THE FACTS
Rep. Mike Morley
It is simply amazing how quickly time flies. I can hardly believe another election season is upon us. What an honor it is for me to serve in the House of Representative on behalf of my neighbors and friends in southern Utah County’s House District 66!
I support the Republican platform which strongly favors families, private enterprise, educational options, the right to life, and limited government. Some maintain that the platforms of our two major political parties are very similar. I would challenge anyone to read each party’s platform on both the state and national level and make that decision for themselves. I assert that there are significant, material differences. The Democratic Party platforms clearly favor more government spending, environmental activism, a socialized health care system, abortion, and alternative definitions of marriage, to name a few.
In the Utah Legislature, we have had several votes on key principles relating to such moral issues as abortion and the meaning and future of marriage. The marriage amendment passed with 98% of Republicans House members voting in favor and 79% of the Democrats voting in opposition. Not a single Democrat in the Senate voted in favor. The vote to remove state funding of abortions passed with 98% of Republicans voting in favor and 67% of the Democrats voting in opposition. Across the board, the moral issues that we strongly support as a community are championed by your Republican representatives.
I have been recognized for four consecutive years as the legislator with the most conservative and principled voting record. I believe this recognition is an unintended result of commitment to my guiding principles of strengthening families, fiscal responsibility, and smaller government and my willingness to courageously vote my conscience. I welcome accountability for my voting record and am always happy to respond to questions regarding my actions as I represent you, my constituents.
Utah has a citizen legislature meaning we are only in session for a short time and most have full-time employment. Every member of the legislature will face a conflict of interest when considering and voting on legislation whether those conflicts relate to our employment, investments, associations, or those of our immediate family. That is why we are required to file a disclosure form. It has been reported that I have the most comprehensive disclosure statement of any member of the House.
I and each of my Republican colleagues in the legislature are absolutely committed to public education in the State of Utah. As mandated by the state constitution, every dime of income tax, both personal and corporate, is dedicated to education funding. Public school funding alone is in excess of constitute 58% of our state budget this coming year. With a special session last week formalizing significant cuts in spending in every area except education, that percentage will undoubtedly rise. In addition, Spanish Fork residents pay nearly 80% of their property taxes to public schools due to an aggressive bonding schedule to meet growth compared to an average of 56% statewide.
During a vote last session relating to a policy shift on public school funding, I was visiting with a group of high school students from our district who had arranged a visit to the Capitol several days previous. I spoke with them for about 15 minutes in a committee room about state government, a service I and many of my legislative colleagues feel is very important. Consequently, I was not on the floor when voting began.
When debate on a bill has ended and the vote is open, a chime sounds outside the House chambers. That chime cannot be heard in the committee rooms. In situations when the vote on a bill is close enough that the votes of the members who are not on the floor could make a difference, a motion can be made for a Call of the House requiring every member of the House to be located to cast their vote. I was located in the committee room as I was finishing up and I hurried to the floor. Just before I arrived, the Call was lifted meaning there were enough votes cast to make a final determination. The bill failed to pass before I was able to cast my “No” vote although the outcome would have been unchanged.
As a leader in the majority party whose responsibility it is to set the agenda, I worked with many representatives prior to the bill coming to the floor to bring about a needed shift in the Capital Outlay Funding Formula using my known opposition as leverage. This change, in effect, gives credit to areas like ours with a high property tax burden by equalizing it with other lower-taxed areas, thus benefitting Nebo School District to the tune of about $3 million. This offset against the loss from property tax for FY09, due to the policy shift regarding public charter school funding of about $600,000, resulted in a net gain to the district of just under $2.4 million this year. Over the long haul, the capital outlay funding formula will hold our district harmless in this policy shift.
Additionally, given that the Property Tax Replacement Fund for public charter schools is no longer needed, those funds which came from the general education fund will now be made available for appropriation to the WPU, over 90% of which goes to public district schools, and will increase per-pupil funding to all of our children, also benefitting our district.
Due to our robust economy, public schools have been funded at unprecedented levels – 41% just since 2006. Unquestionably, funding for education is tied directly to the economy. The economy truly is the tide that raises all ships. In recent years, we have grown the economy to such an extent that most who graduate from Utah schools and desire to stay and work in our state are able to find employment. We are the envy of the nation, having been honored as the Best Run State in the nation for several consecutive years. This is due primarily to the policies and fiscal responsibility of the Utah State Legislature.
Too often in the political arena, information is incomplete or skewed to the advantage of one group or another. I would encourage anyone who is interested to review my voting record. I have represented with integrity the values of the people in District 66 and, if re-elected, I will continue to fight for you by holding fast to my core principles of strengthening the family as the fundamental unit of society, treating taxes as a sacred trust used only to promote the proper role of government, and controlling government growth.
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