As anyone who has followed the Utah Legislature knows, the bill-making process is a working model of the chaos theory. Any bill passed in this environment is likely to have unintended consequences that could have been avoided with more forethought.

The latest example of this is Rep. Merlynn T. Newbold's House Bill 282, which would trim the sales tax on food even further and hurt entities that are supported by sales taxes.

Utah has already reduced the state's portion of the sales tax on food by two percentage points. But this isn't enough for the South Jordan Republican. She wants to remove the food tax portion from all the other special taxes that currently make up the total sales tax you pay for goods and services. The special taxes include such things as arts and parks taxes and transit taxes.

Those special taxes would not be eliminated under Newbold's bill -- only the portion allocated to food.

Confusedfi Join the crowd. Your head is spinning because this is a really bad bill.

Darrell Cook, executive director of Mountainland Association of Governments, which has a lot to do with transportation planning, said that Newbold's bill would cut transit tax revenue by 10 percent during the 30-year period the county would bond for transportation projects. The special sales tax provides the money that will pay off bonds.

This would put the county in a bind. It could mean not having commuter rail service extend all the way to Provo, instead stopping somewhere in Orem -- which is not what voters expected when they approved the latest tax hike. Alternatively, the county could decide not to fix certain traffic problems, such as 400 South in Springville. The county could do all the projects if it extends the life of the bonds to raise enough money to cover the lost food tax, but that would require paying an additional $80 million in interest payments on the loans.

We are now getting a headache. How about youfi

There's no denying that taxing essential food items is not the most desirable thing to do. But it's also an undeniable truth that Utah's transportation system is in crisis and needs to be fixed. Rail service to Provo, for example, was supposed to be achieved within a 30-year period.

HB 282 should be rejected. The need to take care of transportation infrastructure outweighs the elimination of all sales taxes on food, and Newbold's concept throws a monkey wrench into the works. Cutting sales taxes on food may be politically popular, but it won't get roads or rails built unless compensating monies are found elsewhere.

But let's assume the Legislature unwisely plows ahead with Newbold's precipitous concept. One way to make up for lost revenue might be to allow local entities to increase their special taxes. This would raise special taxes higher than voters originally approved for specific purposes, but the total would remain in equilibrium.

This bill is fraught with negative consequences. It unnecessarily upsets the taxation apple cart. It would be better for the Legislature to consider unintended consequences than for the people of Utah to experience them.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A6.