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Utah 'porn czar' job gets budget ax
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- Budget troubles have forced Utah to eliminate its controversial "porn czar," whose job was to give legal help to local governments and community members worried about smut. The cut is among numerous reductions as the state works to close a $117 million budget gap. Paula Houston, who worked in Attorney General Mark Shurtleff's office, will lose her job April 1. "I'm going to have to look around and see what my options are," she said Tuesday, adding that she expects to remain in the attorney general's office. Houston, a former local prosecutor, was believed to be the nation's first state official whose job was solely to fight pornography. The Republican-dominated Legislature created the post of obscenity and pornography complaints ombudsman two years ago. Houston fielded calls about how parents and businesses could fight unsolicited e-mail promoting pornography, Internet pornography and unsavory shops in their communities. "I think it's really important that thousands of people called for information. People want to protect their kids. This is a huge issue that's growing daily, and it's not going away," she said. She said she prosecuted three cases during her tenure and has 15 others moving through the courts. She also helped draft legislation, including a measure that clarified a vague state law regulating public displays of indecency that could have included artwork, she said. Shurtleff said his office had to cut $750,000 from its budget. Houston's office had an annual budget of $150,000. "This is the hardest cut," he said. "Despite the fact she has been personally ridiculed, persecuted and made fun of, she never gave up. That's the kind of behavior you want to reward." Critics who worried about free-speech implications wondered how Houston, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, could fairly address pornography, which the denomination views as an addiction akin to drugs. Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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