Zoning for dollars, tuition tax credits and inadequate information on initiative petitions are the primary issues of focus for the Utah Taxpayers Association.

During a meeting with the editorial board of the Deseret Morning News Monday, leaders of the group highlighted bills that they hope to help pass during the upcoming legislative session and outlined specific concerns on one bill. The group, which is primarily funded by business and corporate interests, is active at the Legislature throughout the year.

Their biggest focus this year will be on rules about redevelopment agencies, said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who is also the group's president. Currently, they are watching three bills, two of which they support.

One of the bills they support would "curtail" how much of a retail aspect an RDA can have, while the other one would allow school districts — which lose short-term property tax revenue when an RDA is created — to simply opt out of an RDA.

"A lot of people say that proposal could kill RDAs," Stephenson said. "But if they can't sell the school on an RDA, maybe it should be killed."

At the same time, the group is concerned about a bill that would allow former gravel pits to become RDAs. Stephenson said the bill is being pushed by leaders of Sandy, who want to create a shopping center on the site of an old gravel pit he called "prime real estate" and not at all within the original intent of RDAs.

Although not the primary backers of tuition tax credits, the group is very interested in seeing some form of incentive for private school enrollment passed this session. Ideally, executive director Mike Jerman said, they want to see a tax credit that is "means-based" to help lower-income students attend private schools.

"We want to save taxpayers money, and if we can educate a child privately for $3,000 instead of for $6,000 in a public school, it's a good deal," he said.

The group is also hoping to see improvements to the initiative law passed, especially requirements that all petitions state very clearly any potential tax increases, new fees and general fund expenditures. The group was very active in opposing the failed Initiative 1, which would have provided $150 million for open space preservation through a sales tax increase, during the recent election.

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com