Road Plan Faces Override

Utah Lawmakers will return to Salt Lake City this week to consider overriding Gov. Gary Herbert’s veto of a plan to earmark a large portion of new sales-tax revenue to state road projects.

The override session, set to begin May 6, is the first in more than 30 years.

SB 229 would have dedicated 30% of the growth in revenue from the state sales tax to roads. Proponents said it would generate $60 million for highways in the first year.

In his monthly news conference last week, the Republican governor said the proposal would have made it more difficult for the state to support higher education, social services, and prisons.

“I just simply believe it’s bad policy to earmark, particularly this large of a portion, of the general fund budget to transportation,” Herbert said. “It would be inappropriate to earmark anything of this size.”

Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said he would prefer to raise the state tax on gasoline to finance highway needs rather than the sales tax.

Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, who supports the 30% diversion, said the state already devotes $1 of every $6 in sales tax to roads. The additional allocation would raise that share to 25% of total sales tax revenues, he said.

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