Education — It's No. 1 issue, but lawmakers also to focus on tax cuts

When Utah's 104 part-time legislators convene in their annual 45-day general session Monday, the main topics will be education, tax cuts, transportation — and more education.

So say legislative leaders and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. And at least on the education issue, their priorities reflect those of Utahns in general, a new Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll shows.

The Dan Jones & Associates survey shows that 36 percent of Utahns say education should be the main issue of the 57th Legislature. No other topic, including tax cuts, comes close.

But in a very real sense, education funding and tax cuts are linked. That's because the two main proposals for tax cuts — Huntsman's flat-rate income tax reduction and the GOP legislative leaders' plan to reduce the state-mandated property tax for the Uniform School Fund — would both directly reduce funds earmarked for public schools.

Welcome to this year's schizophrenic state budgeting.

And it could be even more interesting politically because unlike last year, House and Senate GOP leaders have promised to play nice as they figure out how to spend the state's whopping $1.6 billion in one-time surplus funds and ongoing revenue growth.

"Both of us are committed to have open discussions between both bodies," Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said. "Both of us are committed to not lob hand grenades at each other."

In 2006, there were many tense moments between House and Senate Republicans, culminating in the House rejecting a key element of a tax-cut package supported by Huntsman and legislative leadership in the final moments of the session.

If it lasts, the newfound cooperation between Valentine and House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, could pit the powerful pair against the governor when it comes to agreeing on how taxes should be cut.

The governor, though, doesn't sound worried. "I don't want to shut any doors," he said, calling the property tax "dreaded" and "despised" while making it clear he has no interest in cutting the state-mandated share.

Still, Huntsman, in an interview, stopped short of saying he'd veto a property tax cut.

"The dynamic surrounding tax reform is going to change daily and probably hourly as we get right down to the last couple weeks of the session," the governor said. "I would say today that everything is fluid."

Huntsman has called for a $100 million personal income tax cut — while pledging to give more money to public schools than ever before. The income tax is constitutionally dedicated to public and higher education.