The Week Ahead
Tax, Transit Issues on the Line Today
It’s back to work after a nice holiday weekend. Politics heats up quickly this week with crucial meetings today that will determine the future of tax reform and mass transit funding. The Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee meets at 8 a.m. (See agenda.) Proposed legislation on tax reform and Salt Lake County mass transit funding will be discussed and public comment will be received. Then all House and Senate members convene in separate special meetings at 10 a.m. for staff briefings and discussions, before dividing into caucuses. (See House notice and Senate notice.) The Governor’s Office will make presentations in the meetings, in addition to legislative staff.
If legislative leaders determine, as a result of the meetings today, that sufficient support exists for tax reform and mass transit funding, then the Legislature is expected to formally convene later this month to act on those matters.
While some detractors of both tax reform and transit funding may argue that these issues should be addressed in a general session rather than a special session to provide more time for discussion, the reality is that these issues have been scrutinized and studied for years and now is the best time to act.
The effort to broaden the income tax base and reduce the rate has been investigated, debated and studied in a variety of committees and forums since former Gov. Olene Walker made a big push for tax reform. While the specific proposal on the table doesn’t go as far as many would like, it makes a good start on meaningful tax reform, giving taxpayers an opportunity to choose a lower, flatter income tax rate or stick with the higher rate with the usual deductions.
The saga of mass transit funding in Salt Lake County also has a long history, with local governments, led by the Wasatch Front Regional Council, having studied funding proposals and projects for years. The local leaders have made recommendations and prioritized projects according to need and congestion relief. Business leaders have also weighed in, strongly supporting new TRAX lines and a commuter rail line to Provo.
A big issue has been whether the new lines should be funded by a property tax increase or sales tax increase. Most leaders, along with voters (as shown in a number of opinion surveys), prefer using sales tax to pay for transit improvements. Using sales tax requires legislative action.
If a special session is convened later this month, the Legislature would simply authorize the sales tax transit proposal to be placed on the November ballot. Voters would decide if the tax is raised and the new TRAX and commuter rail lines are constructed.
One important factor is that it is so late in the election year that any further delay will eliminate any chance of getting the sales tax proposal on the November ballot. That would leave a property tax proposal on the ballot, placed there previously by the Salt Lake County Council, and the outcome would be uncertain.
New Utah Policy Daily Feature
Utah’s Top Issues
It’s important for Utah policymakers and opinion leaders to be aware of and up-to-speed on the top issues facing the state. As a service to readers, UPD is going to weekly publish a list of what we think are Utah’s top issues. The list is not necessarily generated from opinion research, although we may periodically do a survey asking citizens about their top concerns.
Instead, the list is generated by observing what’s hot in the news media, what’s on the agenda of various policymaking groups, and what’s being discussed among opinion leaders and policymakers. We welcome suggestions and input from UPD readers. Let us know if we missed something.
In the future, we may link from the list of issues to stories and research on those topics, and we may invite experts to write opinion essays about some of the issues, or produce point-counterpoint articles. If you have other ideas, let us know by e-mailing daily@utahpolicy.com.
Utah’s Top Issues
Hottest of the Hot
- Special session for tax reform/transit funding
Emerging
- Tolling on highways
- Legislative judicial retention
- Snake Valley water pumping for Las Vegas
- SITLA land sale on Green River
Mature
- 2006 election campaigns
- Downtown SLC revitalization
- Immigration
- Washington County lands sales
- Open space funding
- Nuclear waste on Goshute Reservation
Getting Old
Oldies But Goodies
- Banks/Credit Unions
- Highway funding
- Vouchers/School Choice
- Education funding
- No Child Left Behind
- Healthcare reform/Intermountain Healthcare
If Demos Win the House
Some fodder for LaVar Christensen: What will the House leadership and chairmanships look like if Democrats take over the House? Here’s a Wall Street Journal editorial on the subject. Time magazine did an interesting profile on would-be Speaker Nancy Pelosi, entitled: “Anyone Knows Not to Mess With Me”.
Washington Watch
Lands Bill Opposed
Editorial opposes the Washington Co. growth bill recently introduced in Congress by Sen. Bob Bennett and Rep. Jim Matheson (New York Times); columnist also opposes the bill (High Country News).
