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Late-night fight removes Antelope Island causeway funding from bonding bill
Summary
A House amendment adding $6 million for the Antelope Island causeway to the capital facilities bonding bill triggered extended floor debate; senators disagreed over the timing and propriety of adding large projects late in the session and ultimately voted to strip the causeway funding from the bill.
The Senate took up the House-amended capital facilities bonding bill late in the evening after the House inserted a $6 million allocation for the Antelope Island causeway. Senator McAllister moved to delete the House amendments and restore the committee’s original bonding package (a $54 million cap prioritized by the committee). That motion led to extended floor debate from senators on both sides of the issue.
Supporters of restoring causeway funding argued the project would generate visitor revenue and broader economic benefits for the state; some members cited park visitation and tourism multipliers. Opponents countered that it was inappropriate to add large capital projects on the floor at a late hour without committee hearings, that prior committee priorities would be undermined, and that the causeway had failed in the past and required caution before new spending.
A substitute motion to reduce the causeway allocation to $3.5 million was put forward and defeated. The Senate prevailed on the motion to remove the House amendment, restoring the bonding bill to the committee-recommended form. The floor recorded the division and the motion passed; the body returned the bond bill to its original prioritized list rather than adopting the late House insertion.
The debate highlights procedural tension between individual legislators’ project interests and committee prioritization of capital spending. The Senate’s action does not preclude future standalone measures for the causeway, but it removed the insertion from the immediate bonding package and kept the bill within the committee’s prioritized funding limit.
