Governor Bangerter unveils tight $3.5 billion budget, pushes education, health and environment priorities

Salt Lake City — Governor Norman H. Bangerter delivered the State of the State to a joint convention of the Utah Legislature, proposing a $3.500 billion budget for fiscal year 1992 and urging targeted investments in education, health care and environmental protection.

"The United States Congress is welcome to come and visit the Utah legislature to learn how to balance a budget," Bangerter said, framing his recommendations against what he described as a precarious federal fiscal situation. He proposed a total state budget of $3,500,000,000 with the general and uniform school funds portion at $1,780,000,000 and said the inflation- and population-adjusted 1992 state funds budget would represent a 2% decrease from the previous year.

Bangerter emphasized tax restraint. "Whatever we decide to do, the residential property taxes of Utah homeowners must not be increased," he said, urging the legislature to resolve tax issues without raising homeowners' property taxes.

On social services, the governor said several health and human services programs remained underfunded and noted an $8 million annual spending increase enacted since the previous session. He proposed a $3,000,000 one-time appropriation "to begin this program" to create a risk pool for people who cannot purchase ordinary health insurance, saying the program is "designed to keep operating costs down while restricting participation to those in serious need" and could become self-funding in one to two years.

Education received a central role in the address. Bangerter cited the accountability package enacted the prior year and statewide testing for grades 5, 8 and 11. He said testing results had been released for parents and educators and called testing a tool to identify problems. The governor noted a $15,000,000 state allocation for education technology and recommended an additional $10,000,000 this year. He also proposed an additional $4,000,000 targeted for first-grade class-size reduction with plans to pursue similar funding for second grade the following year.

Higher education, the governor said, continues to boost the state's economy through research and spin-off companies; he cited the Utah Centers of Excellence program, which attracted over $51,000,000 from federal and private sources in fiscal 1990 and contributed to some 28 startup companies.

On environmental policy, Bangerter asked the legislature to create a Department of Environmental Quality after a year of study, saying the public demands more attention to environmental issues even as the state pursues economic growth.

On public safety he asked lawmakers to expand drug-free school-zone legislation to other youth gathering places — parks, malls, recreation facilities, churches and concert sites — and proposed that anyone arrested selling drugs to a minor in those locations receive a mandatory five-year prison sentence.

On abortion, Bangerter framed his personal views while urging careful legal strategy. He referenced the limits set by past court decisions and said the legislature should avoid measures that are likely to be ruled unconstitutional. He warned that passing bills he considers legally indefensible would lead to "a painful public debate and a series of expensive trials." He also urged lawmakers to debate the issue with civility.

Bangerter closed by acknowledging Utah families with members called to active duty during the Gulf crisis and expressed support for President George H. W. Bush's authority to respond to Iraqi aggression while hoping for a peaceful resolution. "We still have serious challenges, but we are making real progress," he said.

The joint convention carried a motion to enter the governor's complete message into the legislative journals and then dissolved. The governor's address served as the administration's guiding priorities for the 1991 session.