Lincoln Shurtz, legislative analyst for the Utah League of Cities and Towns, said the league prefers an alternative method; namely, a rate deduction that would kick in if a particular city's energy taxes exceeded 110 percent compared to the previous year's revenues.

"If the intent is to give everyone in the state some sort of relief because of the rising gas prices," Shurtz said, "the first place you should look is at the state rate, not at the local government rate, because that is imposed statewide."

Paul Barber, senior analyst at Salt Lake-based Energy Strategies, which represents some of the state's largest industrial customers, said Hughes' bill is appealing and likely would benefit his clients.

"We have members who experienced increases in their natural gas costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, and they're paying tens of thousands of dollars a month more in taxes," Barber said. "These are significant numbers."

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