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House approves highway bond authorization to speed up UDOT projects; debate focuses on prioritization and debt cap
Summary
The House passed first substitute SB277 to authorize multi-year highway bonding to accelerate UDOT projects, with supporters citing congestion relief and cost savings and opponents and questioners pressing for limits on reprioritization and transparency. The bill passed 72–3 and will return to the Senate.
The Utah House on March 7 voted to approve first substitute Senate Bill 277, a highway general obligation bond authorization designed to accelerate major projects overseen by the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT).
Sponsor Representative Gibson told colleagues the proposal would allow UDOT to move projects forward more quickly by issuing bonds over a roughly four-year cycle — approximately $250 million per year — rather than waiting years for funding to become available. "We're at about 44 of our state bonding limit," Gibson said while showing members a chart of the state's indebtedness, and he warned that a scheduled $300,000,000 payment next year could affect capacity.
The bill includes a 50 percent cap on bonded indebtedness; "At any time we reach…
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