Tax break for troops has lawmakers a bit nervous

A proposal to give troops deployed overseas a tax break is on the agenda for next week's special session of the Legislature, even though there are still questions about whether the state could be vulnerable to a lawsuit.

"At this point, it is not obvious there is a problem," Gov. Olene Walker's chief of staff, Gary Doxey, said Friday after the agenda, or call, was issued for the special session set to begin at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

But Doxey said the governor has asked the Attorney General's Office for advice, and the Legislature's own legal counsel is also reviewing the plan to see if regular military personnel would be able to make a case that they should be eligible for the same benefit.

The proposed legislation would give members of the Utah National Guard and the Reserves sent to Afghanistan and Iraq an exemption from paying state income taxes on their military earnings. The price tag is more than $5 million.

"I hope there's a strong message in this bill. That message is these brave men and women are appreciated," the bill's sponsor, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said. "We're willing to demonstrate that."

Bramble said he did not believe there were legal problems with the bill. He said the question of whether the tax break had to be extended to full-time military personnel had already been considered when the tax break was first proposed in 2002.

No one wants to see a repeat of a successful 1989 lawsuit by federal retirees who had to pay state income tax while retired state workers did not. Doxey said the issue was raised Thursday, during a meeting between the governor and legislative leaders.

"There's still support for the concept," Doxey said. "It's fair to say the question sounded legitimate. Nobody knew the answer to it. It was worth looking into." He said he believes the issue will stay on the call for the special session.

"Of course," Doxey said, "the Legislature will decide what to do with it."

The other items on the call include allocating more than $150,000 to secure the archeological finds at the state-owned Range Creek site and $1.5 million for a construction project at the state prison in Draper to make room for more female inmates.

Lawmakers will also be asked to consider amendments to a bill approved last session to correct an oversight affecting interstate banking and to consent to a list of appointments made by the governor to various state positions.

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