Tagged: Vote Utah

"I am."

"I am."

"We are. And Elder [Jay] Jensen is. And President [James] Faust. And Silvia Allred. Brigham Young."

What do all of these people have in common? First, they're Latter-Day Saints. What is less known is that they're also Democrats.

Crystal Young-Otterstrom, the LDS Democrats Caucus vice chairperson, says the combination is actually more common than you might think.

"We're not that small of a minority, as people might think."

One penny for every ten dollars spent. That’s what Cache County needs from voters in order to continue the Recreation, Arts, Parks, and Zoos tax—better known as the RAPZ tax. The tax, which excludes food purchases, was approved by voters in 2002 and is now up for renewal.

Many officials and beneficiaries have argued for the tax, saying it has been a boon for the local economy. North Logan recreation coordinator Brett Daniels supports RAPZ funding.

The one and only debate between Lieutenant Governor candidates Greg Bell and Vince Rampton took place on Wednesday at Utah State University.  Republican incumbent Bell and Democratic challenger Rampton argued their positions on public lands, the economy, and the budget, among other things.

Perhaps the biggest issue discussed by the candidates was the cost of higher education. Rampton criticizes Governor Gary Herbert for not doing enough to fund state colleges.

Debating constitutional amendment a in the first half of the program today, continuing our Vote Utah series. The amendment proposes the Utah constitution be amended to require a portion of the revenue from all state severance taxes, to be deposited in the state trust fund, beginning in 2016. 

A severance tax is a tax required of all those who extract oil, gas or minerals from land within the state. This amendment would exclude resources taken from Native American tribal land within the state.