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House reallocates short-term Mountain View Corridor funds to Salt Lake County projects
Summary
A transportation funding substitute reallocates Mountain View Corridor monies on a one-time basis to a list of Salt Lake County road projects; an amendment requiring UDOT-local entity contracts was adopted and the bill passed the House.
The Utah House passed a first substitute of House Bill 242 that redistributes certain funds originally allocated for the Mountain View Corridor to other road projects across Salt Lake County as a one-time reallocation while environmental review for the corridor remains pending.
Representative Harper, sponsor of the measure, said recent donations of right-of-way and a combination of prior year appropriations and bond proceeds (he cited about $250 million plus another $70 million from bonds) make it possible to shift funding now to projects with immediate readiness. "Because of that and additional money about $250,000,000 that we put in last year plus another $70,000,000 from a bond... we're getting close to getting as much money as we need for the right of way corridor for Mountain View," Harper said.
Representative Holdaway moved Amendment No. 1 to require the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) and local entities to enter contracts ensuring the funds are spent on road projects. The House adopted the amendment by voice vote and then approved the substituted bill. The recorded vote on the first substitute showed 69 yes, 2 no, and 4 absent; the bill will be forwarded to the Senate.
Sponsor remarks emphasized that the bill deals only with funds generated by a quarter-cent sales tax in Salt Lake County and that the reallocation is a one-time action to spend funds on projects identified in discussions with county cities and UDOT.
The amendment and bill incorporate oversight language to tie the reallocations to contracts between UDOT and local entities so project expenditures are contractually bound.
