Show UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME my by JAMES CONRAD with the business of organizing barely behind it irth legislature already is faced with battles batties over labor water and political problems resulting from appearance of 45 3 bills a record number for the two houses during their first week of action most of the major legislation was introduced in the senate where organization was completed quickly while the house carrying its first republican majority in li 16 years spent most of the week looking for employed emp loyes and setting up committees two labor bills were tossed into the senate hopper by interests seeking the advantage of early consideration both would tag labor with as many as six unfair labor practices in an attempt to make em employed emp loyes and unions responsible under labor relations law accord ing in to sponsors first of the measures to appear vas authorized by sen warwick C lamorfaux Lamor caux D salt lake and would repeal little wagner act and set up a new set of labor relations laws in its place the second was sponsored ored by sens rue L clegg R salt lake and H grant vest D Uin taK tali and carried the endorsement of the utah citizens for sound legislation lynn S richards counsel for the endorsing organization and a fornier former member of the senate from salt lake said the latter measure does not go so far as the lamor caux bill but that they are arc similar in equalizing responsibilities ot labor with those already borne b by industry I 1 of particular interest on a statewide basis was the forming of battle lines over the control of the states water development program controversy arose over two water development measures neither of which was introduced but both of which received as much discussion on the senate floor as did any of the 59 measures introduced in the upper house sen mitchell helich R grand a member of the interim committee to study colorado river problems as they apply to utah prepared one of the measures the other is fathered by william R wallace president of the utah water users the former seeks appointment of a state water board of in 15 members including the state engineer and two directors from each of seven water districts with the board to handle survey and development of small streams and small reservoirs within the state the bill would make the water board a state agency responsible I 1 for development of all intra intrastate waters and would leave the colorado river compact duties with the state engineer board members would be appointed by the gover nor with with approval of the senate the wallace bill sets up the board of directors of the utah water users As sri in an advisory capacity to the state engineer in the development of intrastate waters and leaves interstate waters entirely with the state engineer it would also provide a board of five experts to be appointed by the governor without consent of the senate to put a final check and set up priorities on water projects proponents of the two bills attempted to get together and iron out difficulties without success they did agree however p to turn the bills over to a compromise committee of 11 including four senators and three salt lake and ogden attorneys in a single meeting the compromise I 1 committee agreed that a single bill could be drawn to set up a state water board as proposed by gov herbert B maw in his message of 15 men to be given authority as a state agency to administer all water development affairs both interstate and intrastate either as an independent body or in conjunction with the state engineer and his office working out the compromise measure are sen J welton ward D box elder chairman of the senate agriculture committee rep horace L allred R duchesne chairman of the house irrigation committee A lonzo alonzo W watson secretary of the utah water users and representing proponents of the wallace bill and a representative senta tive of bill supporters extensive debate is also expected over two election bills one seeking elimination of the runoff and changing the primary election date to the second tuesday in september as introduced by sen ward C holbrook D davis and one providing a headless ballot through removal of party emblems and designating igna ting a candidates party affiliation under his name as introduced by senators holbrook and some sort of a record was also set in the size of a bill when sen grant midgley D salt lake submitted a page state insurance code worked out by hi his s interim committee to study insurance legislation speed too came into the picture with passage by both houses of a joint resolution to set up a committee of 15 including five from each house four from the municipal league and one from the state tax commission to study participation of municipalities and counties in state revenues such as liquor profits this committee which is to report to the legislature not later than feb 3 1947 is comprised of sens ward C holbrook D davis elias L day R salt lake lorenzo E elggren D salt lake and david jones R utah reps 11 11 II lunt R iron winford bunco bunce R grand harold A stevens R wasatch joseph L newey D weber and john A murch D cache mayors earl J glade salt lake city alma D tanner tooele thoele B il II String liam vernal and J W gill gillman orem and a member of the tax commission to be announced later among other measures introduced in the senate were bills to make discrimination because of race creed or color a misdemeanor creating crea a fair employments practices act to make unlawful the discrimination of employers against employed emp loyes on account of race creed or color to set up a legislative council to function between sessions proposing the presentation of the proposition of it a cons constitutional atu convention to the ele electorate and revising the state grand jury system meanwhile the howe house hopper ws 5 filled with a total of art M bills most of which except for three appeared to be nonpolitical non political arid and of not too controversial a nature two of the hottest bills i in n the house are HB 7 and HB S 8 both sponsored by rep maurice anderson D utah which would remove the state engineering commission road commission entirely from control of the state finance commission these bills propose that the engineering commission coffi mission I 1 be operated under authority of the i governor and the state board of examiners gov herbert B maw already has strongly expressed his disapproval of the bills on grounds that control and classification of wage rates expenditures and other operations is much more efficient than operations carried on differently by individual departments the road commission however desires the change because the way then would be open for an increase in engineers salaries badly needed to entice engineers to join the staff the third bill is sponsored by ralph E robson R weber and would set standards for all fertilizers sold so id in utah A similar measure was was introduced during the last session where it passed both houses after hot and extensive debate only to be vetoed by the governor other house measures included proposals to continue the tax for building projects for cities for five years more to liberalize the work mens compensation law to require majority approval of county commissioners ners in counties where the state department of public welfare might seek consolidations and the introduction by title only of the senate labor bill endorsed by the utah citizens for sound legislation the house labor bill was introduced trod by rep clifton G M kerr ken R box elder et a al |