Tax revenue shrinks; sparring over ethics grows

Two items this week: Tax cuts vs. raises and professional ethics.

Monday Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and state legislators got some unwelcome news — tax revenues will come in next year more than $300 million less than anticipated.

Don't get out your handkerchiefs just yet — the state still has near-record one-time tax surpluses and fine tax revenue growth.

But a $100 million tax reduction wished for by the House Republicans will be much less. And raises for teachers may be less, also.

A delicate political dance will now take place.

In a re-election year for Huntsman, all 75 members of the House and half of the 29-member Senate, the incumbents don't want to be painted into any unpleasant corners this fall.

Huntsman's budget was based on the higher tax revenue figures. So anything less given by the Legislature, and the governor could complain that lawmakers didn't spend money on health insurance reform and teacher pay as he wanted.

But House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, says there may be only enough money for a bare-bones start on health care and moderate raises for teachers and public employees.

By the end of the session this will all be worked out. Watch for some political fun before, however.

• On Sunday's op-ed page, the Deseret Morning News published a personal attack on me by state Sens. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, and Mike Dmitrich, D-Price.

The two public servants didn't like a story that was written by my colleague, Lee Davidson, and me on legislative conflicts of interest — but they chose to attack only me.

The two fine public servants accused me, among other things, of having poor journalistic ethics.

I'll put my journalistic ethics up against these two public servants' political ethics any day.

One simple set of facts — not accusations — makes my point: In 2007, Utah's 104 part-time legislators took in a total of $250,000 in gifts from registered lobbyists — who, by a law I'm sure many lawmakers regret ever passing, requires lobbyists to list how much they spend on legislators.

In some other states, or even Congress, such gift-taking might be called "legalized bribery" — as indeed it has been called in Congress. But not in Utah. In Utah, it is the cost born by many lobbyists (although certainly not all) in trying to influence the Legislature.

Anyway, guess who was the top dog in taking lobbyists' gifts in 2007?