Act now to reform taxes, fund transit, guv says

While saying he is not an alarmist, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. is certainly ringing the fire bell: He says if a majority of state legislators don't vote for "tax reform, tax cuts and transit needs" in a Sept. 20 special session, the chances for truly changing Utah for the better could be lost for years.

Huntsman and his top aides met with the Deseret Morning News editorial board Tuesday to explain not only his tax reform and transportation plans, but also to warn: "We have a window of a few weeks. We either take advantage or we lose it. This is terribly important."

The governor wants lawmakers to adopt a "dual track" personal income-tax system and give Salt Lake County voters the ballot choice of raising their sales tax by a quarter cent, with the money going to a $900 million transit and transportation package in the county.

While groups as divergent as the Utah Education Association and the Utah Taxpayers Association — who rarely agree on anything —

are saying legislators should wait until January's general session and not rush into major tax and transit changes in a one-day special session, Huntsman said that would be a big mistake.

"I'm not looking for political victories here," said Huntsman, who at the end of the 2006 Legislature twisted more than a few arms of his fellow GOP officeholders.

While admitting that Utah's economy and tax revenue are both doing very well these days, Huntsman said a wrong-headed small cut in the income tax or bypassing a large transportation and transit bond would be short-sighted, even devastating, policies with lasting repercussions a decade from now.

Huntsman has started meeting with groups of lawmakers, Republicans and Democrats alike, this week, as well as with newspaper and TV editors to get his message out.

The numbers of legislators who now back him are looking strong, he said, adding that he is "very confident" that he can get 38 votes in the House and 15 in the Senate — a majority in both bodies — in the upcoming special session to get his programs passed.

Whether or not his marketing blitz works will be heavily determined next Tuesday, when legislative caucuses are scheduled to discuss the special session. However, skepticism about the proposals, and the immediate need for them, remains prevalent among some legislative leaders.

"I don't buy this notion that reform has to occur now," House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, said Tuesday afternoon. "If we have a good tax plan, it will stand on its own merits, whether it's during a special or a general session."