Talk Back

An exciting thing about blogs is the universe of thought it brings to our fingertips. Jay Rosen -- who I never would have read or heard of, without the blogosphere (sorry, Jay -- my short range, not yours) -- has become a favorite. In this article, he discusses how the Internet is moving reporting from a lecture to a conversation. While I think that's all good and well and, no doubt, accurate, it's not what floats my boat. The place my mind keeps racing as I read the article, is how it all applies to politics and governance. He makes the point, quoting a James W. Carey, that:

Republics require conversation, often cacaphonous conversation, for they should be noisy places. That conversation has to be informed, of course, and the press has a role in supplying that information. But the kind of information required can be generated only by public conversation; there is simply no substitute for it. We have virtually no idea what it is we need to know until we start talking to someone.

I'll continue to have town meetings and mail out updates, but I'm excited that this space might contribute to a fuller public conversation. Feeling my oats a bit, I'm going to start getting the word out to constituents that this is up. I hope they'll jump in the dialogue and share their collective wisdom and insight.

Hang On There, Sparky

Apparently, the Gov-elect's Chief of Staff is thinking up ways of getting the legislators out among the people:

"We're excited to get out to the people of Utah, away from Salt Lake City" for the speech, Chaffetz said. "You'll see Gov. Huntsman out among the people all the time, and it's good to get the Legislature out, too."

Um, does he know legislators are each elected from a certain part of the State and that we're only in session 45-days out of the year? I think today -- as I go to my full-time job and take my kids swimming and exchange a Christmas gift at Christensen's and take in a movie -- I'll offer constituents photo ops. When my neighbors and friends ask what the heck I'm doing, I'll proclaim I am being one of them; you know, man-of-the-people.

Give me a break.

A State-of-the-State speech in rural Utah is cool, and I support it, but I would think, with the general session just 20-days away and no specific legislative recommendations having been offered by the incoming-administration, Jason has more pressing concerns than getting "the Legislature out more."

Pot, Meet Kettle

In a Deseret News article today, a spokesman for the Sierra Club expresses concern that the Lake Powell pipeline to Washington County could take away money the State needs for education and transportation:

He questioned whether many millions of dollars should be invested in the project when school textbooks may be in short supply for school children and transportation may be short-changed.

Ya. It would have been nice had they thought of that before they wasted many millions of dollars by their challenge to the Legacy Highway in Northern Utah.

Grammatically Speaking

I received Eats, Shoots and Leaves for Christmas. Lynne Truss approaches grammar like Joe Frazier approaches a fight -- no nonsense, no pulled punches, and no prisoners. For example,

Someone wrote to say that my use of "one's" was wrong ("a common error"), and that it should be ones. This is such rubbish that I refuse to argue about it. Go and tell Virginia Woolf it should be A Room of Ones Own and see how far you get.

and

The big final rule for the comma is one that you won't find in any books by grammarians. It is quite easy to remember, however. The rule is: don't use commas like a stupid person. I mean it.

The one area where she does equivocate a bit is regarding the effect of the Internet on language (and punctuation in particular). While she decries e-communication's effect on the language --"Nothing as scary as this has confronted punctuation before" -- I disagree. Sure, the rules of the road are often neglected in e-mails and text messages, but abbreviated formatting is nothing new. Rather, I am excited and encouraged by the lofty standards of communication, including grammar and even punctuation, being displayed on the Internet.

In my own profession, I have been distressed that lawyers, while occupying an ever-greater role in society, have been largely divorced from the intelligible debates of that society. Now, though, through weblogs, lawyers are applying their analytical and communication skills to the issues of the day -- in ways that people can even understand. For a small sampling, check out Glenn Reynolds, Richard Posner, Benjamin Volokh, Hugh Hewitt, Ann Althouse, Stephen Bainbridge, and the folks at Powerline.

Media and Public Policy

I appreciate the watchdog role of the media. Too often, though, the media engages in helpless hand-wringing that only serves to further disengage the public. In its varying forms, the charges are the same -- elected officials are in it for themselves and could care less about the public and, by the way, they respond only to special interests, not constituents. Those predisposed to believe such conspiracy theories are further inflamed, and those who are not are further turned off to the entire process.

