Request for funds breaches promise, lawmaker says
Remember when Utah lawmakers promised $59 million for the Olympics and no more?Rep. Jordan Tanner does. He reminded his House colleagues of that promise Thursday afternoon just before they voted 46-25 to spend $700,000 to build a day lodge at the new Nordic skiing venue at Soldier Hollow outside Midway.
Remember when backers of the state buying the Heber Creeper railroad in 1994 for $1 million said they wouldn't come back and ask for more state aid?
Tanner remembers that, too. And he reminded representatives when they voted to spend $260,000 for a new depot.
This time, said House Majority Whip Dave Ure, R-Kamas, you can count on the Soldier Hollow park not asking for any more state money. "We've told the foundation (set up to operate the site during winter months) you don't come back to the trough. The day lodge is it."
A similar spending bill has passed the Senate. Now GOP leaders will try to find the money for both the day lodge and the train depot as they put together the fiscal 2001 $6.7 billion state budget.
Tanner, who voted for the House bill, said : "Time after time we've said the state would spend $59 million on Olympic venues. No more." He added that building the day lodge means the state will now oversee "winter sport programs, something we have never done before. We've left those to private enterprise."
Ure said the foundation will operate the Soldier Hollow facility during the winter months. "We hope kids will be able to go cross country skiing for only $2 a day." In the spring, summer and fall, the state parks system will operate the area for bicycling, weddings at the scenic lodge and so on.
But Tanner warned that state parks request money annually to help subsidize the operations -- something lawmakers vowed would not happen with other Olympic venues once the Games were gone.
Reckless-driving measure gets preliminary Senate OK
The Senate on Thursday gave preliminary approval to HB9, which would allow use of unmarked state police vehicles to work in a tag-team tandem with identified cruisers to nab speeders, drunken drivers, reckless drivers and other lawbreaking motorists.
The bill also changes the definition of reckless driving to include a series of three or more moving violations.
The measure, which passed on a 20-4 vote after its first Senate debate, is likely to be approved by the Senate and sent on to the governor for his signature.
Measure to restrict Net sales of tobacco gets initial OK
A bill that would close a legal loophole allowing out-of-state tobacco companies to sell cigarettes to minors over the Internet was given initial approval by the Senate on Thursday.
The Senate voted 25-0 in favor of SB141, sponsored by Sen. Ed Allen, D-Ogden. The bill makes it clear that selling cigarettes to Utah minors over the Internet, the telephone and through the mail is illegal.
A recent sting operation by the Utah Attorney General's Office revealed that Utah teenagers are able to order cigarettes over the Web and have them delivered to their homes.
Plan to raise liability limits gets preliminary Senate OK
The Senate gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill that would increase the liability limit for governments within the state.
SB35 would raise the cap on the amount of money a governmental entity could pay in damages for a personal injury judgment against that government.
The ceiling would move from $250,000 per person to $500,000 per person, and from $500,000 to $1 million for any one incident involving two or more people.
Plan to require skills tests for teachers is withdrawn
A bill seeking to require prospective teachers to pass a basic skills test before receiving a teaching license has been pulled by its sponsor.
Rep. Keele Johnson, R-Blanding, said Thursday he wants to continue working with the State Office of Education to ensure the bill is in top shape before debates begin.
HB183 also sought to require teachers seeking high-level licenses to take a skills test and demonstrate proficiency in their subjects.
But some teachers note many education colleges require skills tests anyway and said resources would be better spent on mentoring programs and classroom supplies, among other items.
"I had some real concerns on how this was going to address quality education," said 2000 Utah Teacher of the Year Jo Lynn Miller of Cottonwood Elementary. "It seemed like it would be an additional thing to add in a state where we don't have the resources to meet the (current) demands."