With tacit support from Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County, an eagerly awaited proposal to fund expansion of the Salt Palace convention center was unanimously passed by a Utah Senate committee Friday.

1SB211, sponsored by Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, seeks to let certain Utah counties impose a 1 percent tax on charges for hotel accommodations and services to fund the expansion of convention centers and their parking lots or structures. Though the spotlight shone most brightly on the Salt Palace expansion project, provisions were made in the bill to support other convention centers — such as the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy — as well.

At the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee meeting Friday, Waddoups' bill was substituted and amended so that counties with a population exceeding 75,000 also would be eligible to impose a 1 percent tax on "accommodations and services" for the construction, expansion or renovation of a convention facility.

Though Salt Lake City, county and business leaders were largely supportive of the bill's intent, all raised some concern regarding the funding mechanism. The bill calls for about $2 million of Salt Lake City's "innkeeper tax" to go to the Salt Palace expansion for 10 years — money which would reduce the city's general fund.

The bill also would apply revenue from car rental taxes and transient room taxes to be used by Salt Lake County to finance the expansion. About 87 percent of these taxes will be paid by visitors to Utah, Waddoups said.

Salt Palace general manager Allyson Jackson was supportive of the bill, saying the expansion will allow the facility to attract a "whole new spectrum of conventions."

"We have an opportunity to do (the expansion) with a client in hand, rather than doing it as a 'let's build it and see if they come,' " Jackson said. "So we're able to have a client that's going to help us pay those bills as well as being able to go out and sell this to additional meetings and associations that previously had not been able to consider Salt Lake City" because the facility was insufficient.

Salt Lake City Councilman Dave Buhler said while the city is willing to participate in the funding of the expansion, the council "has concerns about the way the funding is."

"We'd like some flexibility," Buhler said. "But we think we can work those issues out. We're hopeful we can work them out."

Brent Gardner, representing the Utah Association of Counties, expressed similar support for the projects, and similar concerns.

"The funding source . . . is an issue for the members of our association," Gardner said. "Their preference would be that it be available to all counties on a county-option basis.