I wonder if it is cause or effect that, in my very politically-active corner of the state, the newspaper editorializes in a constructive manner (e.g., the County surely didn't break any laws; in fact, it probably made the right decision; but, no gold stars are awarded for the process followed, and more input should be expected in the future. And, not a single suggestion that the officials involved are sorry human beings). This is the type of watchdogging that leads to increased citizen involvement and, ultimately, to results.

If any constituent wants to talk to me, my cell phone number is 435/668-7759.

Merry Christmas

Sara's sister and her family joined us for Christmas. We had a wonderful recital and reenactment of the nativity and just a very nice day. Sara is amazing. How she does all she does, and does it so well, I have no idea. Our brother-in-law, Paul, is an Army Major and will leave for Iraq soon. I thank God that he and so many other dedicated men and women are willing to serve our country and safeguard freedom (because isn't that, after all, what we're fighting about?). Many peaceful, happy scenes played out all over this nation and this world today, because of the service of people we have never met nor ever will. Miracles and angels do exist.

Constituent Input

My constituents are much smarter than I am -- especially at knowing what they want. Therefore, I am always pleased when they provide input.

I received a letter this week from a constituent, expressing disappointment that I had not responded to his inquiry on a certain policy issue (drivers licenses for illegal aliens). I quickly set up a meeting with him and did meet with him today to thank him for his involvement and to discuss the issue (I am against issuing drivers licenses to illegal aliens).

I am always grateful when constituents share their time, wisdom and opinions with me. Often, constituents have taught me much about issues affecting their lives. If I'm ever slow at responding, it means the message got lost in the inches of information and messages I receive everyday; get back to me, again.

Tuition Tax Credits II

Ronnie Lynn wrote a good article on tuition tax credits ("TTC") in today's Tribune. The study she describes should not be viewed as the determinative factor in the TTC debate. Rather, it is one tool in the tool box, to be used to determine whether TTC could benefit overall funding of public education.

In any study of a complex issue, assumptions will be subject to criticism. On balance, I think the study ends up providing useful data. While I tend to agree that some of the positive numbers might have been overstated (like the marginal cost per student), I also believe that some of the negative numbers also might have been overstated. For example, there is no marginal cost for a student receiving the tax credit, if that student would have gone to private school without the credit. In other words, that student receives the credit but never would have put a financial burden on the public system. For TTC to financially work, there needs to be a certain number of "switchers" -- kids who would have gone to public schools, but, in response to the TTC, opt for private school and, thereby, save the system the cost of providing his education (which cost would have been greater than the TTC offered; hence, a savings to the system).

In determining the cost to the system of those kids who would receive the credit but never would have entered public schools in any event (about 2.7% of the population, by the way), the economists had to determine what percent of those students would qualify for free and reduced lunch (since their cost on the system is greater -- 150% that of other students). The economists used 30% -- meaning they assumed that 3 out of every 10 kids currently enrolled in private schools (without the credit, mind you) qualify for free and reduced lunch. Well, that's obviously too high a factor. If a factor of 10 or 20% had been used, the final number reached by the economists for overall benefit to the system would have been even higher.

Again, the assumptions of the study are subject to challenge and should be challenged. And, that is the beauty of a model. It is capable of accommodating varying projects and assumptions. The model is a tool. And, I'm glad we have it in the tool box to aid our discussion.

Here Comes the Judge

I had dinner with Christine Durham, Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, and several other judges. A number that surprised me is that 85% of all criminal prosecutions in the State involve drugs. This number would include crimes committed to get drug money or committed as a result of doing something stupid while on drugs. What a scourge.

One thing we are doing that seems to be working is drug court. In drug court, the offender is offered a supervised chance at rehabilitation, with the consequence of failure being jail. It seems to be working -- at a societal and actual cost far lower than incarceration. Recidivism rates are far lower among drug court attendees (even those who don't actually "graduate") than those who do the jail-only route.

I'm a believer in funding what works and defunding what doesn't. Having attended Judge Shumate's very successful drug court (spectator only), I have been a believer for a while. I plan on supporting Sen. Chris Butters Drug Offenders Reform Act.

Growing Pains

Growing states have serious infrastructure costs. It's at this point in the growth curve that other states started realizing constitutionally-guaranteed benefits from the sale of federal lands (5% of the proceeds) and placement of those lands on the tax rolls (less than 25% of Utah's land contributes to the property tax -- which is a major funding source for public education). Congress decided, however, in 1976 to unilaterally breach its promises to the western states regarding disposal of federal lands, meaning we get 5% of nothing, the land never goes on the tax rolls, and we don't get full royalties for natural resources. Western states are beginning to approach Congress to provide a remedy for its breach. The need is vital -- as shown by the fact that 10 of the bottom 12 states at increasing education funding over the last 30 years are western states.

