From Deseret News archives:

Spending debate turns testy as GOP ponders priorities

Published: Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005 9:09 a.m. MST
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• Huntsman gets $19 million more (spent over two years) to boost tourism marketing, part of the governor's economic development program.

• Colleges and universities get $2.6 million (above the already-approved 2.5 percent employee base pay raises) in extra cash to keep and attract top professors and researchers.

• State parks get an extra $300,000 so no parks will be closed and/or sold next year.

• The Department of Environmental Quality gets $2 million to further the fight to keep high-level nuclear wastes from coming to Utah.

Oddly enough, Rep. Dave Ure, R-Kamas, a member of that budget subcommittee, told the caucus "we got $2 million, but we don't want it." After the caucus, Ure said, "We've spent about $4 million already fighting" Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of eastern U.S. nuclear power firms, "bringing that stuff here." (PFS wants to temporarily store the dangerous spent nuclear fuel rods on a western Utah Indian reservation.) The rods will come or not come despite Utah's best efforts, Ure said.

Spending $2 million more "is just pouring money down a rathole. We told (leaders) time and again we don't want to spend this money."


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E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com; lisa@desnews.com

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