The Utah Legislature might address tax reform in the 2006 general session. Or it might not.

The membership of the Legislative Tax Reform Task Force has yet to be determined, in part due to a change in the group's membership, which was approved during the recent special session.

Earlier, task force co-chairman Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, had said the group needed to get off to a running start, possibly beginning its work in March. It's nearly May and the group has not yet been assembled, which means prospects for crafting a package of legislative proposals by the 2006 session would appear unlikely. Still, lawmakers need to embark on this work as soon as possible.

In good economic times, there is little impetus to grapple with such a controversial and complicated issue. It's a good thing, indeed, that Utah's bankbook is fat once again, according to recent revenue projections. But it wasn't that long ago that lawmakers were slashing programs and withholding pay raises to balance the state budget during the post-Sept. 11 economic slump. Changes are needed to hedge against economic busts and booms.

Beyond that, tax experts empaneled by former Gov. Olene Walker have forecast a $200 million revenue shortfall within the next decade — just as 145,000 new students are set to enter the state's public school system. Those experts say the shortfall is a certainty if the state makes no adjustments to its tax system.

Considering that the last time Utah's tax system was overhauled was during the Eisenhower administration, the need for reform is clearly overdue. But the issue is very complex. Any adjustment of the tax structure requires tax shifts to other sources of revenue. As such, the system has to be examined as a whole, which takes time.

But the legislative task force won't be starting from scratch. Walker's task reform panel worked countless hours to develop a plan for total tax reform. While lawmakers — who were not part of Walker's working group — may have different reforms in mind, Walker's team of tax advisers prepared an extensive analysis of the existing tax system and its projections of what will happen if no reform occurs, as well as detailed projections under its recommendations for reform.

Obviously, tax reform is ultimately a legislative issue. It requires changes to the tax code, if not the state constitution. It requires painstaking, meticulous study, as members of Walker's team can attest. That group spent a year studying issues and developing its recommendations. Inevitably, lawmakers will be lobbied by every conceivable special-interest group or industry that may be affected by proposed reforms. A legislative task force will likely need more time to develop its plan.

Knowing this, there must be greater urgency on the part of lawmakers and Gov. Jon Hunstman Jr. to name members of the tax reform task force and put them to work.