Utah House boosts maintenance threshold, shifts to replacement-cost standard for capital facilities
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Summary
The House passed House Bill 6 to increase maintenance funding for state buildings, raising the per-project threshold from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000, shifting valuation from insured value to replacement cost and raising a statutory percentage from 0.9% to 1.1%. Lawmakers said the change reallocates existing capital facilities funds to repairs rather than new construction.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House approved legislation on the floor that increases the state’s maintenance threshold for capital projects and changes how building value is measured.
Representative Jerry A. Adair, sponsor of House Bill 6, told the chamber the bill raises a statutory percentage from 0.9% to 1.1%, increases a per-project threshold from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 and replaces references to "insured value" with "replacement cost." "We're going to spend more money on taking care of our buildings before we build any new buildings," Adair said, framing the change as a reallocation of existing capital facilities funds rather than a request for new appropriations.
The bill’s fiscal treatment does not carry a separate fiscal note because, Adair said, the measure reorganizes existing capital facilities allocations. He told colleagues last year the capital facilities budget spent about $33,000,000 on alterations and repairs; he estimated the current year at roughly $37,000,000 and projected that the change would increase that category to about $44,000,000.
Supporters said the change is aimed at curbing deferred maintenance. "We're not taking care of what we have, and it will soon deteriorate to the point we'll have to replace it," Representative Pace said in floor remarks supporting the bill. Critics and some questioners urged caution about enshrining fixed dollar figures in statute rather than using an automatic adjustment tied to inflation; Representative Franson asked why the figure could not be a formula that adjusts over time. Adair said periodic legislative review is preferable to an automatic mechanism.
Representative Goodfellow urged the Legislature to explore longer-term funding tools such as depreciation funds or sinking funds to avoid recurring crisis-level repairs at institutions like Utah State University; Adair said the Capital Facilities Committee plans to study multi-decade financing approaches, including bonds and rent structures that could create ongoing replacement funds.
The House voted to pass House Bill 6 by a voice vote recorded as 72 yes, 0 no. The bill will be referred to the Senate for further consideration.
The next procedural step for House Bill 6 is consideration by the Utah Senate.