That's Strange

The Deseret News ran an article about "secret conflicts of interest an issue for legislative leaders." It said:

A review of all nine legislators' conflict of interest forms, filed two years ago, shows that not one of the private-practice attorneys listed clients by name.

Pretty sure that I had listed my clients, I called the Chief Clerk of the House, Carole Peterson, to check. She confirmed that I had listed my clients with potential conflicts for all the world to see (Southern Utah Federal Credit Union, Workers Compensation Fund, Interstate Rock Products, and Newby Buick).

Tuition Tax Credits

Rep. Gregg Buxton hosted an informal gathering at his home to discuss tuition tax credits ("TTC"). TTC advocates (Utah Education Excellence and the Utah Taxpayers Association) and opponents (superintendents and representatives from school districts and the Utah Education Association) had a lively and good discussion, focusing mainly on a Utah State/Southern Utah University finding that TTC would save between hundreds-of-millions to over a billion dollars.

The discussion is maturing a bit, moving from raw, fatalistic rhetoric toward a more substantive analysis. Two key points on this debate are (1) we need to focus broadly on improving education, not on protecting or promoting any particular educational agenda, and (2) regarding financing issues, we need to understand that a balance sheet has 2 sides. Though this latter point seems obvious, I have seen many very intelligent people grab the cost side and completely write off the financial benefits side of the ledger.

Actually, a third point -- everyone needs to come to the table. I applaud those who constructively engage in the dialogue. It is very complex, but opportunities do exist to simultaneously advance education and meet the public's desire for choice, if we stay at the table and figure it out.

One interesting tidbit from the discussion was the Utah Taxpayer Association's analysis that districts with declining enrollment are managing the situation well and, rather than financially struggling, they actually are providing more money per student than are the growing districts ($400 more per student). I couldn't link directly to their report, but it can be found here and, then, go to the July 2004 issue.

Compare and Contrast

Two Salt Lake newspapers ran articles today on whether hotter radioactive waste will come into the State. One ran a fairly dispassionate article, laying out a firm's proposal to import B&C waste to Utah, suggesting that it is not likely to receive approval. The other also stated that a new proposal is on the table, though it does not mention that the proposal has a snowball's chance. Instead, the second article takes the angle that Gov-elect Huntsman is "hedging" on campaign promises. The "hedge" goes something like this: even though he concludes the waste won't come in and that more aggressive actions might actually jeopardize the State's legal standing, he hedges by not taking those more aggressive, possibly detrimental actions.

Waste policy is a difficult and complex arena. Because of the money involved in disposal, lawyers lurk at every corner waiting for a misstep. Having chaired the Waste Policy Task Force and wanting as much as anyone to keep B & C waste out of the State, I don't see that Gov-elect Huntsman hedged on anything. The interesting thing about both articles is that, while discussing the hypothetical proposal, they missed the newsworthy fact that a deal was signed earlier this week to sell Envirocare.

Legislative Website

I was attending a seminar today on law and technology, when out of the blue the speaker gave a ringing endorsement of the legislature's website, noting in particular how someone can register interest on a particular bill, and, anytime that bill is changed, e-mail notification will be sent.

It is exciting to be involved in government at a time when such disintermediation is possible. Though government keeps getting bigger and more complex, technology increasingly allows my constituents to inform themselves, contact me, monitor my votes, and support me/throw me out of office. And they can do all this by themselves -- without relying on the traditional information filters of media and political consultants/interest groups.

Hoop Dreams

Legislators played members of the executive branch last night at the Huntsman Center. I was on the news knocking down a 20-foot jumper. (If it looked shorter, TV takes away 10 feet). I figure this is my big break; no doubt, Larry Miller will call soon with a 10-day contract to play for the Jazz.

"Who won?" you ask. They did, for now. But, we'll see how the legislative audit turns out on executive branch hiring practices -- namely, hiring people solely for their basketball prowess.

Gov. Walker played. She got in the middle and mixed it up a bit. At one point, she dove for a loose ball. What an extraordinary woman!

