Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. launched the first large-scale legislative lobbying effort of his administration on Monday, inviting lawmakers to the Governor's Mansion to hear his pitch on tax reform.
The afternoon meeting was one of at least a half-dozen scheduled this week by Huntsman to sell his so-called "dual track" state income tax system that would cut taxes by $70 million and give Utahns the option of paying a flat rate without deductions.
"I think it will make a difference," Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said of the governor's decision to personally push his plan. "He had to do this or else it was not going to get done."
Valentine and House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, met with Huntsman last week to talk about what it would take to get the tax plan passed in a special session next month. Huntsman was told then he'd have to work hard to woo votes.
Every lawmaker has been invited to meet with the governor this week, either at the mansion or during visits Huntsman has set for Logan, Syracuse and St. George, according to the governor's spokesman, Mike Mower.
The response has "been very positive," Mower said. "Some have some questions but that's what these meetings are designed to address. ... I think they've all appreciated the invitation."
Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Salt Lake, certainly did. She said she went into her meeting with governor Monday with questions about the tax plan and came out convinced she could support it.
"I think he has done his homework," Walker said.
She said the meetings that the governor plans with other lawmakers will go over very well. "I think this is really going the extra mile. I think legislators will appreciate that."
The lobbying blitz comes the same week President Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are in Salt Lake City to address the American Legion Convention.
Although Huntsman will have breakfast Tuesday at the Governor's Mansion with Rice and greet Bush when Air Force One touches down late Wednesday, Mower said he's spending most of his time getting together with legislators to talk taxes.
"He wants a chance to visit with them and explain why this is so important to Utah's competitiveness in the future," Mower said. "This effort demonstrates his commitment to enacting dual tax reform."
Lawmakers are scheduled to meet Sept. 5 about the tax plan, with the GOP majority holding caucuses to determine whether there is support for a special session. If there is, Huntsman is expected to call the Legislature back into session in mid-September.
An earlier try at tax reform failed in the final hours of the 2006 Legislature, leaving $70 million on the table. The governor had intended to bring lawmakers back right away but ended up abandoning that plan after millions of dollars in calculation errors were discovered.
Since then, there has been much debate about whether to tackle an income tax cut before the next general session begins in January, especially after the state budget year ended on June 30 with a $351 million surplus.
What's now being proposed is a "dual track" plan that would reduce taxes by $70 million while giving taxpayers a choice between staying in the current income tax system or paying a lower, flat rate without deductions.
Although the governor is also expected to put another item on the special session agenda, authorization for a sales-tax increase for mass transit to appear on the November ballot in Salt Lake County, the focus is on income taxes.
Huntsman has said the tax rate needs to be lowered to attract economic development, and the latest plan would offer a 5.3 percent flat tax option while adjusting the brackets in the current system that tops out at 7 percent.
Valentine, who supports the income tax plan, said the governor has his work cut out for him. "What he's going to have to do is make the case that this is going to be better for the state than the present system," the Senate leader said.
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