tax reduction, the Governor, inciden- I tally, went on the radio last week in" defense of his program and blasted the legislators for "bowing "bow-ing to special interest groups" in passing bills that would benefit "only a few people." In answer to the Governor's accusations, ac-cusations, the Senate reflected the view of the legislators in telling the governor, in effect, to "mind your -own business and we will take care of our own affairs." A statement introduced by Sen. Alonzo F. Hopkin (D-Woodruff) and accepted as the concensus o the Senate bluntly reminded the governor that legislators felt they were in as "good a position as the chief executive" to know the thinking of the people. Governor Lee, however, undaunted undaun-ted by the stand of the Senate, took to the air again, to further push his program and discuss other oth-er issues facing the legislature. Meanwhile among bills passed to date was one to eliminate required re-quired notarization of income tax returns. This bill was signed immediately im-mediately by the governor and affects af-fects returns filed this year. Others Oth-ers would enable state employees, not now covered by state retirement, retire-ment, to come under the Social Security law, permit establishment of fire protection districts in outlying out-lying areas and permit adjoining counties, municipalities and unincorporated unin-corporated areas to join together to establish sewage disposal districts. dis-tricts. The two houses also countered in kiling a couple of measures. The House ended existence of the State Department of Veterans Affairs Af-fairs by killing a Senate bill that would have kept the department in operation to June 30, 1951. The Senate in turn killed a House bill which would have permitted cities and counties to install voting machines. |