Blog Watch
At the Senate Site blog, Sen. Curt Bramble says: "Utah's tax system is difficult to change. The proposal legislators will consider [today] doesn't take reform as far as many of us would like, but injecting a flat tax computation into the system is a very significant step in the right direction" (see also here, here, here, and here)... The Wasatch Front says: "When passion collides with civility, civility loses. A case in point: Mayor Rocky Anderson's 2005 and 2006 responses to President Bush visiting the United States. When Utah did not erupt in spontaneous revulsion, the mayor took it upon himself to organize protests against the President's presence. (Unanswered and unexplored is the question of what city resources and employees were used to organize these protests. Seems like a job for some enterprising reporter out there. Too bad the local newspapers -- the Salt Lake Tribune, the Deseret News -- don't employ any.) Now what, exactly, they were protesting about on Friday is unclear. The Iraq war, Israel, Palestine, stem cells, abortion, dry itchy skin, that the sun was shining -- the signs had a host of reasons. In truth, they were a rabble looking for a leader. They found cheerleader instead. ... The next time a Democrat complains about how Republicans have taken the civility out of politics -- you may want to remind them of this pathetic episode. An episode where the outraged passions of a decided few ... were elevated over the need for decorum and civility. Not that the aggrieved elite care, but we all lost something with this" (see also here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here)... Jeremy's Jeremiad posts video of Davis County Commission candidates Rob Miller and Brett Millburn being interviewed on Davis Cable 17... UNCoRRELATED says: "My representative to the House may be in for a rough ride this election. Jim Matheson, Democrat in the deep red state of Utah may be in trouble. Not because he's a Democrat, but because he isn't Democrat enough" (see also here)... Utah Democrats says Labor Day was "a fitting time to review the state of wages and healthcare in the Beehive State. Unfortunately, things do not look good, especially on the healthcare front"... CoolestFamilyEver endorses Senate candidate Pete Ashdown (see also here)... At Out of Context, Matt Canham says: "Not to beat a dead horse -- a dead horse stuffed with lots and lots of cash -- but we failed to include one interesting fact in a recent story about Sen. Orrin Hatch's campaign spending. Hatch had $2.5 million in the bank as of June, after spending $1.7 million since the start of 2005. But a campaign expenditure on Oct. 1, 2004, says a lot about the status of Hatch's fundraising. He gave $83,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the stated reason on the finance disclosure form -- 'excess campaign funds'" (see also here and here)... House District 51 candidate Lisa Johnson says: "In a recent interview with the Ogden Standard Examiner [see here], Senator Bob Bennett made some surprising statements about the Utah Democratic Party and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our Junior U.S. Senator stated: that Utah Democrats have become 'the anti-Mormon party'; that the Utah Democratic Party has 'chased away Mormon moderates and is now a party of extremists'; [and] that 'The Democrats can’t bring themselves to have a big enough tent.' As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a member of the Democratic Party, I was shocked by these statements. ... Although we don’t all agree on everything, I have found my fellow Democrats to be friendly, accepting, encouraging, and supportive. At no time have I felt that my membership in the LDS church was a problem. Nor have I ever felt pressured to compromise my religious convictions. ... If Senator Bennett would like to learn more about Utah Democrats, I invite him to come meet some of us for himself. Our caucuses -- from the neighborhood to the legislature -- are open, as is the door to our big tent. Come on in and take a peek" (see also here, here, and here).
Chamber Likes Tax Reform
The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce announces its "support for Gov. Huntsman's proposal to reform Utah's individual income tax by offering a dual tax system. The proposed system provides immediate tax relief and introduces an optional flat tax system in 2007. Business leaders call upon the governor to convene a special session this month to reduce taxes and reform Utah's antiquated individual income tax system" (see press release).
UF Analyzes Transit Taxes
The Utah Foundation's latest research report "analyzes the effects of proposed property or sales tax increases for transit improvements in Salt Lake County. The report was commissioned by the Salt Lake Chamber to help it understand the impacts each tax would have on household and business taxpayers with additional analysis on the policy and political implications of each tax option." For more info and to read the report, click here.
Huntsman: Utah on the Move
At a CEO Roundtable discussion with Utah business executives hosted by the Utah Technology Council, Gov. Huntsman says Utah's reputation in the technology and life science industries is strong and currently growing, but cautions that there's still a long way to go: "Forbes Magazine lists Utah as number 4 in all 50 states as the best place to do business. We're the best in the whole Western U.S. We're on the move. Now is not the time to throttle back. ... We have to attract the new businesses. We don't have all of the services and accoutrements we need to keep an economy going" (see press release). |
