SURVEY RESULTS
Rep. Mike Morley
Early in the session, the Utah Republican Party prepared and mailed out a 2007 Legislative Survey to nearly 1400 registered voters in District 66. I apologize to those of you who may have felt the surveys were late in coming. I had no control over when they were sent, but I assure you I appreciated each one I received and have found the information they contained very useful. I was quite surprised at the hundreds of surveys that were filled out and returned and I thank each of you for taking the time to be involved in the political process.
I don’t know about you, but when I fill out a survey of any kind, I’m always curious afterward to see how my opinion or point of view compared with others. In that light, I want to share with the constituents of my district some of the numbers and interesting trends which I discovered from reviewing your surveys.
Your top legislative priorities were:
Illegal Immigration (25%), Public Education (23%), Transportation (22%), Tax Reform (19%), and Healthcare (11%).
You wanted to see the increased tax revenue spent on: Tax Cuts and Tax Reform (25%), Public Education Funding (24%), Continue removal of sales tax on food (23%), Transportation funding (23%), and Raise the cap on the Rainy Day Fund (5%).
48% of respondents felt that the level of spending for public education ought to be maintained while 42% wanted it increased and 10% wanted it decreased.
A majority of those surveyed (58%) supported tuition tax credits (I think we could combine that with vouchers). 24% were in opposition while 18% were undecided.
It was no surprise that a good majority (64%) felt that transportation projects should be prioritized together. Roads garnered 20% and Transit 16%.
Toll roads were opposed 76% to 18% with 6% undecided.
Nearly even numbers supported (40%) and opposed (39%) all-day kindergarten in at-risk schools while 21% were undecided.
Only 21% of respondents felt that funding for education should come in the form of an increase in the weighted pupil unit. Top suggestions for how to prioritize education spending were as follows: 1) increased pay for teachers, 2) Smaller class size, 3) higher pay for the best teachers, 4) teacher supplies, 5) concurrent enrollment, 6) incentives for newly-hired teachers, 7) programs for at-risk students, 8) tuition tax credits/vouchers, 9) all-day kindergarten, and 10) extra-curricular activities.
Support for “Jessica’s Law” was strong with 79% in favor and 14% undecided. Only 7% opposed the law and several commented that it didn’t go far enough.
The question regarding minimum wage was poorly worded, so I will simply state that a majority seemed to oppose a state-mandated minimum wage.
All three areas suggested for proposed tax cuts received strong support: Income Tax (40%), Property Tax (39%), and Sales Tax (21%).
Equally helpful and insightful were your many comments for which I again express my appreciation.
I believe you will find that much of the work of the legislature, particularly in the last several days of the session, are devoted to these critical issues so the responses I received are both timely and informative. For those of you who did not participate, I would welcome your comments and questions at mikemorley@utah.gov.
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