Business leaders push transit tax

Utah business leaders are putting money into a campaign to try to persuade state senators to reconsider a proposed sales-tax increase that would help pay for more transit along the Wasatch Front.

Republican senators rejected the idea during caucus meetings last Wednesday at the Capitol.

A full-page advertisement, paid for by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and the 2015 Transportation Alliance, ran Sunday in four daily papers that circulate in the Salt Lake Valley, including the Deseret Morning News and The Salt Lake Tribune. The ad encouraged residents to call Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and their state representatives to request a special session to talk transit.

The average cost of a full-page display ad in both the Deseret Morning News and The Tribune is about $8,000 a day. The price varies based on the client purchasing the ad, whether it's in color and how often it runs.

Natalie Gochnour, the chamber's vice president of policy, said that besides the public advertisements, business leaders were "actively working" to persuade the governor to call a special session on July 19. Meetings are scheduled during the coming weeks with Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, and other key representatives, she said.

"Our whole approach is that when they see what we see, they'll understand the need to act," Gochnour said. "When they have the full amount of information, it's a compelling reason to move forward."

Holding a special session this July would allow lawmakers to give permission to Wasatch-Front counties to put a sales-tax increase on the November ballot for transit expansion. The tax hike would raise the sales tax dedicated to transportation to 1 percent in Davis, Weber, Salt Lake and Utah counties.

Salt Lake, Weber and Davis counties currently have a 1/2 percent sales tax dedicated to transit. Utah County has only a 1/4 percent sales tax dedicated to transit. Increasing the sales tax dedicated to transportation to 1 percent in the four counties would raise about $2.1 billion over the next 10 years, according to the chamber.

The tax increase, if approved by voters, would go to build four TRAX lines, expand commuter rail to Utah County and build bus rapid-transit lines. Later this year, the chamber expects to release a plan for funding highway construction and improvements throughout the state.

---

E-mail: nwarburton@desnews.com