A bill that would allow counties to raise sales tax by a quarter-cent to pay for transportation projects coasted to approval Tuesday during a special session of the Legislature. The measure passed in both chambers by the two-thirds margin needed for it to go in effect immediately.
Voters still would have to approve the tax hike, and counties now can decide whether to put the question on the Nov. 7 ballot.
It was unclear whether county leaders would have time to establish spending priorities by that time, which could mean voters would be asked to raise their sales taxes without knowing exactly what they would pay for, and when.
The bill, which amended the long-standing County Powers Act, mandates the ballot question only to ask whether voters agree to pay the tax increase for "corridor preservation, congestion mitigation, or to expand capacity for a regionally significant transportation facility."
A Salt Lake County measure already on the ballot drove the Legislature's decision to take up HB4002 in special session as a way to kill an $895 million property bond proposal supported by the Utah Transit Authority. Those property tax revenues would have paid for completion of four TRAX lines by 2014.
Salt Lake County now has five days to decide which tax measure to put on the ballot. Council members already have unanimously endorsed the sales tax, but they did so before the bill was written.
Even if the county stuck with the property tax measure and voters approved it, under HB4002 the bond issue would be allowed, if is is approved by voters by Jan. 1. The bill outlaws future use of property tax to pay for transit projects.
A quarter of the revenue raised would be earmarked for buying land for transportation corridors.
Counties that want to raise the sales tax must set annual project priorities based on criteria outlined in the law. The main focus is on decreasing highway congestion, but it also takes into account projects' costs and benefits. The bill requires the Legislature's Executive Appropriations Committee to approve counties' criteria before money can be spent.
The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce successfully lobbied against the property tax and helped get the Legislature and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to put the bill on the special session agenda. Its provisions were crafted during closed-door meetings of Republican lawmakers, who outnumber Democrats 2-1.
More changes came during Tuesday-morning caucuses and a public hearing, where Salt Lake County Council members Michael Jensen and Randy Horiuchi told lawmakers they would go with the sales tax option if available.
"We are appreciative of you helping us solve our problems in Salt Lake County," Horiuchi told lawmakers.
But that idea irked some legislators, including Sens. Mike Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, and Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, who argued during floor debate that lawmakers were ducking responsibility by pushing the transportation funding onto counties and making bad policy by squashing the property tax vote.
"It really looks like you're punishing them for having the guts to put it on the ballot," Waddoups said.
But Sen. Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, who co-sponsored HB4001 with Provo Republican Rep. Becky Lockhart, said there had been plenty of time to work on the bill for a one-day special session, and that HB4002 was a step needed to address critical transportation needs.
Utah Transit Authority General Manager John Inglish told lawmakers he supported the bill because it would allow the agency to advance the four light-rail lines or three lines plus commuter rail.
The bill passed 24-5 in the Senate, 55-19 in the House.
