Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation Noise Abatement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House approves amended traffic noise abatement program, makes funds nonlapsing
Summary
The Utah House amended and approved Senate Bill 52 to create a traffic noise abatement program and specified that funds dedicated to the program will be nonlapsing. Lawmakers debated whether municipal or private contributions should also be held as nonlapsing before passing the measure 50–15.
The Utah House amended and passed Senate Bill 52 on Feb. 8, 1996, creating a traffic noise abatement program and making its funding nonlapsing.
The House adopted an amendment proposed by Representative James Carnahan that added a provision stating, “All funding for the traffic noise abatement program shall be non lapsing,” a change backers said would allow the Transportation Department to retain funds across years for priority projects. Representative Carnahan moved the amendment and argued that nonlapsing status would preserve money for sound-wall projects if they were not completed in a single year.
Opponents, including Representative Alexander, warned that nonlapsing accounts can lead to departments accumulating unspent appropriations. “We’ve found a $2,500,000 surplus in the Centennial School Fund that was there for over two years,” he said in debate, urging caution before creating more nonlapsing accounts. Representative Cohen asked whether municipal or resident contributions would also become nonlapsing under the amendment; Carnahan replied that if local monies were placed into the fund, “we would want their money to be non lapsing rather than for those then to go back into the general fund.”
The amendment passed on a recorded division vote (38 yes, 18 no). After further discussion about priorities and retrofitting versus new construction, the amended SB52 passed the House by a roll call of 50 yes and 15 no and was returned to the Senate for further action.
Supporters said the bill gives the Transportation Commission authority to prioritize sound-wall projects statewide and allows the program to draw on multiple funding sources. Critics cautioned about creating additional nonlapsing accounts without a clear appropriation, and about tying up local funds.
Next steps: The bill, as amended, goes back to the Senate for concurrence and any required appropriation work. If funding details are not specified in an accompanying appropriations bill, the nonlapsing language may prompt follow-on budget deliberations.