Budget and Taxes

Republican House members held their pre-session caucus yesterday. Budget numbers look good, which is a nice change from the past few years. My hope and goal is to use the unanticipated revenue to pay down our debts. Though there will be great pressure to push the money to the various agencies, we first should replace bonded indebtedness with cash. Translated, this means using the money for infrastructure projects (roads and buildings), instead of bonding for the projects. This plan will generate the usual arguments from those who want us to spend the money on their programs ("You're paving over our kids!"), but sound fiscal policy (i.e., paying down debt, instead of spending the extra money) benefits us all.

I presented ideas on tax reform. I suggested we rework the individual income tax; theoretically, it is bracketed so that higher wage-earners pay a higher rate. However, the highest rate (7%) kicks in at taxable income of just $4,300 -- meaning that our system is basically a flat-tax (everyone pays 7%) without the simplicity of an intentional flat-tax. Also, I suggested we eliminate the corporate income tax. It creates double taxation and chases businesses and jobs away from the State.

Go Utes!

Met with new University of Utah president, Michael Young, today. I think he'll do great. Though it's hard for a BYU grad (law school, 1992) to cheer too much for the Utes, it's pretty exciting that the Utes broke into the BCS and will play in the Fiesta Bowl.

On less-sexy issues, other legislators and I shared concerns with President Young about the cost/availability of higher education and poor transferability of credits between the 9 higher education institutions in the state.

On the cost/availability score, my opinion is that the UofU and Utah State need higher entry standards. By accepting just about anyone who applies, these schools set up students to fail. Typically, a "C" student in high school won't cut it at the U or USU. Of course, there are exceptions, but they are, well, the exception. This wastes taxpayer money. Other institutions in the state can educate students for half the cost and are better tailored to work with and, if necessary, provide remedial help for the less-academically prepared students. If we point most students to the lower cost institutions, we can educate more students (and decrease tuition for all students in the system); the taxpayer money would go further. If we simultaneously raise the quality of the U and USU by focusing on well-prepared students, we make the entire system healthier. While the Regents routinely bemoan the fact that small schools want to grow and take on the mission of bigger schools, they equally should worry about our two research institutions acting like they're community colleges.

A common complaint of constituents is that credits from one institution do not count at another institution upon transfer. This lack of transferability wastes the students' time. It wastes the students' and parents' money. And it wastes tax money -- again, resulting in fewer slots for students in the system and higher tuition for those in the system.

These are two things the Regents should address.

Spin Cycle

After the recent election debacle, Democrats are deciding the problem is that they simply need better spin. In related news, experts have determined that depression affects clarity of thought.

My Crystal Ball

Though it's tough to predict the future, last night I was on a panel discussing issues that might arise in the next session. Education is always the biggest issue; this year, the education debate will involve (1) tuition tax credits for students who attend private schools -- which likely will pass, so long as it guarantees no negative fiscal impact to public schools -- and (2) pushing more money directly to schools for them to spend as they choose. I will sponsor a bill on this second issue.

Transportation also will be a huge issue. As a rapidly growing state, our transportation infrastructure is increasingly overburdened. Many important entities are lining up to advocate a tax increase to fund the projects. I will oppose the increase and work to fund the projects by finding efficiencies in other areas.

Of course, there will be hundreds of other issues (in the 45-day session, we deal with about 800 bills). But, education and transportation likely will command the most discussion.

Legislative Process

For those who have asked me what it's like to move a bill through the process, here.

Nation Builders

The best part of being a legislator is that I get to mix with so many outstanding people. Today I attended a Pearl Harbor memorial service at the local park. The old warriors who saved the civilized world are a little stooped but not bowed. From there, I spoke at the home builders association and swore in their new officers. Thanked them for building the American dream. Lastly, met with the farm bureau to discuss their policy concerns. Thanks for the grub. Soldiers, home builders, and farmers -- my kind of people.

When Words Won't Suffice

Part of an anonymous e-mail I received today:

When are the people going to realize it is the Democrat (communist) and Republican (new world order socialist) combination destroying us. Their top leadership work together to enslave us. We are past the time for words. Words will no longer work.

What, he's resorting to mime?

Changing the Guard

House R leadership met with Gov-elect Huntsman today to compare notes on how the executive and legislative branches see things. He'll be good to work with.

Governor Walker will roll out her budget recommendations this Friday, a month before her administration ends. No legislative input was solicited. Oddly, Gov-elect Huntsman also was not invited to participate in the administration’s pre-session planning. Oh well.

