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Show By J. J. Cahoon Utah State Press Association Salt Lake City, (Special to The PYRAMID), The problem of granting relief to the needy and ,aged of the state of Utah during the next biennium is likely to place Governor Herbert B. Maw in one of the worst legal entanglements en-tanglements of his political career ca-reer and possibly may require a special session of the legislature legisla-ture to straighten out the muddled mud-dled financial affairs of the state. Indrawing up the biennial appropriations ap-propriations bill, the joint legislative legis-lative committee provided that state welfare institutions the State Mental Hospital, State Training School, Tuberculosis Sanatorium, Miners' Hospital and Juvenile Court were to be financed from funds from the Emergency Relief fund. Before adopting this plan, the committee sought the opinion of Attorney General Grover A. Giles. In his official opinion, Giles told the committee that such a plan was feasible, but that present laws would have to be amended. The committe then amended quently was passed by both houses but which was vetoed by Maw to allow diversion of part of the sales tax revenues for the operation of these institutions for the biennium. When this measure had successfully success-fully negotiated both houses, the appropriations committee pro- 1 eded to draw up the money Dill, basing their entire framework frame-work on the theory that funds to un these departments would be iorthcoming from the Emergency Relief fund and all moneys in '.he general fund could be used lo finance the other departments of the state and to grant salary j increases, amounting to over $3,000,000, to sciool employes and teachers for the next two years. If the attorney general's opinion opin-ion on the use of these funds is correct and the fiscal officers of the state refuse to release sales tax funds for the support of the institutions, it means that they will have no money on which j to operate during the biennium. , However, Maw maintains he has sufficient authority to au thorize the transfer of sales tax funds regardless of his veto of SB-196. Despite the fact that the law says all funds in the emer-gncy emer-gncy relief fund are to be used for "the direct relief of and to cooperate with the national government gov-ernment in a social and work relief program for the aid of the needy and destitute, the aged, the orphans and dependent children of this state." Usually, Maw follows the advice ad-vice of his Attorney General when that advice conforms to the Chief Executive's views, but when the Governonr's views differ dif-fer with those of the Attorney General, then the Governor follows fol-lows his own beliefs. Maw vetoed SB-220, the master welfare bill, because, as he put it, "the bill eliminates all controls con-trols over the expenditure of money for public relief by the welfare department. Such a measure," he said," he said, "is dangerous and could easily result re-sult in a tremendous waste of public money." Maw also objected to the measure because he said it took away from the old people of the state all guarantees of the $30 minimum grant provided for in the present law and because it acomplished nothing that could not be done under the present laws. SB-220 was an old age assistance assist-ance bill containing a maximum grant limit of $45 and provided that all grants be on a budgetary need basis. Regardless of an old person's income, the welfare department de-partment under SB-220, if an investigation in-vestigation proved it to be necessary, neces-sary, could provide additional income in any amount up to $4.r o that old person. Following his vetoes of the two elfare measures, Maw ordered the welfare department to increase in-crease grants to the aged to $40 a month in all cases where the department found additional funds were needed to provide the aged person a reasonable sub-sistance sub-sistance compatible with decency decen-cy and health. It was understood that the department de-partment of welfare has been doing do-ing this for some time, without gubernatorial order. In fact, in some cases, it was learned some of the recipients were receiving as much as $85 a month. The governor ordered this in- crease on the theory that It could ' legally be accomplished under Section 10, Chapter 88, Laws of Utah, 1937, which reads: "Nothing "Noth-ing shall prohibit the state, district dis-trict or county boards from giving giv-ing additional assistance in excess ex-cess of $30 a month for doctor bills, hospitalization or a special diet, or medicine prescribed by a physician to any needy person j over 65 years of age, in cases the benefits provided herein are not ! sufficient to provide a reason- 1 able subsistance compatible with decency and health." It is interesting to note, that while the governor vetoed a master welfare bill based on a budgetary need basis, he fell back on a Utah law based on budgetary needs in order to increase in-crease grants to me aged. Four blind bills reecntly passed pass-ed by the legislature also have been signed by Maw. These laws permit blind per- sons under 21 years of age to re- ceive aid from the state; permit the blind to vote in elections with the aid of any qualified voter; permit the blind to earn $20 a month without having it deducted from state grants, and provide that only the financial status of blind persons be considered con-sidered in determining their state grants. As provided for in the recent legislature, a joint legislative legis-lative budget committee has been appointed by Senate President Presi-dent Grant Macfarlane, D., Salt Lake, and House Speaker W. R. White, D., Ogden. Members of the committee from the Senate are: Macfar- j lane; Ira A. Huggins, D Ogden,1 Alonzo F. Hopkin, D., Woodruff; Mitchell Melich, R., Moab, and James A. Kelly, R., Moab. Committee members from the House are: White; Grant Midg-ley, Midg-ley, D., Salt Lake; Adrian W. Hatch, D., Logan; G. A. Staples, R., Monroe and Quayle Cannon, Jr., R., Salt Lake. |