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Pat Bagley cartoon
on the BYU-Utah rivalry.
Speaker’s Legislative Preview
New House Speaker Greg Curtis provided a preview of the
2005 legislative session in an appearance Thursday before the Salt
Lake Chamber’s Government Affairs Advisory Committee. Among the
big issues he sees coming before the session are transportation
funding, telecommunications legislation, a credit union resolution
from the Financial Services Task Force, and liability issues related
to reuse of medical devices.
Curtis said he doubts the lawmakers will realistically be able
to use $180 million from the general fund for transportation funding
over two years as suggested by the Transportation Task Force. He
said he would like to explore the possibility of earmarking taxes
and fees related to automobiles and transportation to help fund
highways and transit. For example, the sales tax collected on automobile
purchases could be dedicated to transportation needs.
State government has a serious responsibility to adequately fund
basic services such as transportation, education and public safety,
the new speaker said. But he added that his philosophy is that tax
increases don’t help the economy grow. Many groups want to raise
taxes just a little bit here and there to fund this or that. But
it all adds up and can be a damper on the economy, he said.
Curtis said committee assignments would be completed by the end
of this month, and he doesn’t expect widespread changes in committee
leadership.
The speaker said that despite the seeming disorder of a legislative
session, he has great confidence in the process and that the right
things will be done for Utah citizens in the final outcome. The
nature of a legislature is such that during the process bills are
introduced or speeches given that many people might not like. But
the final result will be right for the state.
Curtis also had interesting things to say about the new very tight
legislative accommodations in the new west building at the Capitol
complex. I’ll report on those comments in Monday’s Policy Daily.
Reader Response
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