They came 45 days ago with goals - cut taxes, control government growth, fight crime and spend more on education and roads.

By and large, they succeeded.The 1995 Legislature, which adjourned at midnight Wednesday, didn't do all that the 104 members and Gov. Mike Leavitt wanted. No legislature does.

But legislators did give a $90 million property-tax cut. They held government growth to 7.1 percent - not the 5.5 percent a number of Republicans wanted at the start, but a step down from the 8.8 percent more in spending that Leavitt suggested back on Jan. 16 when the session began.

"We cut $45 million in spending" from Leavitt's budget, said House Budget Chairman Marty Stephens, R-Farr West.

And when the dust clears Friday and legislative attorneys can review all the bills that passed in the final minutes, it's likely the 1995 Legislature passed about 400 new laws, a record.

Yes, Leavitt, a Republican, squabbled with GOP leaders over their desire to spend less and give a bigger tax cut than he wanted. But, hey, these people are all Republicans. And after a few heated meetings, maybe some kindly threats, they got together, split their differences and were buddies again.

The GOP budget provides record spending for education and roads - although there never will be enough money for either. A box full of crime bills passed, from getting tougher on juvenile felons to building two new prisons with a total 360 cells.

But the 1995 session wasn't just about money.

A number of family, community and personal-value resolutions and bills passed. A community-based values effort will begin in connection with Utah's centennial celebration. Schoolteachers will receive in-service training so they can better teach "Utah values."

And a moment-of-silence resolution, asking Congress to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow a moment of silence in the schools, also passed. However, a bill that would require local Utah schools to have such a moment of silence - which may or may not have become a silent prayer for a child - failed to pass the House in the final hours.

Some, especially the minority Democrats, thought the 1995 Legislature, with about 20 percent new members, would be more conservative than the 1993-94 version. Phrases like "Radical Right" and "arch conservative" were used by Democrats in describing the GOP's earliest budget plans.

And while Republicans, with some Democratic votes, did restrict local gun-control laws and talked tough on less government restrictions on business and in residents' lives, Republican leaders quietly and effectively killed debate on tougher anti-abortion bills - which historically are the most divisive debates in the Legislature.

For the first time in recent memory, there was not one word about abortion spoken on the floor of the House or Senate. Rep. Robert Killpack, R-Murray, says his bill that would require a woman seeking an abortion to view a videotape of a 3-week-old fetus with a beating heart will be studied over the next year.

If one philosophical theme rose from the session, it's likely an echo from the new GOP-controlled U.S. Congress: Get government out of our lives.

Bill after bill failed in the House and Senate on the argument that it was more regulation, more Big Brother.

Down went a primary seatbelt law. The argument went: It may save lives and money, but adult drivers should decide for themselves. Down went a motorcycle helmet law - same argument. Down went registration for short-term day-care centers. The argument: Too much regulation, and parents should know something about the center in which they place their children.

And down went a bill that would require retail sellers of cigarettes to put the packs behind the counter so kids can't steal them and get hooked on tobacco. Grocery store owners don't want to lose retail goods, the argument went, and do the best they can to stop such thefts.

While less government may be a theme, the tune played over and over again was cut taxes.

Utah government has grown at a record pace the past decade, doubling from $2.5 billion to $5 billion in just several years. Since 1988, more than $650 million in surplus funds have come in; until this year, only $34 million of it was returned in tax cuts.

This year's $90 million property-tax cut is really a lot more than that. A Tax Commission factoring order issued last year would have resulted in more than $50 million coming into state coffers if lawmakers had done nothing. Republicans rightfully want credit for averting that pending tax increase, too, so they say their actions are at least a $140 million tax cut, the largest in state history.

But because Utah's real estate market was so hot the past several years - and because Salt Lake County didn't reappraise as often as needed - most county homeowners will not see a tax cut this year. (See chart on Page A17). While a $100,000 Cache County home will have a $169 property-tax decrease this year, a $100,000 Sandy home will have a $53 increase.

And those numbers assume local cities, counties, school districts and special-improvement districts will lower their tax rates to abide by the truth-in-taxation law. If local entities don't lower their rates, few homeowners will see a tax cut or more will see a tax increase.

While lawmakers gave tax cuts and shifted as much property tax as they could to businesses from homes, legislative leaders agree "the biggest property-tax cut in the state's history" is a stop-gap measure. If home prices continue to rise, annual reappraisals by county assessors will likely lead to higher homeowner property taxes in years to come.

Finally, lawmakers decided outdoor sportsmen and litigators will face fee increases in 1995.

To fund a new $63 million courts complex in downtown Salt Lake City, court filing fees will go up. And to stem deterioration of Utah's deer herds and fishing streams, a number of hunting and fishing licenses will go up by $5 or more to fund a special habitat-conservation program.

*****

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Legislature wrap-up

- Last-minute action steps Utah away from lock-'em-up-and-throw-away-the-key prison sentences for child molesters/ B1

View Comments

- Taxes are cut $130 million to $140 million, but a few fees increase/ A17

- Tuition hikes will greet most Utah college students/ A19

- State lawmakers berate federal-government mandates at the same time mayors bemoan legislative mandates on local governments/ A21

- It's a wrap on the 1995 general legislative session/ A17-23

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.