Thursday, January 25

Today legislators will ponder creating new school districts, electing county commissions and councils, investing severance tax revenue in land and water, and commission of violent crimes in front of children.

This Morning:

SENATE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS (8 am in W020) will discuss SB 30, which spells out the nuts and bolts of creating brand new school districts: electing new school boards, setting boundaries for new and old districts, levying taxes, paying off bonds, and managing transition teams.

Under SB 41, beginning with the 2012 election, members of a county commission or county council would have to be elected by district rather than at large in a county of the first or second class, that is counties with large populations like Salt Lake. The current Salt Lake County Council has two members elected at large and the rest are elected by district. District candidates would have to live in the district for one year. In smaller counties candidates would be elected at large, unless a court ordered otherwise.

HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT (in W125@ 8) debates HB 102, which creates a new Land and Water Reinvestment Account to hold part of the revenue from severance taxes on oil, gas, and mining. The account would get the greater of $5 million or 9% of the revenue from oil and gas, and the greater of $1 million or 9% of the revenue from mining. No more than $15 million could be deposited. The money would than be split three ways for the LeRay McAllister Critical Land and Conservation Fund, the Rangeland Improvement Fund, and the Department of Natural Resources for watershed rehabilitation or restoration.

HOUSE JUDICIARY (in W010 at 8) will discuss HB 274, which directs judges and the Board of Pardons and Parole to include commission of a violent offense in the presence of a child 14 or younger as an aggravating factor when sentencing or granting parole.

After lunch, all Appropriations Subcommittees meet to examine budgets for the Governor's Office of Economic Development, Tourism Development, Guardian ad Litem, Water Resources; Oil, Gas and Mining; and even a Tuition Tax Credit bill (SB 62) that would give refundable credits to higher education students for part of their tuition and fees.

Sandy Peck

League of Women Voters, 3804 Highland Drive 8-D, Salt Lake City, UT 84106

(801)272-8683 fax (801)272-5942

www.lwvutah.org

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