From Deseret News archives:

Lawmakers face huge legislative logjam today

Published: Wednesday, March 1, 2006 9:17 a.m. MST
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Huntsman spokesman Mike Mower said full-day kindergarten is still one of the governor's top priorities this session and they are exploring different ways to fund it.

"It's a sad thing. We have a huge achievement gap issue, and we haven't addressed it at all this session," Holdaway said. "This is a perfect bill to address those challenges."

Senate Democrats attempted Tuesday evening to boost funding for human services needs. But in what Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, described as "a shame on us," all of the Democrats' amendments failed, and the supplemental funding bill eventually passed the Senate 21-5.

There were also approximately $500,000 in fiscal note bills funded Tuesday by the Executive Appropriations Committee.

Primarily small expenditures, those fiscal note bills included a $22,500 raise for Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, $100,000 for an additional child pornography enforcement officer, $93,000 for underage drinking prevention, and $50,000 for translation services at the Center for Multi-Cultural Health.

There is $20 million remaining in one-time funds that have not been claimed. The Senate and House will each receive $1.5 million to fund some of their own projects.

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The final $17 million will probably go to either the Rainy Day Fund, which the House Republican caucus supports, or to roads, which the Senate caucus supports.

Some House members fear the government is growing too rapidly and they want to save the cash.

According to budget numbers released to the Deseret Morning News, the state's two main funds — the General Fund and the Uniform School Fund — will grow by 9.6 percent for the 2006-2007 budget, which starts July 1. That would most likely exceed a statutory cap on growth, which is tied to population and inflation increases.

"If we are getting close to the spending growth cap in the General Fund," said Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, "I will do whatever I can to make sure we don't go over it."


Contributing: Bob Bernick Jr., Tiffany Erickson

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com

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