Stimulus rescues budget

Thanks to $561 million in federal stimulus funds, lawmakers were able Friday to cover not only this year's remaining shortfall but also put together a new budget that cuts an average of 9 percent from state programs.

That's better than the 15 percent cut the Legislature's GOP majority had expected to have to make in the budget year that begins July 1 to cover a $1 billion shortfall in state revenues.

But members of the Executive Appropriations Committee that approved an approximately $10 billion budget cautioned that the federal stimulus funds were just a one-time fix.

"This money is a one-year reprieve," said House Budget Chairman Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley. He said the state will face much bigger budget cuts in the future if the economy doesn't improve.

The committee approved nearly $54 million in increased motor vehicle registration, commerce and court fees but no tax increases. Nor did they tap the state's $414 million Rainy Day Fund or $100 million set aside for education. Minority Democrats had called for a boost in the cigarette tax in addition to the fee hikes.

Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack, R-Syracuse, told reporters earlier in the day that the cigarette tax will be increased in either a special session later this year or by the 2010 Legislature.

"It isn't a matter of if, it's a matter of when," Killpack said. "Having the Rainy Day Fund fully intact and a fairly easy and agreed-upon tax in your back pocket are good tools to have."

The 2010 budget still needs to be approved by the Legislature before the session ends midnight Thursday. They likely will begin debating it Monday.

Republicans, who hold the majority in both the House and the Senate, have already backed the budget in their caucuses on Friday.

The current year's budget had already been cut $255 million in a special session last September and another $355 million earlier this year. Some $171 million in federal stimulus funds are being used to prevent further cuts.

While the 2010 budget is being sliced 9 percent, legislative analysts said public and higher education will fare better. The size of the public education cut is 5.2 percent and higher education is just under the 9 percent.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. had hoped to spend $10.6 billion in the upcoming budget year, but that was before the latest revenue estimates showed a continued decline. The governor has signed off on the budget approved Friday.