Senate GOP caucus rejects $85 million for roads

The Senate GOP caucus Thursday couldn't muster enough votes to support the $85 million their counterparts in the House want to spend on transportation projects.

The vote, taken during a closed-door meeting that lasted about an hour, was the first this session to determine what level of spending the majority party in the Senate would be willing to support for any budget item.

House Republicans decided before the session began that they wanted $85 million for transportation projects and have stood fast even after Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. announced he was proposing just $33 million in his $8.6 billion budget.

That's already caused some friction between the new Republican governor and GOP lawmakers this session. Last week, Huntsman made it clear he would not support their plan to more than double his proposed new transportation spending.

House leaders talked tough then, but now, with the Senate rejecting their position, it appears less likely than ever there will be $85 million for roads this year — money they've said is needed to avoid a tax increase in the future.

The House co-chairman of the Executive Appropriations Committee that will put together the Legislature's budget downplayed the Senate vote.

"I can't be worried simply because they don't have a position," said Rep. Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley. "There are a lot of issues still being discussed. . . . It's an ongoing process, as it is every session and we will continue to discuss, take positions, do whatever."

The governor's office was also restrained in its response.

"It's all part of the process," Huntsman's spokeswoman, Tammy Kikuchi, said. "We will continue to watch the progress of this."

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, the budget committee's Senate co-chairman, said after the caucus that he believed there is support among his colleagues for the House position — or at least an amount close to it.

"It's not that we're not there. It's that we're not there yet," Hillyard said. "To fully understand and vote on it, they need to know what their options are. . . . It failed mainly because people weren't ready."

By next Wednesday, lawmakers should have a proposed budget in front of them. Typically, the budget isn't ready until the weekend before the final three days of the Legislature. There's a catch, though.

Hillyard said the initial spending plan won't include an amount for new transportation funding, tourism promotion, beginning teacher pay raises or other items still being debated. Whether or not they get funded likely won't be decided until the end of the session.