Budget bounty — Walker earmarks funds; lawmakers talking tax cuts

Incoming House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, said legislators should be careful about jumping at cutting taxes.

"Let's be realistic," Becker said, calling Walker's spending plan "more like making up for lost ground the last several years than a lot of new programs."

Public and higher education must be funded for student growth, higher than previously projected. And state workers need a raise in pay because they've fallen behind in recent years, he said.

Walker said she expects some changes in her budget, both by Huntsman and by lawmakers. "But this is a solid footprint," she said, and a good foundation incoming officeholders can build on.

The governor, who assumed office in 2003 when former Gov. Mike Leavitt resigned to take a position with the Bush administration, said the state still needs to consider tax reform so the budget "is not tossed up and down by the winds of the economy."

Walker proposed a major restructuring of Utah's tax system last month, including instituting a flat-rate income tax and charging sales taxes for consumer services. Increased revenues may make her tax reform effort an even harder sell.

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Deseret Morning News graphic 2006 Utah state budget Requires Adobe Acrobat.

Walker's proposals

Some Walker budget highlights:

• No tax increase; no tax cuts. Walker said she considered cutting taxes but rejected the idea after "four years of famine" when state budgets were trimmed back by 10 to 13 percent because of dwindling state revenues.

• Using $100 million in surplus funds from this year to pay for a new Marriott Library at the University of Utah and for half of a new library at Utah Valley State College.