Special session set Monday on districts

Deseret News, The ( Salt Lake City, UT)
December 1, 2006

Legislators will meet Monday to debate a proposed plan on the allocation of a fourth congressional seat to Utah, should Congress make that decision.

The call for a special session of the Legislature, which was issued Thursday evening by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., does not come as a surprise. The plan was approved by a redistricting committee earlier this week, with an eye toward the Monday session and potential congressional approval of the fourth seat this year.

Huntsman is in the Middle East but is expected to return to Utah this weekend.

If approved as drafted by the committee, Utah would have one heavily urban district made up of northern Salt Lake County and the Park City area. The other three districts would contain a mix of rural and urban areas that Republican legislators generally favor.

Congress is considering legislation that would give Utah a fourth member of Congress and give Washington, D.C., a voting member in the House

The only other item for the session involves amending the tax on boats. Sailboat owners face significant property-tax increases as a result of a shift approved earlier this year that made the property tax age-based instead of value based.

Edition: All
Section: Local
Page: B02