Lawmakers take big issues home

PROVO — Utah County legislators gathered with local business owners and elected leaders early Saturday morning for an "eggs and issues" meeting to discuss myriad issues, including abortion, the Utah Valley State College university-status question and private-school tuition vouchers.

"This is what it's all about," Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said. "Us coming back and reporting and telling what (we're doing that) you have elected us to do."

Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, who introduced a substitute for anti-abortion bill HB235 on Tuesday, said he is ready to take the issue all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Maybe Utah should be the state that leads the nation on the issue of abortion," he said.

The bill would ban all abortions except in cases of incest, rape or danger to the mother. Sandstrom said he and other legislators are ready to challenge the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that gave women the right to have an abortion.

"This will definitely be ruled unconstitutional (by the lower courts)," he said. "And we'll lose and we'll lose and we'll lose and we'll lose until we eventually get this to Supreme Court."

Sandstrom said a few other states have proposed similar legislation, and he's hoping those states and Utah can join together to share legal costs.

"I happen to think that protecting life is probably the most important thing we can do," he said.

Another area of interest was UVSC's potential to upgrade to university status.

The issue is set to be considered in the Senate on Friday at 11 a.m. A public announcement will be made at that point "about the progress of the donations that are coming to match the dollars that the state is coming up with," Valentine said. Millionaire Ira Fulton — who is heading the matching effort — has been asked to attend the debate on the bill.

Valentine predicted the bill will pass the Senate and make it to the floor of the House.

Legislators also discussed HB282, a bill excluding nonprepared food from sales taxes, which the House has approved and is up for debate in the Senate.

The concern is that the bill will result in millions of dollars less for Utah County to use toward transportation, including a commuter rail.