SALT LAKE CITY -- A new contingent of Northern Utah lawmakers will help the state Legislature make some quick -- and perhaps difficult -- budget choices in the weeks ahead.
Two Davis County men elected to new political positions in the past week sat in new chairs Monday as lawmakers opened up the 2010 legislative session.
In a quick turnaround, former Layton Mayor Jerry Stevenson officially became the newest Utah state senator.
Stevenson was appointed by Gov. Gary Herbert, and Senate leaders seated Stevenson in the Senate District 21 position just after the opening bell of the legislative session.
He replaces former Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, who resigned Jan. 16, one day after being arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.
Davis County GOP delegates nominated Stevenson to the post Saturday.
"It's been very quick," said Stevenson, who temporarily sat in a fellow lawmaker's chair because his desk wasn't ready for him yet.
Facing Stevenson and the others is an expected 4 percent legislative cut in the current state budget to make up for red ink predicted for the end of the fiscal year.
Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, expects the new cuts will be voted on by next week.
But Herbert has suggested only 3 percent in cuts and has called the higher percentage cut "draconian."
One of the unresolved questions is how the cuts will be made. There's a possibility of new or renewed taxes to help reduce the amount of cost-cutting. Gasoline, food and tobacco taxes are still being bandied about by some as a way to bring in more revenue.
Among the legislation introduced Monday, 15 bills just on the Senate side, was a tobacco tax sponsored by Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, that would add $50 million a year to state coffers.
Helping shepherd the overall legislative effort is Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, who spent his first session day as the new majority leader, a position vacated by the departing Killpack.
Jenkins, like Stevenson, was thrown quickly into the budget mix. When asked what style of leadership he would carry out in the Senate, part of his answer was "easygoing."
Jenkins' wife, Becky, who was at the statehouse, was asked how easygoing her husband is.
"Very," she said.
Lawmakers like Jenkins admit that a laid-back style may be tested as they pare down the budget in the 44 session days ahead.
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