Added Taylor: "In any case, vouchers will certainly be part of our (Democratic Party) campaign next year" when all 75 House members and half of the 29-member Senate will be up for election.

One flier produced by the party is a two-sided door-hanger, one side saying to vote "no" on vouchers, with a claim that $400 million of tax dollars will go to private schools, which won't be held accountable and could hire teachers with no college education.

The other side lists seven items on a Democratic agenda — including accusing Republicans of corruption, changing the course of the Iraq war and adopting fair wages, affordable college education, safe communities, environmental protection and affordable health care.

A second flier lists the advantages of public schools in one column and in a second lists what party officials say are the unfair situations or disadvantages of private schools that would be funded by tax vouchers.

"Our underfunded neighborhood schools are under siege," the Democratic flier begins. It ends by asking voters to reject vouchers at the ballot box Nov. 6.

Exactly how the parties are spending on vouchers this year can't be determined from public financial filings. Utah law says political parties in odd-numbered years only file year-end financial reports. So the parties filed a contribution and expense report in January of 2007 (covering 2006) and will file again this coming January (covering 2007). And since HB148 didn't become law until after the January-February 2007 Legislature, the parties didn't spend any monies on HB148 in 2006.

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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com