OCR Text |
Show I Under Utah's Capitol Dome j By James Conrad The honeymoon is over on Capttol Hill. Peace and tranquility that has marked relations between the 27th Utah Legislature and Gov. Herbert B. Maw have been replaced re-placed by the old feud over politics poli-tics and appointments. What will come out of the situation sit-uation is pure speculation at this stage, but either the Governor or the Senate must give ground during the next two weeks, if the state's official family is to be complete when the legislators ad-jorn ad-jorn sine die. There appears little doubt in Capitol corridors that the Senate, and especially its Republican members, is holding up some of the Governor's Democratic commission com-mission appointments in an effort to force reappointment of Otto A. Wioslcy, Republican, to the Utah Industrial Commission. The Governor already has submitted sub-mitted the name of H. Fred Eg-an, Eg-an, of Salt Lake, for the position now held by Mr. Wicsley, and he was one of five who failed to draw a commitment from the Senate following an executive session during the session's sixth week. Others submitted, but neither confirmed nor refused, were J. Lambert Gibson, Democratic chairman of the State Tax Commission; Com-mission; Dr. Philo T. Farnsworth, Democrat, for the State Public Welfare Commission; and Arthur L. Crawford, Republican, and Rulon S. Howells, Democrat, for the State Publicity and Industrial Indus-trial Development Commission, Gibson, Crawford and Howells are all interim appointments and their names were submitted as early as Jan. 21, while names of Egan and Farnsworth, the latter appointed to the Welfare Commission Com-mission when the Senate refused to confirm the interim appointment appoint-ment of Wendell Grover to fill the unexpired term of David Trevithick, were profered during the- past two weeks. Probably more disturbing to the amiable relations between the Governor and legislature than the appointment issue during dur-ing the sixth week was action on a "headless ballot" bill. Governor Gov-ernor Maw took an alloted five days to veto the measure, and the Senate responded by overriding over-riding the veto on a 17-6 count. The House, however, was not inclined to override and the proponents pro-ponents of the. measure were successful suc-cessful in putting the bill on the table by a 37-20 vote. The one state department to grab a lion's share of attention was ifre State Department of Publicity and Industrial Development, Develop-ment, which was finally given $300,000 per year from motor vehicle registration funds to carry on its operations. Governor Gover-nor Maw's action is still awaited and it is remembered he told a press conference that the department depart-ment must have 400,000 per year to carry out its program. Legislators Legis-lators point out, however, that the department has more than $300,000 in unincumbered funds to add to its appropriation. The question of taxes occupied most of the time of members of the House during the week. Seven of a series of eight measures, mea-sures, sponsored by the Utah Tax Study Committee and designed to equalize property assessments throughout the state, were approved. ap-proved. The eighth measure, HB-94, to provide for removal from office of county assessors who fail to assess property as 'provided by law, was defeated by a favorable voice vote to strike the enacting clause. The seven tax bills provide for assessment as-sessment of property on a basis of 50 per cent fair, reasonable cash value and provide for close supervision of the program by the State Tax Commission. Tax relief for a large number of Utahns, people with estates of $40,000 or less, also appeared in the offing when the House placed its stamp of approval on an already al-ready passed Senate bill, SB-108 by Senators Alonzo H. Hopkins (D. Rich), Dextar Farr (D. Weber) Web-er) and Claud Hirschi (R. Washington). Wash-ington). This measure would eliminate inheritance taxes on estates, of $40,000 or less where the residue is willed to the surviving sur-viving 'spouse or children. At the present time, Utah law exempts only estates of $10,000 or less! A third tax measure, however, would increase by 50 per cent the gasoline tax motorists would have to pay. Introduced by Reps. (Mrs.) C. L. Jack and Don C. Hale (D. Salt Lake), the gas tax bill would increase the present four-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline gas-oline to six cents. This increase would be limited to the years, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1951. Already law is IIB-130 by Rep. E. K. Olson (D. Carbon). This bill, signed by Governor Maw, will give veterans, if single, an income tax exemption of $2700 and, if married, $3300 for the years 1946 through 1949. |