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League Studies
Why the League of Women Voters does studies:
Before members reach a position on an issue, it is essential that they have an opportunity to become informed. League studies give members an opportunity to examine the facts and discuss key points. The studies cited below are those done most recently. The links will take you to an online version of the entire study. For a list of all studies done in the history of the LWVU, see the “League of Women Voters of Utah positions” link on the League Positions page.
Utah Water Study (2009)
Study Purpose: To better advocate for our members’ deep concerns about water for people and water for the environment. This paper is concerned with accounting for our water and how we manage it, not with water quality either for human uses or for wildlife.
It is generally agreed that in the future the state will see less water and more people. The League believes that the decisions we make in the next few years will shape both the human and natural environment for the rest of this century and beyond. We hope this study describes Utah’s water facts and dilemma: how much water we have now and how much we might have in the future; how we use water now and how we might use water in the future.
Hate
Crime Study (2006)
Study Purpose: To inform the League of Women
Voters of the history and controversy surrounding hate crime legislation
(bias-motivated offense) in Utah . This study will define
hate crime, summarize Utah ’s history with hate crime legislation,
discuss the arguments for and against the passage of hate crimes
legislation into law and discuss the legal concerns surrounding
the legislation.
Redevelopment Agency Study (2006)
Study Purpose: The League of Women Voters of Utah studied Redevelopment Agency (RDA) laws and their implementation in Utah to decide if the current law is in the best interests of the economic well being and civil rights of Utah citizens and if changes might improve the law.
RDAs are created by municipalities or counties and enabled by state law. The Utah Legislature made changes to the RDA law in 2005 and 2006. The major changes were the elimination of the use of eminent domain for projects authorized under the RDA law and limitations in the use of tax increment financing to provide incentives for retail development. The study gives an explanation of all changes along with an explanation of how RDAs work.
Local Option Sales Tax (an addendum to the RDA Study)
Understanding of the Local Option Sales tax is useful in understanding why municipalities want to use the RDA provisions to encourage retail establishments within their borders. The Legislature limited this use because it is questionable that new retail stores create jobs. The thinking is that they only movs jobs from one place to another.
Political
Decisions and Nuclear Waste
(2005)
This is basically background information on the state of hazardous
waste in
Utah
, how we got where we are and what if anything we can do about
it. The committee has prepared some discussion questions
for local unit time and also some consensus questions.
We are hoping to have a statewide position ready by convention.
Local members will have the option of planning unit time, or
having their board answer the consensus questions, or have their
individual members respond directly to state.
Update (2005)
Update on nuclear waste issues as a result of the 2005
Legislative Session.
Election Studies
Systems
of Choosing Elected Officials Part I
This background
study was prepared by Ann O’Connell. It is a collection
of two studies written by California Leagues that inform and/or
clarify the many systems or types of elections available and used
by different local and state governments.
Elections Systems Study Part II
The Major Election Systems study of
the Metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, League of Women Voters will
provide the material for Part II . An overview of this study was
written by Ann OConnell for the LWV-SL Voter.
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