If Utahns were wondering just how cockeyed state tax reform might get in the upcoming Legislature, the question may have been answered Thursday. In a Tax Reform Task Force subcommittee, Rep. Wayne Harper, the House chairman of the task force, submitted an innovative revenue recovery proposal that perplexed and stunned his colleagues, Republican and Democrat. Titled, "Tuition Increment Recovery from Higher Education Students who Move Out of State," the plan asked the task force to explore how to recover money from Utah residents who pay in-state tuition for their college education, then take their taxpayer-subsidized skills to foreign lands - like Colorado or Idaho. The proposal would demand those who leave pay the difference between resident and out-of-state tuition. At first the panel didn't understand the proposal was aimed at Utahns who go to Utah universities at the resident rate. Then, they laughed. Chairman Rep. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, acknowledged that the in-state tuition break for residents represents an "enormous subsidy," but wondered about the constitutionality of a program to track down graduates. Republican, Sen. Howard Stephensen noted that college graduates are notoriously hard to track: "Maybe we could put ankle bracelets on them that would set off an alarm when they leave the state." Harper said several state and private employees, who must repay the cost of advanced training if they leave their job prematurely, had asked him to put the proposal before the task force. "Their point was that if it was good enough for industry, it is good enough for Utah graduates," Harper said. It is unlikely any other state has such a policy, he said. As the questions piled up, Harper sheepishly abandoned the proposal: "I have responded to the request. The deed has been done." -Glen Warchol