Leavitt urges $3.6 billion Centennial Highway Fund, welfare and education reforms in 1997 State of the State

SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Michael O. Leavitt told a joint convention of the Utah Legislature that the state must prepare for ‘‘the information age’’ and make major investments this year in transportation, workforce services, education and public safety.

Leavitt opened by asking, "Will Utah be ready for this next century? Yes, we will," and framed his agenda as pragmatic and bipartisan. He proposed a 10‑year Centennial Highway Fund totaling $3.6 billion to rebuild worn and unsafe roads across the state and named reconstruction of I‑15 as the administration's first major project, slated to begin this spring.

The governor said the funding plan should be both affordable and fair. He described recent tax cuts and said "for every dollar in new road taxes that will be necessary, in the last 3 years, we have cut $3 in general taxes," arguing that users should pay more for the roads they use most. Leavitt proposed higher fees for heavy trucks, modest adjustments to fuel taxes and automobile registration fees he said would remain "no higher than those in surrounding states," and a bonding approach in which roughly 10% of project costs would be borne by future drivers.

Leavitt also pushed for a consolidation of employment and welfare programs into a single Department of Workforce Services, calling the approach a "wise neighbor" model that helps recipients move into paid work rather than depending on long‑term benefits. To illustrate, he told the story of "Jessica," a single mother who quit a job rather than lose childcare assistance under federal rules and later regained employment after state caseworkers helped her with a tailored transition plan. "We put her back on welfare," he said of the initial outcome, then described reforms that helped her keep a new job and a raise.

The governor said the number of Utah families on welfare has fallen by more than 5,000 since reforms began and asked the Legislature to complete the consolidation and expand successful practices statewide.

On health care, Leavitt said tens of thousands of Utahns have gained access to insurance over the past four years and asked the Legislature to take another step to broaden coverage. He said most who were previously deemed uninsurable would purchase private plans under the proposed approach, and a small number would be served through a special state program.

Education and technology also featured prominently. Leavitt praised higher academic standards and partnerships between business and schools, then announced that Western Governors University — a technology‑based university created by a consortium of states — would be headquartered in Utah. "It will keep us on the leading edge," he said, noting expanded electronic libraries and distance learning as tools for student access.

Leavitt closed by emphasizing public safety needs and corrections capacity, noting the administration's budget proposed nearly 1,200 additional slots for juvenile and adult corrections and calling for tougher sentencing guidelines for repeat offenders. He urged members of both parties and urban and rural legislators to set aside narrow interests and work together, and he invited wilderness stakeholders to the governor's office to seek common ground on land‑use disputes.

The joint convention approved a motion to spread the governor's remarks on the Senate Journal by voice vote and adjourned until 10 a.m. Tuesday.

(Reporting in this article is drawn directly from the governor's address as delivered to the joint convention; where the transcript included inconsistent or abbreviated spellings of names or offices, the article uses the standard, commonly accepted spellings.)