Buoyed by the outcome of this week's elections, Utah advocates for the poor took an opportunity Wednesday to establish their priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

"This is our early celebration," said Tim Funk of the Crossroads Urban Center, which hosted the gathering of citizens and representatives from various advocacy groups. "These things will come about."

Bucking national trends, with Democrats taking control of the U.S. House and apparently the Senate, Utah's Legislature remains overwhelmingly Republican. Still, advocates said Wednesday, the time is right for Utah lawmakers to "do the right thing" on measures they've rejected in the past.

Advocates' top three initiatives for the 2007 Legislature are: restoring vision and dental benefits for adult Medicaid recipients; removing the remaining sales tax on food; and increasing the state minimum wage.

"It's all about choices and priorities," said Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley City, who plans to sponsor a bill to raise the minimum wage to $7 an hour. Utah lawmakers shot down a similar bill, also sponsored by Mayne, earlier this year.

"I'm hoping the choices and priorities put people first," he said. "Until we do that as an elected public body, then we're surely shirking our duties."

Six states on Tuesday, including four Rocky Mountain states, passed ballot initiatives raising their minimum wages beyond the federal limit of $5.15 an hour. They now join nearly two dozen other states that have approved increases in state wages.

An increase in the federal rate is expected to be among one of the first moves of the now Democrat-led U.S. House.

A full repeal of the sales tax on food is another step of the advocates' "steps to dignity for Utah's poor." Lawmakers in the 2006 legislative session approved a 2 percent reduction of the state's portion of the tax, which is considered the most regressive in the state.

"What that means is it hits the poor and the working poor much harder ... than it does the wealthy and the working class," said Doug MacDonald, interim director of Utah Issues, a poverty research organization.

"There's a huge gap and a huge disparity there that must be rectified," MacDonald said.

Utah Issues estimates the removal will cost state and local governments about $100 million but will immediately put $40 million into the pockets of the state's low-income and working-poor families.

Finally, advocates will push Utah lawmakers for a complete restoration of adult dental and vision benefits for disabled Utahns. The benefits, considered "optional" under the Medicaid program, were cut during lean economic times several years ago and have never been fully restored.

The Utah Department of Health estimates it would cost some $3.1 million in state dollars to fund the services on an ongoing basis.

Legislators this year declined to appropriate even one-time money to the program, resulting in a huge public outcry and, ultimately, $2 million in private donations from Utah's billionaire philanthropist James Sorenson and Intermountain Healthcare to cover emergency dental care for the blind, elderly and disabled.

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