From Deseret News archives:
A good session overall
Part of this had to do with the nearly inexhaustible supply of money on hand — $1.75 billion in a combination of one-time surpluses and revenue growth. But money easily could lead to rancor, instead. This group of lawmakers deserves credit for raising the tone of public discourse while making some difficult and monumental decisions.
Not that all they did was good. The sudden rush to overturn Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon's decision against building a soccer stadium was the low point of the session. In that one instance, the governor and lawmakers showed themselves to be small-minded and uninterested in the wishes of the public, which clearly did not want the stadium. They also came up short in funding services for the state's most needy and disabled citizens — an inexcusable oversight in a year of such financial excess. And they passed a ridiculous gun-restriction bill that will allow students at the University of Utah to specify they don't want guns in their dorm rooms but which neither allows professors to keep the weapons out of their classrooms or offices nor the school to keep them out of sports arenas.
No legislative session is perfect, however. The hallmark of a republican form of government is that it represents a variety of interests and viewpoints statewide. This one ended up with much more to praise than to condemn.
Consider that most of the bills that truly would have caused harm did not pass. Chief among these were attempts to make the children of illegal immigrants ineligible for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.
Even the education voucher bill lost a lot of its divisiveness when lawmakers decided to fund vouchers entirely from the general fund, and not from money going to public education.
Teachers, meanwhile, will see $2,500 raises in base pay, together with $1,000 each in bonuses. Public education will benefit from a whopping $440 million increase in funding.
Most remarkable, however, was the unanimously approved tax-cut and reform plan, which overhauls a variety of taxes and grants what amounts to a $220 million cut. Beginning in 2008, Utahns will pay a 5 percent tax on their income, and they will be eligible for a variety of tax credits for things that currently count as deductions. The state's portion of the sales tax will go down, and lawmakers took further steps toward weaning the state from sales taxes on unprepared food but not at the expense of agencies that rely on the tax for projects voters have approved.
The fact that all lawmakers, regardless of party, voted for this reform is a remarkable testament to the spirit of cooperation that seemed evident this year, as opposed to the rancor of some recent years.
Utahns find it easy to criticize their lawmakers, and valid reasons exist for doing so this year, as well. But this is a time to say thanks to them for setting aside their own careers and families for 45 days to serve the public, and for doing so honorably.
