State spending is surging

Utah state government is growing at a faster rate than the state's population and inflation, with spending next year up by a whopping 17.5 percent, a tax watchdog group says.

The Utah Taxpayers Association, which represents business interests at the Capitol, issued a report Monday on recent state government growth, comparing spending over the past decade as well as from fiscal years 2006 and 2007.

While some may question the group's statistical methodology — legislative budgeters have a slightly lower growth percentage — it is clear that no matter how the numbers fall, Utah state government, which has been run by Republicans for 20 years, is growing much faster than the state's expanding population and inflation rates, a historic base-line measurement.

Comparing state spending from one year to the next, while not telling the whole story, is still a good criterion to keep in mind, Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, says.

"It is a reality check that we need," Valentine said.

Some may argue that considering the large amount of ongoing tax dollars, more than $200 million, that the Legislature is putting into road and water development — money that could be borrowed or not spent if hard times hit — Utah government is not really growing that much.

But the association also took out transportation monies from the General and Uniform School funds to see that impact. And from this year to next year, state government is still growing by 12 percent — double the rate of population and inflation growth.

The study is a body-blow to the new Conservative Caucus in the House, a group of 30 or so fiscally conservative Republicans who didn't want the two main state funds — the Uniform School Fund and the General Fund — to grow by more than 5.5 percent from this year to next.

The House GOP's original stand of a $230 million tax cut still allowed for 8.3 percent growth.

But 17.6 percent? That is way out of line, says Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, the Conservative Caucus chairman.

"I knew we were spending like crazy," Hughes said Monday.

But the Legislature's own Office of Legislative Fiscal Analysis would not provide Hughes 2006-07 fiscal year numbers the final days of the 2006 session, which adjourned March 1. "So I didn't know how we did from this year to 2007" until the session was over, Hughes said.

"Even at a $230 million tax cut, we were growing more than our (conservative) caucus liked," Hughes said. "But we got caught between what we wanted, what the Senate wanted and what the governor wanted" in tax cuts.

If House Republicans had held the line on spending — given bigger tax cuts — that alone may not have restricted overall spending, leaders said.