Voucher plan gets go-ahead
Emotional issue is on the fast track
But leaders said the Senate's move to suspend the rules, putting the $9.2 million proposal on a fast track, was rare.
Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said in this case it was an appropriate move since it side-stepped wasting valuable time on a debate that wouldn't change votes.
"This has been an emotional debate for years ...; there would have been no change in anything if we waited," added Senate Majority Leader Curt Bramble, R-Provo.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. will sign the bill, spokesman Mike Mower said after Friday's Senate vote.
"Gov. Huntsman has said since he first ran for office that he would support a voucher plan so long as it held public education harmless and was means-tested. This bill meets that criteria," Mower said.
But half of Utahns oppose a government voucher or tax credit for private school tuition, a new poll finds.
The 50 percent against vouchers is a higher percentage of opposition than a month ago, when Dan Jones & Associates polled on the same issue and found 46 percent of respondents opposed.
Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said the governor had not told lawmakers what action he would take on the bill, before it passed the Senate on a 19-10 vote, after the House endorsed it by a single vote, 38-37. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans, but vouchers historically have stalled in the House.
HB148 would give Utah parents a private school tuition voucher that would range from $500 to $3,000 per student, scaled to income based on who qualifies for federal reduced-price school lunch. No other state has a voucher system that reaches as many income levels as Utah's would.
The bill, commonly called the Parent Choice in Education Act, calls for $9.2 million in general, not education, funds.
"This state was built by pioneers, and now we are pioneering education reform," said Parents for Choice in Education spokeswoman Nancy Pomeroy. "It's a tradition, and we are happy for all of Utah's children who will be able to get the education that's best for them, that now have real options."
Among the 418 residents surveyed by Jones, support for vouchers didn't appear to hinge on whether they had children attending public school. Of the 153 respondents who had children in public school, 50 percent opposed vouchers, while 51 percent of those who didn't have children in public school opposed vouchers.
But party affiliation showed stark difference of opinion on the issue, as 77 percent of those who said they were Democrats opposed vouchers, while Republicans were 46 percent in favor and 51 percent of those who said they were independent voters were opposed.
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