The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-28
WHAT LEGISLATION
COSTS THE STATE
Thousand Dollars a Day for the
Legislature.
SOME EXPENSIVE LAWS
M'MILLAN BILL COST THE TAX
PAYERS 1000.

Figuring on the basis Of time actually
consumed in its sessions, the fourth
Utah legislature is costing the taxpay-
ers S52 cents a second. In other words,
it costs anywhere from two-bits to $3.50
for Representative Anderson to call at
tentiOn TO a misplaced comma in the
house journal The vindicatiOn Of Bill
Glasmann, process that was accom-
pliShed only after an hour fand forty
I'VE minutes of hard work. used up
$53E60 Of the good, hard coin of the
taxpayer.
The egi at. works, at a liberal
estimate n. I'D Jre than fifteen hours a.
Week. The essiOn lasts a little over
eight weeks, so probably $50 hours are
consumed in debating questions of
greater or less moment and in passing
or killing bills. This is at the rate of
S301.69 per hour, a very tidy sum, con-
sidering the character of the work
turned out. Many man would be
willing to labor for even less than this
amount.
The sum Of $4,000 has been. appro-
priated for the regular and contingent
expenses Of the sOlOns. OF this small
fortune 81, $40 has been and will be dis
bursed in salaries to the siXty-three
members and the twenty eight en-
plOyees. Stamps, pOcketknives, foun-
tain pens, mileage to the tune of $1,000
and incidental expenses will eat up the
balance.
This leaves entirely out Of the calcu-
latiOn the printing of bills and jour
nails, which is done by the secretary Of
state; it leaves out OF the question the
publication OF thousands of copies Of
reports of state officers for distribution
by the members. Nor does the cost of
journal and bill files, letterheadS, en-
velOpes, pen points, penhOlders, elastic
bands and the dozen and one other
things necessary to legislation, come
out of the contingent fund. Secretary
Hammond estimates that they viii ag-
gregate somewhere in the neighbOrhOOd
of S17, 500.
One Thousand Dollars Per Day.
But in order to be perfectly fair with
the hard working fourth legislature,
the total is put at $40 600. 1t is on this
basis that the cost per actual working
day is put at $90909; per hour at $5OL69;
per minute at $5-l2, and per second at
SO cents.
The expense that the Mcmillan bill
put the state TO amounts To startling
figure. An itemized statement would
read something like this:
To report OF committee, three
minutes go. --------S 10 50
To reading bill three times, if
teen minutes 20 50
To discussion, six hours. 1886 IA
To signing BILL one minute II
thirty minutes 49,. .. -. 158 60
To reading second committee Ie-
port, ten minutes 80. ......-. 81 20
To reaTranging and correcting
journal, thirty minutes 1890 153 SO
I minutes f9 80. ~. ............ $50 80
Total expense ........ ........S2.7 62 81
This is probably the most expensive
piece of legislation from q monetary
standpoint that will be INDUCED in
by the legislature. Others will approx
innate it, however. The Hewlett wage
exemption bill, which has only reached
a senate committee, has cost something
like 81, 600. The propositions to increase
the pay Of nearly every body employed
by the state were also expensive.
Probably the cheapest measures were
the bills defining the duties of district
attorneys. Nine of them were rushed
through both houses in about thirty
five minutes, an average cost Of 1891
each. It is even expensive to move 10
adjourn. that process relieving the state
treasury of from IS cents TO $1-25.
Legislatures seem to come high, but
the people think they must have them.
At least nobody in the present organ
ization has proposed a, law to abolish
the Offices Of representative and sena-
SOC