Highlights of the budget proposed by the Utah legislature 

One of the most significant ticket items for legislature every year is the budget for the state of Utah. Hard fought, and often with many extras that weren’t expected, the budget is usually heavily debated — and this year is no exception.

We looked through some articles that detailed the budget and wanted to share some highlights of what we found. These expenditures will most likely affect the work of special districts around the state. They range from expected water conservation efforts to a surprising amount of spending for affordable housing in all areas of the state, including the rural counties.

Billions for services

Among the expenditures we found noteworthy include:

$14 million in ongoing funding for water conservation, all to mitigate the effects of the ongoing drought. Among the funding for these are ongoing dam safety and aqueduct resiliency efforts. There is also money dedicated to water reuse and desalinization at many locations around the state.

A $413 million one-time expenditure for water conservation, part of which goes to the Great Salt Lake project, with a smaller chunk — about $5 million — going toward Utah Lake improvements. This includes the establishment of a “lake czar” to oversee strategy for the lake. It also includes $25 million for agricultural loans to increase water optimization.

• $15 million to expand outdoor water use tracking. This includes increased secondary water metering for businesses and homes around the entire state.
• $243 million spread across affordable housing and homelessness programs. This includes a $3-million loan program for single-family homes in rural Utah; $5 million in “attainable housing” building grants, and $50 million for investment in affordable housing.
• More than a billion will be taken up with transit and transportation improvements around the state. These include $200 million for commuter rail work; $88.5 million to improve safety on Highway 191 in the eastern part of the state; and $10 million for transportation improvements near Zion National Park.
• A drop in the state’s income tax rate from 4.85% to 4.65% resulted in $208 million in tax cuts.
• An additional $200 million in various tax cuts.

Keeping an eye on the legislature

In next month’s blog, we’ll talk about the specifics of the legislature after it ends for another year. Part of our role this year was to lobby for the issues that we consider important for those on the special districts we help support.

For more on the work of special districts, including valuable resources to do your business, go to our website.