Rep. Tammy Rowan's "English As The Official Language" bill was killed Friday. Again.

The bill was voted down by a House committee several weeks ago. But Friday Rowan said the issue is so important and has so much support among citizens at large that the whole House should hear it. But her attempt to lift the bill from committee for debate failed.Rep. Dave Hogue, R-Riverton, said Rowan had been "beat up, dragged down and knocked around" more than any other legislator this session because of the bill. For that suffering, she should have her bill heard.

The bill says that Utah state government will only use English in its official documents, with a few specific exceptions. It doesn't stop state employees from using another language to talk to citizens making inquiries.

Hogue said that maybe this is a politically tough issue, but that everyone should step up and represent their constituents.

A number of representatives said their bills were also killed by a committee but that it's wrong to leap-frog the system and bring up such a bill now.

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Rowan said she may take her issue to citizen initiative and get the matter either on the 1998 ballot or before the Legislature in 1999.

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