SALT LAKE CITY — It's called the "Bill of Bills."
The Utah State Legislature's powerful Executive Appropriations Committee approved the budget Friday night — $28 billion in taxpayer dollars funding critical infrastructure, social programs and a whole lot of wants and needs.
As the budget was released, state government agency heads and lobbyists snatched up paper handouts and poured over what was funded and what was not. Some looked relieved to see their initiatives and causes funded. Others frowned in disappointment.
"I think we’ve made everyone unhappy so that’s probably a pretty good place to be considering the numbers we had," Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, the Utah State Senate's budget chief, told FOX 13 News afterward.
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House and Senate budget leaders had warned of flattening revenues. That's in part to a lot of federal pandemic stimulus dollars dropping off. As appropriations committees met to consider funding requests throughout the legislative session, legislative leaders had cautioned that some things would not get as much money — if any.
"Last year was such a bubble year and this year it’s more of a return to normal," Sen. Stevenson said. "It’ll be hard to adjust."
Still, House and Senate Republican leaders found room for a $167 million income tax cut. It's pretty modest for the average Utah family. Critics of the income tax cut have calculated that for a middle class family making $61,000 to $99,000 a year? About $67. But lawmakers did expand the child tax credit.
House and Senate Democratic leaders have urged their colleagues to skip an income tax cut and invest that money in other needs.
"There’s a lot that I like that is funded, there’s some things I have grave concerns about in the budget," said House Minority Whip Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City. "That’s part of the philosophical discussion. And we have to realize while this is passed out as what the budget’s going to be, we still have five days ahead of us and there will more changes."
Governor Spencer Cox's request to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on housing and homelessness initiatives saw deep cuts. In the budget, lawmakers have allocated around $40 million.
"One of the things we’ve been looking at is what’s the minimum amount we can do for homelessness this year in light of where we are from a budget standpoint. We’re still in discussions," Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, who is the House's budget chief, told FOX 13 News.
Gov. Cox appeared to still be working on lawmakers to squeeze more money out of them.
"There’s still another week in the session and we’ll continue to work with legislators to find solutions for our homeless friends," he said in a statement to FOX 13 News on Friday night.
Public education saw a 5% increase on the weighted pupil unit (about $212 million), a class size formula that can be linked to teacher salaries. There was also a $150 million investment in a bill designed to boost some teacher salaries to over $100,000 as an incentive to get many to stay in the profession. There's also millions to finally pay student teachers (they've been working for free while they earn their degrees). Lawmakers are also proposing to spend $100 million on school security measures.
"That is truly the economic engine of the state of Utah," Rep. Peterson said. "We have the youngest population in the United States and to make sure they have the skills they need to be competitive in today’s environment is a huge task that we have, and to fund that to make sure we keep that competitive edge."
Lawmakers pumped more into the "Utah Fits All" scholarship, a controversial "school choice" effort that critics have said is a voucher program. Advocates initially asked for $150 million more, an appropriations committee recommended $50 million and legislative leaders gave them $40 million.
"I have concerns about pouring another $40 million into the Utah Fits All scholarship program that hasn’t even launched yet after we funded it last year at $239 million," Rep. Dailey-Provost said. "That’s another $40 million in public education money we’re funneling away from our public schools."
Rep. Dailey-Provost said she liked that the waitlist for services for people with disabilities got some money. It is something she has long advocated for.
Water conservation and the Great Salt Lake will see millions more this year. Over the past two years, the Utah State Legislature has spent roughly $1 billion. This year, it includes millions for Senate President J. Stuart Adams' idea for someone to explore different ways to import water into the state, as well as money for better tracking of where Utah's water goes. An idea to pay farmers to not grow some crops and give the water to the Great Salt Lake got $170,600.
There are other projects that are seeing funding like millions for a new hospital in San Juan County, park improvements in Hildale, an airport control tower in St. George, a cancer research center in Vineyard and a transit stop at Point of the Mountain.
The full legislature will have to approve "The Bill of Bills" by the end of the legislative session.
You can see a list of spending items here:
