Utah governor proposes $10.6 billion budget

SALT LAKE CITY - Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman proposed a $10.6 billion budget that is more than $1 billion less than the one lawmakers approved earlier this year before the state's economy began to sink amid a global economic crisis.

In response, Huntsman is calling for an economic stimulus package and slashing every state agency's budget.

Across the board cuts of up to 7 percent would be required for every state agency for the fiscal year that begins July 1, although a few programs such as public education would only see cuts of up to 4 percent. Some state agencies would also face $350 million in new cuts to this year's budget after a September special session where they had already cut $272 million.

Huntsman wants to tap into about one third of the state's rainy day fund to help soften the blow to some programs.

Under Huntsman's budget, unveiled Thursday, public schools would still receive an extra $62 million, even with the cuts, to help meet an expected enrollment growth of 13,500 students.

However, declining revenues mean Huntsman will not be able to work toward one of his primary goals in office — bringing Utah's teacher salaries up to the national average — as he begins a second and what he says will be his final term.

Huntsman said he's got a couple more years left and that with other states also cutting their budgets, Utah may be in a better position to get ahead.

"I suspect over the next two to three years ... we may fare pretty well," he said.

While Huntsman attempts to soften the blow the economy will have on education, his budget will do little to improve Utah's status of spending less per student than any other state and having the nation's largest class sizes.

Still, state schools Superintendent Patti Harrington said Huntsman's budget proposal is consistent with the goals the education department has set, such as "increasing teacher pay and in this case stabilizing teacher pay."

"I am very pleased with the budget. Of course, it recognizes some fall back on some goals we've had in the past," she said.

To help get Utah out of its economic slump, Huntsman is calling for new housing programs, bonds for road construction and bumping public/private construction projects at state universities to the top of the state's priority list.

Huntsman's housing plan calls for spending $5 million on a partnership with the federal government and the Utah Housing Finance Corp. to make several hundred million dollars in credit available to those who qualify.

The move was immediately applauded by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

"The governor has wisely chosen to target the Utah housing and construction industry, which has fallen victim to the loss of over 13,400 jobs over the past year, far more than any other industry," the chamber said in a statement.

To help pay for new roads, Huntsman wants to raise vehicle registration fees between $9 and $22, depending on the vehicle. He called the plan a "user fee" — not a tax — for those who use roads.

"We've got a lot of needs in a state that's growing as fast as ours," Huntsman said. "This is really an attempt to look creatively at maybe how you start paying for roads going forward."

Although Huntsman proposes a budget, lawmakers ultimately decide its content. Huntsman's budget proposal doesn't delve into specific programs, making it impossible to gauge exactly how state agencies would operate on reduced funding. Huntsman said some state workers would likely lose their jobs beginning in July, but it is unclear how many.

When lawmakers convene to approve budgets and funding requests, they typically hold public hearings with state agency heads before formal votes are taken.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.