NEWS CONFERENCE 95

Q. Governor, do you have any comment on the Michaelson Com-
mission final report?

A. Yes. I have read it in some detail, and I have read the supporting
reports by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the
American Correctional Association. I'm basically in accord with the
finding, and this doesn't mean that there won't be certain sections of
it that I will later qualify my support of. Certainly I agree with the
recommendation that I should immediately appoint an ad hoc com-
mittee for the purpose of beginning a nationwide search for a Director
of Correction. Tomorrow I am conferring with the Advisory Board of
Correction on the Michaelson report in general and on this one sub-
ject in particular so that we can get started on that. I note that the
Michaelson recommendations depart somewhat from the plan of the
joint legislative commission on correction to go forward immediately
with the maximum security institution, and this is a subject I want to
discuss with the Advisory Board of Correction and also to give more
attention to it. I think, when we begin our construction program, we
should be very sure that we're moving to an integrated result with
our objectives clearly in mind.

Q. Governor, are you happy or unhappy with the progress of the
Legislature up to this point?

A. I think it has been very good. From what I can see so far, much
material has been moving quickly in the last three or four days and
certainly I have no criticism. My relationships with the Legislature
have remained consistently good and I hope they continue that way.

Q. How many absolutely essential bills remain to be passed?

A. I just don't know the answer to that, Hal. I think probably there
are some very important ones in addition to the tax reform measure,
which seems to have great support. In that regard I would state this:
The so-called Lee tax plan is nothing more than a very minor amend-
ment to the Hughes-Agnew plan. Certainly the plan in its concept,
what it does for building construction for education, what it does for
other educational programs, the general inclusions in the plan and
the objectives to be achieved, are all the same. There is a very, very
minor deviation from the original tax plan that came out, I remind
you, after the bipartisan committee formed it. The only change that
I can see of any significance is one changing the graduated income-tax
scale from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 percent to 2, 3, 1, 5. Aside from that it's the
original plan; it is not a new plan, it is a very minor amendment to the
original plan and one that I can support.