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Show Gflpiretfte a:i To Decrease 2 (Defies? ; By ROSELYN KIRK Davis County Legislators and County Health officials are carefully watching the progress of Senate Bill 3, which would raise cigarette excise taxes two cents a pack. REP. DOUGLAS Sonntag said if the cigarette tax bill passes the Senate, he feels this will indicate good support for House Bill 225. which he is sponsoring along with Rep. David Harvey. The house bill would provide for the tax revenue to fund the Utah State Division of Health in enforcing the Clean Air Act. The act was passed by the 1976 legislature, but was not funded by the legislature. RICHARD Harvey. Ad ministrator of Environmental Health in Davis County and Dr. Richard Johns, Director of Public Health, pushed to have a bill introduced in the legislature to provide manpower man-power to enforce the law. The Clean Air Act had charged the Utah State Division of Health with enforcement. en-forcement. THE SENATE Bill has been tabled and will reach the Senate floor when sponsor Karl Snow feels he has the support necessary to pass the measure. Davis County Senators Sena-tors Haven Barlow and Jack Bangerter said they oppose the bill. Senator Bangerter said he sees no reason to impose another tax. "I don't believe in taxing unless the money is really needed." He also opposes op-poses the bill because he feels it would over-regulate small business. SENATOR Bangerter said, "if the bill is passed, health inspectors will be sent into small businesses to inspect." They will need to see if the law is being enforced, resulting result-ing in more regulation of small business. He says he has had some "real pangs of consciousness about his stand on the bill. There has been some pressure pres-sure from constituents who see it as a moral issue," he said. SENATOR Haven Barlow said he opposes the bill because it would place the excise tax of two cents per pack of cigarettes sold into the general fund. This excise tax would raise two million dollars for enforcement of the Clear Air Act when only about $250,000 is needed for enforcement, en-forcement, he said. . In addition. Senator Barlow said he is currently opposed to any kind of tax raise. He feels the Clean Air enforcement en-forcement funds can be funded fund-ed from existing revenue without passing the additional cigarette tax. "I THINK the principle is wrong," he said. "It will just put an extra two million dollars in the general tund and thus into the stream of government when not that much money is needed." If the Senate Bill passes, Kep. Sonntag said an effort will be made to push through the.House Bill which says the excise tax on cigarettes will be used to fund the Indoor Clean Air account. RICHARD Harvey, who has been lobbying for" the proposal, said the House Bill came through the house committee com-mittee with 10 affirmative and four negative votes. Both Mr. Harvey and Rep. Sonntag feel the funding measure has good support in the House, if the Senate Bill survives. Rep. Sonntag said the bill will create a fund account within the general fund, allowing the funds to go to the State Division of Health for disbursement to the county health departments, rk |