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A bill to raise property tax revenue for poorer school districts gained preliminary approval from Utah senators on Tuesday.
SB97, which must clear another vote of the Senate before transferring to the House, would generate $75 million for schools by increasing the state's proportion of property taxes.
The revenue would largely benefit school districts with lower property values, which tend to generate less revenue per student despite placing a disproportionately high tax burden on residents, according to the bill's sponsor, Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan.
"We have districts that have an enormously high overall tax rate on their citizens, but generate a fraction of the revenue that other districts can," Osmond said.
Osmond has sponsored similar legislation for the past three years. But previous attempts have been criticized for taking a "Robin Hood" approach, in which comparatively rich school districts are forced to give local tax revenue to poorer districts.
He said a statewide property tax increase represents a compromise, because no district will lose money to benefit others.
"In my mind, the only way to solve this inequity is to address it through new money," Osmond said.
The tax hike would cost roughly $46 each year for the average Utah family and $184 for the average business.
Revenue from the bill would result in each school district gaining a minimum of $1,746 per student in property tax revenues, Osmond said, which is equal to the property tax levels guaranteed by the state to charter schools.
Sen. Howard Stephenson spoke in favor of the bill in a rare split from the Utah Taxpayers Association, where he works as the group's president.
The Draper Republican said the property tax affected by Osmond's bill has not been updated since 1996, and it's appropriate for the state to make changes as a result of nearly two decades of inflation.
"I think there comes a time when we have to make hard choices like this," Stephenson said.
Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, spoke in favor of the bill but also suggested other options could be more palatable.
"While I don't like a tax increase, I don't know that there's a better solution than this," he said. "I will hold my vote nose and vote 'aye'."
Senators voted 22-7 in favor of the bill.