Special session focuses on money issues

Utah lawmakers passed seven bills Wednesday afternoon in a special session called to fix various problems in the current and upcoming state budgets.

There was no controversy over what Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, described as "technical although important" amendments to the budget and three other laws.

Legislative leaders said they hope they won't need another special session to deal with further budget shortfalls later this year.

"We're right where we projected we'd be. So that is good news," said Senate Budget Chairman Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. "Where that may go up or down … we don't know."

A new Tax Commission report released Wednesday showed revenues for this year are down 12 percent in the general and education funds from estimates made just last February. And tax revenues in the state transportation fund are down 9 percent, the new report shows.

Although lawmakers raised only vehicle registration fees last session, there is still talk of boosting the state tax on cigarettes, now about 70 cents a pack. Hillyard said a 50-cent increase per pack would only raise $30 million, nowhere near enough to cover the anticipated shortfall from using $450 million in one-time money to plug holes in next year's budget.

Wednesday, lawmakers appropriated $9.6 million, mostly moving monies from one are to fund to another so the fiscal 2009 and 2010 budgets balance.

Legislators put $6.5 million more into Medicaid funds for hospitals. After the 2009 session ended in March, hospital bosses began complaining they were taking a 20 percent cut in state and federal funds, more than anticipated.

Hospitals, said Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, are "losing more and more money even under the best case scenario we can present under Medicaid."

House budget chairman Ron Bigelow, R-West Valley, told a House GOP caucus that instead of taking a 20 percent cut, hospitals would have to take a 15 percent cut, similar to cuts made to other state programs due to the slouching Utah economy and drop in tax revenues.

Bigelow said 10,000 poor Utahns have come onto Medicaid rolls in just one month. And hospitals must provide care, even if state money with federal matching funds are not given, with the difference made up by insurance companies or paying patients, he added.

There was also discussion and some complaining among House Republicans about how federal bailout money was being spent.

Ironically, shortly after a new states' right caucus was being introduced in a Capitol Rotunda rally, legislators were authorizing even more stimulus spending in their own budgets.