This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
While some lawmakers are fighting to transfer a big slice of current transportation funds to water projects, the House passed a bill Tuesday that instead would lift the earmark and move that money to the state general fund — where it could be used without restrictions.
The House voted 44-27 to pass HB296, and sent it to the Senate.
It would transfer $10 million from transportation in its first year, $20 million the second, $30 million the third, and so forth until $50 million a year is transferred, which would continue. Over 11 years, such transfers would take $450 million from highway projects, nearly a half-billion.
Rep. Johnny Anderson, R-Taylorsville, the bill's sponsor, said if the Legislature chooses to save the money instead of spend it over several years, it could then afford large transportation projects without the need to borrow for them.
Anderson said the state has been earmarking some sales tax money for large transportation projects with the argument that 17 percent of all sales tax is generated from purchases of cars and accessories.
The trouble is, he said the state soon will be taking 22 percent of all sales tax for transportation — and he seeks to start putting some of that money back into the general fund.
Meanwhile, Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, persuaded the Senate to pass SB80 to take even a bigger slice of transportation money for water projects, possibly including the controversial Lake Powell pipeline or dams to develop water from the Bear River.
Anderson told the House Tuesday that the state — and transportation — could not afford for both proposals to proceed, unless "some sort of compromise" is worked out to split the funds.
Gov. Gary Herbert had also proposed to transfer about the same amount of money away from transportation and use it for education. Legislators quickly killed that idea.
The Utah Department of Transportation has said no currently programmed projects would be delayed by the governor's proposal nor by Anderson's. But it said Adams' larger transfers could cause some extra delays on projects such as completing the Mountain View Corridor in Salt Lake County.
However, UDOT also said that transferring the nearly half-billion dollars over 11 years from transportation under any of the proposals would delay some projects that are planned, but not yet formally funded. Those include converting Bangerter Highway into a freeway, and building the West Davis Corridor freeway.
Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, complained that the moves are coming just a year after the Legislature raised the state's gasoline tax with the argument that transportation was underfunded, and now lawmakers are trying to move money away from it.