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Revenue Numbers Up?
Rumors are floating around Capitol Hill that updated revenue numbers will boost available money by another significant amount, perhaps around $150 million. This is great news, considering the last several years when revenue has been so tight. Now is the time to make a major investment in transportation and the Strategic R&D Initiative being proposed by the Salt Lake Chamber.
I don’t believe anyone out there is clamoring for a tax cut. Now is the time for investment in Utah’s economic future (which will generate more revenue for Utah’s schools). I agree with lawmakers that the extra money shouldn’t be built into base budgets of agencies, but instead should be invested in projects. That avoids big program cuts, layoffs or forced tax increases in the event of future economic downturns.
Former Gov. Walker Highlighted
Nice article on Olene Walker in the Winter 2005 BYU Magazine. The lengthy article doesn’t shed any light on what all of us are wondering about—what Gov. Walker plans to do next. But it is a nice piece. The online version of the magazine can be found by clicking here, but the articles in the latest edition hadn’t been posted as of this morning
The Legislature’s Web Site
The Utah Legislature has a terrific Web site that is an excellent resource for anyone wanting information about a particular legislator, a particular bill, or to follow overall legislative action. With so many bills scheduled on the House and Senate floor in a day, it’s often hard to keep up with very many of them in a timely manner. The Legislature’s new site is designed to help governmental affairs professionals and interested citizens who care about what happens on the Hill keep an eye on the development of pending legislation.
At http://le.utah.gov/, you can:
- Use a free bill tracking service, which offers unlimited tracking of legislation as it progresses through the 2005 session.
- Utilize a special search engine that locates bills by their number, sponsor, subject or committee.
- Listen to live audio from both the House and Senate Floors.
Other resources include:
- Easy access to daily and weekly calendars and agendas with automated e-mail alerts of committee meetings, minutes and agendas.
- A budget drivers section, which outlines the significant factors driving department, institutional, and public education budgets.
- A key issues section identifying the important issues of the 2005 General Session.
- A section on Utah legislators that includes rosters, seating charts, leadership, and district maps.
- An archive of past bills dating from 1990.
- A separate page for each session of the legislature (including special ones) dating back to 1997, with lists of measures that were introduced or passed, as well as of code sections that were affected by enacted legislation.
- A section where you can read legislative journals, which record the activities of each chamber on a daily basis during the legislative session.
- A section on legislative committees, including Appropriations, Commissions, Interim and Standing committees, Subcommittees, and Task Forces.
- A section on the Utah Constitution and Utah laws.
- A Citizen’s Guide to the Utah Legislature.
- A Civic Education resource for Utah educators.
- General research resources.
Found Floating Around the Internet: The Year’s Best (Actual) Headlines of 2004
-- Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Experts Say
-- Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
-- Miners Refuse To Work After Death
-- Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
-- War Dims Hope for Peace
-- If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
-- Cold Wave Linked to Temperature
-- Enfield (London) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
-- Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
-- Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge
-- New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
-- Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft
-- Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
-- Chef Throws His Heart into Helping Feed Needy
-- Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
-- Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
-- Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery: Hundreds Dead
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