On 12/20, the Huntsman transition team will share its recommendations for better organizing government. The team is made up of innovators and leaders. No doubt, the team will have many fresh and beneficial ideas. This “fresh-eyes” approach worked well for President Reagan (the Grace Commission) and for Utah on education issues (the Employers Education Council – out of which the major education reform bill SB154 arose in 2003; Tom Hatch sponsored it in the Senate, and I sponsored it in the House).

To implement good recommendations that come out of the study, and to address the big challenges that have been mounting over the last 12 years (like education and transportation, to name just 2), the executive and legislative branches will need to work together better than they have in the recent past. You folks should insist on it.

Hunting II

We had a wonderful elk hunt. We didn't get one, but that's probably best. It teaches my son why Urquharts should oppose anything that would move us closer to a hunter/gatherer lifestyle: we wouldn't last long.

We hunted Indian Peaks. Because Ike's mother reads these posts, I'll only say that we pushed it much too hard and that my son is one tough dude.

We went with Nolan Gardner, a great friend and outdoorsman. I have no idea why he takes me on these adventures, but I'm sure glad he does. He taught me a new trick yesterday. Before we moved from one area to another, he popped the hood, got out foil-wrapped burritos and strapped them to the motor. When we got to the next area, lunch was ready. He calculates the conversion ratio to be 1 mile for every 1 second in the microwave. He should start a motor food cooking show.

Hunting

I’m taking my son Elk hunting tomorrow. It will be his first time. We’re fortunate to live in a state with such incredible outdoor activities, and I’m grateful for the dedicated sportsmen who make much of it possible.

Today the Tribune had an article on wildlife fundraisers, highlighting alleged friction between sporting conversation groups. The broader story is how these groups work together to accomplish great things in the field. If you like seeing deer, elk, bighorn sheep, turkey and most other wildlife in Utah, you have these groups to thank.

This year, through the conservation tags, the groups likely will bring in $2,000,000, to be used to improve the resource. It’s not just that the State gets money through the auctions that it otherwise wouldn’t, a big part of this success story is the 60% of the money that the groups keep to help fund state-approved projects. Not only do the groups contribute the money, they also contribute their valuable time and expertise to completing the projects. Their effort and dedication have completely turned around wildlife resources in this state.

The other day, a constituent was complaining to me about too many tags being set aside for rich people. That is a misperception, in my opinion. Many of the conservation tags are simply raffled off at the fundraisers, to increase the gate. By walking through the door, he or I could win one. And the ones that do go to the highest bidder make the rest of the program possible. Though my constituent and I are not in a financial position to buy one of the auctioned tags, the fact that others are, and do, makes good things possible for the rest of us. My boy and I get to go hunting tomorrow because the habitat has been improved to a point where lots of tags are available to anyone who applies. If a small percentage of tags gets people to dump a lot of money into improving the resource and those improvements increase the number of tags available to anyone who applies, what’s wrong with that?

My constituent laughed and admitted that the rub was that he hadn’t drawn out yet for a Pansaguant buck tag.

Old West/New West

I'm headed to Cedar City today to meet with City officials and Dept. of Transportation personnel to discuss the south interchange on I-15. It is an oddly-configured, undersized interchange that frustrates City officials. To me, the south interchange perfectly captures the collision of the Old West and the New West.

Livestock has always been important to Cedar City. Because it is desert country, the cattle and sheep need to be moved up Cedar Mountain in the summer to graze and, then, back down to the desert west of town in the fall before snow covers the mountain. Long ago, the stockmen acquired an easement -- far south of town -- to move the cattle and sheep. The problem is, with growth that location no longer is out of town. The stock comes off the mountain and runs into an interstate highway. Until recently, that was okay. They'd would go under the highway through a box culvert.

Now, though, a Wal-Mart has been built next to the highway. To keep the round up from marching through the Wal-Mart parking lot, a large tunnel was built under the parking lot, with grates every so often for ventilation. The cattlemen won't use the tunnel. They're rightly concerned the cattle might stampede and crush each other, especially the calves. So, instead of using the tunnel, the cattle stop traffic and move through the commercial development. The sheep, though, will use the tunnel. Someday, I plan to sit in that parking lot and watch the faces of hurried, unsuspecting people as they get out of their cars and hear hundreds of sheep bleating beneath them.