Utah lawmakers revive lands-for-schools issue

WASHINGTON — A recent finding by the U.S. Census Bureau that Utah remains last in the nation in the amount of money it spends per school child is reviving interest in a plan to make the federal government turn over some of the vast public lands it holds to pay for schools.

Versions of the idea have been around for years, and they mostly have gone nowhere.

But in an election year in which school funding remains a big issue, lawmakers' interest is picking up again.

This past week, Sen. Orrin Hatch introduced legislation first championed by fellow Utah Republican Rep. Rob Bishop.

And Bishop recently plugged it before what he said was a receptive audience at the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank.

"I'm encouraged," Bishop said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I think there is some traction with the idea."

The bill would require the Interior Department and Forest Service to give 5 percent of public land to Western states. States would hold the land in trust to be sold or leased with the proceeds going to public schools.

The idea is based on the argument that Utah and 12 other Western states lose out on sales tax because of their vast acres of public land. The federal government owns on average just over half the land in those states, compared to about 4 percent in the rest of the country.

Western lawmakers argue that Westerners put a larger share of their personal incomes toward state and local taxes as a result.

Utah schools currently benefit from a similar trust lands program that since the 1890s has held more than 7 million acres of federal public land. Last year, sales of land and mineral rights from the trust earned more than $11 million for Utah schools.

Many lawmakers argue that although Utah's per-pupil spending is lowest in the nation — $5,008 compared to the high of $12,981 in New Jersey — the state's tax burden is the eighth highest in the nation. The problem is projected to continue — the number of schoolchildren is expected to grow by about 150,000 students over the next 10 years.

Bishop uses a map to illustrate the amount of land held by the federal government in the West compared to Eastern states. It makes an impact when he's trying to explain his argument, he says.

Still, "it's a revolutionary idea," Bishop said. He has 17 co-sponsors, but he isn't ready to hold a hearing, and he says it will take awhile before the idea catches on.

Hatch said he introduced the bill to get the discussion started in the Senate. "Rob's caught some momentum in the House with this bill, and I've always been supportive of his efforts," Hatch said.