Increase in roads funding favored

A majority of Utahns support legislation that would take sales tax revenue from automobile-related purchases to help fund road construction in the state.

A new survey by Dan Jones & Associates shows that 79 percent of Utahns are in favor of a bill that would earmark those taxes to roads, while only 15 percent are opposed. The statewide survey, conducted for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV, had a 5 percent margin of error.

Lawmakers contacted Friday said the results were proof of the need to dedicate money to roads. During tough budget times, transportation dollars typically are diverted to fund other state programs — not road construction needs.

"That tells me that the people of the state understand the needs in transportation and they make a connection between automobile-related sales tax and the needs in transportation," said Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo. "I think it's a great message, one that we've been talking about for years and hopefully one the governor's office will agree with."

Lockhart sponsored a bill this session, HB112, that earmarks 8.3 percent of the taxes collected on vehicle and vehicle-related products into a state road fund. The legislation, which would dedicate $150 million to roads in fiscal year 2007, passed easily through the Senate and House and now awaits the governors signature or veto.

A similar bill last year failed in the waning minutes of the 2005 session. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. had threatened to veto the measure because of a requirement that he include the earmarks in his budget.

Lockhart declined to speculate on whether the governor would sign HB112, which no longer requires the governor to include the earmarks in his budget. The governor's deputy chief of staff, Mike Mower, said Friday that the governor was "continuing to review this bill."

Regardless, Lockhart says her measure represents a "significant policy issue" and is something that will protect funding for roads in the future. As recent as three years ago, the state was pulling millions out of the Centennial Highway Fund to fill budget gaps for public education, health and human services and other state programs.

That cannibalization of road funds extended the time the state will be paying off CHF bonds, issued in 1997 to pay for road projects like the Legacy Parkway and I-15 expansion. It also added to a $16.5 billion deficit over the next 25 years for needed road projects in the state, as estimated by regional transportation planners.

Lockhart says funding must be dedicated to roads in order to meet the billions in needs.

"This is very different that what we've had in the past," she said. "In the past, transportation has competed with everything else and has taken what it's been given. This protects and directs that sales tax associated with vehicles to transportation."

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E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com