'Sideshows' do detract

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is right. Message bills tend to occupy an inordinate amount of time on Utah's Capitol Hill. It's nothing new and hardly unique to the Utah Legislature.

But to the general public, to whom practical issues are far more important, it can appear that lawmakers' energies are consumed by issues such as origins-of-life instruction, gay-straight alliances in public high schools and a "soft repeal" of the 17th Amendment. These issues are, undoubtedly, important to the individual or groups that bring them before the Legislature, so they shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. But the risk of raising these issues is that special-interest groups tend to hijack the public process. Their voices overwhelm those of ordinary citizens who may not share their views.

It is overly simplistic to suggest that lawmakers should rely on polls to gauge what the public wants or expects. But polls conducted on behalf of the Deseret Morning News establish trends that should not be ignored. Polls reveal that Utahns have an intense interest in their public schools, state colleges and universities, highways, human services programs, health care, taxes and economy.

Prior to the start of the Legislature's 2006 general session, a poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates showed that 48 percent of Utahns want the state surplus — an estimated $1 billion — spent on public schools and higher education. Another 21 percent want a tax cut and 16 percent want it spent on health and human services programs. Eight percent say it should be used for roads.

So Huntsman is probably no different from a lot of Utahns who are frustrated by what he describes as "sideshow" legislation. Particularly when the surplus poses so many opportunities to address issues such as the Division for Services for People With Disabilities waiting list; the Utah Science, Technology and Research Economic Development Initiative (USTAR); construction needs on Utah's college campuses; transportation issues such as building and improving highways and purchasing rights of way for future road and rail construction; and prison overcrowding. The list goes on and on.

Such a large surplus is not tantamount to a magic wand. There is a temptation on the part of some to inject huge amounts of ongoing funds into the state budget. But lawmakers also have a responsibility not to grow the budget so much that cuts will be necessary in lean years. Although the U.S. economy is strong, the specter of terrorism is ever-present. Another terrorist attack could hamstring the economy for months, if not years.

Utahns who pay attention to the legislative process understand that lawmakers' time is sometimes consumed by matters as whimsical as designating a state rock and as heart-wrenching as "Lori's Law," which would increase the minimum sentence for first-degree felony murder to 15 years.

But at the end of the day, the public is far more interested in the issues that don't tend to dominate headlines and the nightly news; issues that impact their quality of life and Utah's future. That's where legislative leaders need to steer the public discourse.