Fee hikes loom on Legislature's agenda

By Monday, Utah legislators should have before them several huge budget bills for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which will only include the raising of fees.

The big hit will be a $20 increase in vehicle registrations that will bring in an estimated $50 million. Not on the agenda will be a hike in the state tobacco tax, which at $1.30 per pack would bring in around $30 million.

Besides the registration fees, various court fees will go up to raise around $12.5 million to keep the courts open five days a week. And another $9 million in various fees the state charges also will increase.

But an increase in that tax could come sometime in 2009 if state revenues continue to dwindle.

"We estimate that our (state) sales tax will be down 6 percent next (fiscal) year," House Speaker Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, told his GOP caucus Thursday.

In fact, as bad as some of the budget cuts are for fiscal 2010, which starts July 1, things may actually be worse the following year.

That's because legislators have "backfilled" many cuts in popular and needy programs next fiscal year — like public and higher education and Health and Human Services — with one-time cash surpluses in various state accounts and with around $1 billion in federal stimulus money. They may not have those luxuries next year, however, which is why they are not tapping the $414 million Rainy Day Fund this year.

Even with the "backfills," public education will see a 6 percent cut in spending next year, higher education around 9 percent. Cuts to Health and Human Services, which is one of the bigger beneficiaries of the stimulus money, are not determined because staffers are still trying to decide the amounts coming and the requirements for using it.

Finalizing the 2010 budget was stalled for a day after it was discovered that money to pay for the growth in public education students was miscounted. While leaders had promised that the huge public education budget would be cut by 6 percent — less than other budgets in this time of tax shortfalls — without that growth money it was really being cut by around 7.5 percent. An extra $57 million needed to be found, and legislative leaders and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. were looking for ways to find extra one-time funds — but were confident they could do so.

GOP House and Senate caucuses were expected to set the final budget numbers Friday afternoon.

There is still concern that some of that federal money will only come to Utah if it agrees to increased spending far down the road — spending that the federal government would not be participating in.