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Show COUPLE OF PARTY MEIISURBPJISSEO PUBLIC UTILITIES AND THE INITIATIVE IN-ITIATIVE AND REFERENDUM RUNi THE GAUNTLET. Lower House Unanimous for Public Utilities Measure, While Senate Approves the I. & R. Measure of Steering Committee. Salt Lake City. The lower house passed the public utilities bill on February Feb-ruary ' 27, after making a few slight changes recommended by the committee. commit-tee. The vote on the measure was 44 to 0, two members being absent. The most important amendment made was the reinsertion of the long and short haul clause, which had been eliminated by the senate. The house was notified that Governor Gover-nor Bamberger had signed the Young resolution for submission to the people peo-ple at the next general election of a constitutional amendment providing for state-wide prohibition. The primary election repeal bill, a measure granting the right to eminent domain to gas companies outside of incorporated cities and towns and a: number of other measures of lesser importance were passed by the house on February 27th. Consideration of the McKinney bill in regulation of the practice of architecture archi-tecture furnished the feature of the day on February 27. The house was completely upset and parliamentary rules were heartlessly trampled. The discussion was the warmest to date. Passing the senate with hut two dissenting votes the initiative and referendum hill as it had been prepared prepar-ed by the Democratic steering committee commit-tee and revamped by the public affairs af-fairs committee of the upper house was sent to the lower house on February. Febru-ary. 27 for action. Appropriations for the continuing state road fund were cut $100,000 for the coming two years, when the senate sen-ate on February 27 passed the hill by Senator Armstrong, which was intended intend-ed to repeal the continuing opropria-tion opropria-tion for $201,600, which has 'been in force for a number of years. The transient live stock tax bill, which was introduced in the house by Hammond of Grand county, was passed by the senate on February 27. This bill differs from the Wootton transient live stock tax bill in that it provides for the reciprocal taxation methods, in effect in other states. The senate on February 27 passed the substitute bill for the Indian war veterans pension bill, which was re- ttirnArl tn thfi hntisp. hv Governor Bam berger, with the suggestion that a substitute bill be drafted. Under the provisions of a bill which was passed by the senate on February Febru-ary 27 the boundary line between Uintah and Duchesne counties is fixed at a point 160 rods east of the Roosevelt Roose-velt townsite. Governor Bamberger on February 27, returned to the legislature the bill introduced by Berg of Utah county for the relief of the Indian war veterans and upon his recommendation the bill was killed by the submission of a substitute sub-stitute measure. Salt Lake City The irrigation district dis-trict bill which was recommended to the senate by the United States reclamation recla-mation service was passed by the senate on February 24, and now goes to the governor for his signature. The bill is the result of a series of investigations inves-tigations which have been conducted by the federal government and by the different western states where irrigation irriga-tion projects are contemplated for better bet-ter methods of forming communities into irrigation districts. Under the provisions of the bill irrigation districts dis-tricts may avail themselves of the credit cred-it of the United States in the building of new projects through having the federal government underwrite the bonds of the irrigation district under the proposed Chamberlain law which is now before the national house of representatives. In Utah the settlers on irrigated projects have heretofore formed water users' associations for handling water affairs of the community and for defense of water rights and for financing the various projects. Under Un-der the provisions of the bill just passed the governor of the state designates des-ignates the district which is to be Included In-cluded in the proposed irrigation district, dis-trict, and aplication is made by those residing oh the tract. There must be not less than fifty settlers. Thirteen bills were disposed of at the afternoon session of the house on February 24, seven of which were de-j abounded and all ballots were warmly . contested. I The Southwick measure providing for the creation of a state water rights' commission, passed by a vote of 35 to 6, with six members absent. The bill carries an appropriation, an l ! the duty of the commission is to be ' in the making of an accurate state water survey, that litigation over wa-j ter rights, said to be prevalent in al: parts of Utah, may be brought to an J 2nd. Representative R. W. Young, Jr., of Salt Lake was chosen by the house of representatives in caucus on February Febru-ary 24, as "house whip" to take personal per-sonal supervision of the work of steering steer-ing party measures through the lower low-er house of the legislature in the closing days of the session. While members of the house of representatives rep-resentatives profess to believe that lobbying should be materially restricted, restrict-ed, they do not believe that it should be absolutely abolished, according to I action of a majority of the body in killing the anti-lobby measure. J |
