This year's general session of the Utah Legislature could have been depressing. Shrunken state income due to the economic recession made difficult budget cuts a necessity. At one point it looked as though low-income pregnant mothers would be denied prenatal care, 200 prisoners would be loosed on the streets and dozens of highway patrol troopers would be laid off. Fortunately, none of those things happened. And there was unexpected comic relief. Legislators lightened the general gloom with the low comedy of their loopy legal insurgency against the federal government. Their chosen ammunition was so-called message bills and don't-tread-on-me declarations of states' rights. The ghosts of Patrick Henry and Utah gun inventor John Moses Browning stalked the halls of Capitol Hill, and John Adams made an unlikely bid for most-quoted Founding Father.
Still in all, when it came to the serious business of financial management, this Legislature and rookie Gov. Gary Herbert deserve high marks for collaboration, sound judgment and responsible setting of priorities.
THUMB UP: Budget discipline » Herbert challenged lawmakers to wield the budget knife sparingly for education, preserve essential state programs and steer clear of tax increases. To their credit, legislators did that, though they spiked the cigarette tax by a whopping $1 a pack. They turned down two of the governor's proposals for tax filing changes, and moved money around to bond for buildings, but they met most of the governor's goals. There are double digit hits to many state agencies, road projects will be delayed, and even public education will contract, but life will go on.
THUMB DOWN: Education » A bill crafted after months of talks would have brought some common sense to the limited sex education taught in Utah schools. But the Eagle Forum and other conservatives kept it from getting a hearing in committee. A plan to limit busing for secondary students was rightly scuttled. Public education's budget was trimmed only about $10 million, in a compromise with the governor. The higher education budget was cut 12.5 percent or about $100 million, but colleges will get several new buildings and can issue revenue bonds for even more. A Utah State University/College of Eastern Utah merger and New Century Scholarships were approved.
THUMB UP: Ethics » For an outfit that typically takes baby steps when it comes to ethics reforms, this year the Legislature took the leap. Under pressure from citizens' groups that are gathering signatures for ballot initiatives to enact substantive reforms, lawmakers responded with some proactive ethics laws of their own. The list includes an independent ethics commission and a prohibition on the personal use of campaign funds. And, while stopping short of a needed gift ban, lawmakers swore off gifts valued at $10 or more, and required lobbyists to report the names of legislators accepting meals worth $10 or more. Notably absent were caps on campaign contributions.
THUMB DOWN: Ballot initiatives » The eraser should work as easily as the pencil. That's the stated logic behind SB275, which makes it simple for a signer to withdraw his or her signature from a ballot initiative petition. Instead of submitting a notarized statement to a county clerk, flip-floppers will now only need to fill out a form and provide identification. It seems to make sense, but there's also an ulterior motive. Unlike most laws, which take effect in 60 days, this one takes effect immediately. Why? Signatures are being gathered for two legislative ethics ballot initiatives that most lawmakers loathe, and the April 15 deadline looms. By negating the waiting period, initiative opponents will have a better chance of keeping the initiatives off the ballot. It's poor form, changing the rules in the middle of the game.
THUMB UP: Pension reform » Last year's stock market collapse blew a $6.5 billion hole in Utah's defined-benefit pension plan for public employees. The ongoing expense to fill that hole is unsustainable and drains too much compensation away from wages to pensions. The Legislature did the right thing by keeping its commitment to vested employees, eliminating double-dipping, and reducing the retirement commitment to future employees from 16 percent of compensation to 10 percent.
THUMB UP: Health insurance » Utah's slow-as-molasses attempt at state-based health insurance reform stalled last year when companies priced policies on the new health insurance exchange well above the conventional market. House Speaker Dave Clark, the tireless father of reform, pushed through a fix this session. We doubt that the state plan will work without requiring all Utahns be insured, but given the state of federal reform efforts, Clark's incremental approach may be the only hope.
THUMB DOWN: Irrigation canals » In the wake of a canal collapse that contributed to the death of a Logan family last summer, lawmakers gave lip service to protecting people and property along the banks of Utah's 6,600 miles of unregulated irrigation canals. But instead of stringent safety standards and a rigorous inspection system, what emerged from the session was chicken soup for canal companies. HB60 requires irrigation companies to identify hazard areas and file management plans with the state, but only if they want to tap a low-interest loan fund for canal repairs and improvements. And it only suggests that canal companies carry liability insurance. It's weak medicine for what ails Utah canals.
