Demos back governor on transportation funds

After that bill passes, Republicans will get down to the tough choices of divvying up nearly $138 million in new spending for next year.

Among the base budget decisions adopted Tuesday is a 2.5 percent pay hike for state workers. The state would also cover medical insurance increases of 11.8 percent and dental insurance increases of 6 percent.

Members of the Senate GOP caucus agreed during a closed-door meeting Tuesday how to spend nearly $187 million of the $330 million in new, ongoing revenues. Their list also includes 300 prison beds and a boost in education spending to cover enrollment growth.

What the Senate Republicans couldn't agree on, though, was transportation spending. The caucus rejected a proposal to allocate $95 million — even more than their House counterparts — that had been supported by some senators, including Sen. Mike Waddoups, R-West Jordan. A second vote asking members to choose between recommending $85 million and some lesser amount also failed to deliver a consensus, said Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem.

"We'll keep talking," Valentine said. "There's a portion of our caucus that really, really wants to put a significant amount into transportation this year. And there's a portion of our caucus that's willing to do that but wants to see the effect on the overall budget. . . . I may be at $85 (million) when it's all over, but I do want to see all of the budget."

Waddoups said he'd "like to see us go as high as we can" on transportation spending. "That's what we're trying to decide in the Senate: How high can we go."

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Contributing: Bob Bernick, Lisa Riley Roche

E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com