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Show UNDER THE CAPITOL DOME . I More noticeable than anything any-thing about the 29th Legislature's Legisla-ture's first three and a half weeks has been the lack of color col-or and fireworks. Since the House of Representatives Represen-tatives took four days to effect an organization from its 30-30 party split, there has been little of the type of action in either house that would keep a gallery alert as to what was going on. It could be that the entire session will run at the same pace as the first one-third of the 60-day grind. But with issues is-sues piling up on the calendars the way they are, considerable well-heated debate might well develop. For instance, four different reapportionment bills have been introduced, two in each house, and a complete highway program pro-gram of the Utah Legislative Council, including a raise of two cents in gas tax, is in the Senate. Sen-ate. Also, the schools have asked for an increase of $500, from $3300 to $3800, in the minimum classroom unit and for a ten per cent increase in the ceiling on taxes they may levy over and above the minimum program. pro-gram. Also at issue is certain to be the biennially presented proposal pro-posal to refund taxes on motor fuel put to non-highway use, a measure that affects gas used in farm machinery. A good deal of the controversial contro-versial matter will be thrashed out by the appropriations committee. com-mittee. Headed by Sen. Alonzo F. Hopkin (D-Woodruff) and Rep. W. G. (Bill) Larson (D-Mag-na), this committee faces a task of fitting department requests to estimated revenues. Certain to influence the ' thinking are the figures presented pre-sented by Gov. J. Bracken Lee in his budget message. He said general fund requests totaled more than $21,000,000 and that estimated revenues amount to $15,095,000, including the sur-, plus of more than $3,000,000 carried over from the current biennium. Out of this he hewed a budget of a bit over $14,800,000, What the appropriations pom-1 mittee may determine as esii--mated revenues may be a quite different figure somewhat higher than" the governor's and the appropriations, consequently, conse-quently, may be considerably higher than those recommended by the chief executive. But knowing of the governor's gov-ernor's veto power and his strong stand for a balanced budget, however, the committee undoubtedly will attempt to keep the expenditures very close to estimated revenues. Action on reapportionments if it should come has the makings mak-ings of a red-hot rural-urban scrap in both houses. On the other hand, so wide a range is covered by the bills introduced, that nothing may come of the question again this year. The constitution requires reapportionment reappor-tionment on the federal census, each ten years, but the matter has hpn loft alone since 1930. There are those who think the present apportionment could hardly be bettered and that the law might best be changed to meet the present numbers. That would moan that the four mea-1 sures on the line would die a I natural death. ' First to appear was a bill to reapportion on a basis of two senators for each senatorial district (cutting five senators out of Salt Lake county), and representatives on a basis of one for each 10,000 population, as of now. This measure was sponsored by 11 rural senators all but one, Sen. Marl D. Gibson Gib-son (D-Price). Five urban senators were on a bill to reapportion the Senate on a basis of one for each 29,-000 29,-000 population, instead of the present 27,000, and the House on a basis of one for each 12,000, instead of 10,000 as now. That would give Salt Lake county two more senators, Utah county and Weber county one more each. Salt Lake county would get four more representa- tives, Weber, Davis and Utah would get two more each, and Sanpete would lose one. Latest to appear were two . bills in the House, one sponsored spon-sored by 25 rural representa-; representa-; tives and one by 26 Weber, Tooele, Salt Lake and Carbon representatives. The first would set up the Legislature with one senator from each county and representatives on the present basis, giving Salt Lake county eight new members, Davis two, Carbon one, Weber and Utah three each, and removing one from Sanpete. The other bill calls for strict reapportionment on the present basis, providing three more senators sen-ators for Salt Lake county, Weber We-ber and Utah counties one more senator each, and would increase in-crease the representatives as in the aforementioned bill. At present outlook, it appears some sort of a campromise may be worked out on both the school fund hike request and the legislative council recommendation recom-mendation to jump gas taxes and truck liense fees. Given less chance of getting attention, however, are proposals of the governor picked in similar bills introduced by some House Democrats to lower income I taxes by raising exemptions, 'and to take the sales, tax off food. Many legislators have expressed ex-pressed the opinion off the record rec-ord tax decreases these times are most difficult to secure and . that it would be quite satisfactory satisfac-tory if they just hold the line .with no increases. About the only Senate action to show signs of bringing on isome controversial debate was a brief flurry over a resolution of Sen. Mark Paxton (R-Fill-more) and Senator Hopkin to memoralize leaders of both po-i po-i litical parties in congress to for-1 for-1 get their political differences and formulate a unified, clear-i clear-i cut foreign policy. The Democrats came out of a i caucus and voted solid to table ) the bill on motion of Senator j Hopkin against a solid front I of eight Republicans. The mo-j mo-j tion to table was not debatable, but in explaining his vote. Senator Sen-ator Paxton charged that the Democratic members of the Senate Sen-ate had been "whipped" by "party basses" to a point where they "did not dare to stand up and be counted." It required a majority of the Senate to lift the bill from the table for consideration. con-sideration. One bill, other than legislative legisla-tive salaries and expenses, was passed by both houses during j the second week, and that effects ef-fects the outlying areas of the state seeking cooperative fire protection. It would permit establishment es-tablishment of fire protection districts in unincorporated ar-i ar-i eas. |