Show Initiative T I 1 Will It Preserve f f I Jeffery Jensen Stacey Baird Contributing Writers Who would have guessed that by the year 2020 Utah's population would have increased by an estimated 1 million people When you learn things like this you start to wonder if the crazy lady you see walking along in the parade route shrieking her annoying lyrical song of Slow the flow save actually has realized more then you The Th conservation and preservation of our water air and wildlife is a lingering concern that many of us try to pay little or no attention to But by the time that we actually actually actually actu actu- ally do have to worry about it will it be too late Will our children and even our childrens children's children's childrens childrens children's chil chil- drens dren's children suffer from our lack of interest for their future Luckily not everyone has forgotten Jake Garn and Lewis Billings along with a couple of other sponsors have thought up a plan and this plan is call Initiative 1 also known as The Utah Clean Water Clean Air and Quality Growth Initiative Current candidate Scott Matheson states Initiative 1 takes the highest rates in the country and times them by 1000 percent per per- cent In a nutshell Initiative 1 is a million conservation conserva- conserva tion l 11 is' is tobe to o obe be divided into various parts of our community other conservation conservation conservation con con- projects and even the way that Utah deals with its Radioactive Waste This bond will be borrowed from Utah's annual state budget That million may seem like they're over doing it but the entire bond proceeds proceeds proceeds pro pro- will be divided into seven different categories All of which have to do with restoring protecting protecting protecting protect protect- ing improving and enhancing different wildlife water and air quality conservation projects projects projects pro pro- as well as as supporting and funding different important important tant community projects Garn and Lewis also believe that a 05 percent increase in sales tax will help with education and prevent homelessness and poverty in Utah With 80 percent of the generated tax going toward education and 20 percent going toward the homeless and poverty the tax increase win will last about aDom 1 lu 10 U years and following that time the sales tax will kill off the 05 per per- cent Initiative 1 will appear on the November ballot and it has taken a long road to get there Not only did it have to get approved by the bond counsel but it successfully received well over the minimum minimum minimum mini mini- mum of required signatures signatures signatures sig sig- natures from 26 of the 29 senate senate senate sen sen- ate districts for approval and it even gathered an extra sponsor meaning it received an incredible six official sponsors for this Utah Clean Water Clean Air and Quality Growth Initiative Utah would like to join Colorado and Nevada in the lucrative attempt to conserve and protect our wonderful environment and provide Utah with the funds to continue contin contin- ue the progression in our attempts to better our Though we will have to raise sales tax an additional 05 percent and sacrifice million from the annual state budget one has to wonder wonder wonder won won- der if it is really a big price to pay for the future of our chil chil- dren Like always it is up to you to decide |