Often when we greet someone during the day, we ask how they are doing and what is new. Once in awhile, someone will reply, "same old, same old". Of course, they are implying that nothing has changed. Over the years, the same could be said about our Utah Legislature, "same old, same old". Without a doubt, new faces have appeared, but the issues have not changed. Yes, some of the issues have taken other forms, but let's face it; we are still behind on issues like education and ethics.

And not surprisingly, our lawmakers continue to issue message bills and resolutions that do little or nothing for the average Utahn.

Amazingly, some Republican lawmakers are interested in helping education during this election year. As usual, there are a load of bills that will affect our children and our schools.

Several lawmakers would like to increase the Weighted Public Unit (WPU) for all of the school districts in Utah. And teacher salaries, one of the components of WPU, are being debated in both the House and the Senate. Over the years, however, our Republican controlled Legislature has never understood what a WPU truly is and why districts handle WPUs differently.

Last week, Republican lawmakers singled out math and science teachers for a wage increase rather than give raises to every teacher. SB35, which passed the Senate, will ignore the other hard working teachers in this state as our lawmakers continue to discourage teachers. Hopefully, the House will acknowledge common sense and work out a better solution. In addition, the $5,000 extra salary will do little to attract more teachers. In other words, we will continue to be at the bottom of the national pay scale.

Another important bill is HB330, which is the State Supplemental Funding for Head Start. Rep. Shurtleff, D-Ogden, would like the state to allocate $700,000 for Head Start. Currently, there are over 900 children waiting to enter the pre-school programs. This needed boost will help education in the long run and help develop better educated children. At the moment, HB330 has passed out of committee.

The other numerous education bills are also important, and hopefully, our lawmakers will make the right choices. However, given the history of our Republican controlled government, I doubt they will.

Ethics is another subject lawmakers seem to have trouble with. It never ceases to amaze me how an elected official will do all they can to court voters to win an election. But once they are in office, they feel as if the public does not need to know what government is doing. Currently, there are two bills that deal with Legislative ethics. HB130 would establish an Ethics Commission, which is going nowhere. And HB166 would allow public officials to hold the minutes of public meetings, giving officials a chance to "change" the minutes (passed House vote). It appears that Utah will continue to lead the country in lax governmental ethics.