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Senate appropriations leaders report modest revenue gain, eye 6% pay package and tough budget choices
Summary
Appropriations leaders told the Utah Senate that updated revenue estimates put the state closer to the governor's plan and could support a 6% pay package for FY1991, but transportation and motor-fuel receipts are down and committees will need to trim fiscal-note requests before Friday's deadline.
Senator Lyle W. Hilliard, the Senate Appropriations chairman, briefed colleagues on new revenue estimates that modestly increase the state's available money for the current and next fiscal years and could allow a 6% compensation package for state employees if leadership and committees accept the projection.
Hilliard told senators the analysts' and the governor's figures differ but recent updates add roughly $13 million to earlier projections. That adjustment, he said, would move the compensation recommendation from 5% to 6% for FY1991 while leaving limited room for new program funding. "Taking that into consideration, the analyst came back with a 5% compensation package as compared to the governor's 6 percent," he said, adding the new estimate would lift the package to 6% and require about $137 million of ongoing money statewide.
The appropriations chair also highlighted sectoral concerns. Transportation funds and motor-fuel receipts are down in both the supplemental and the FY1991 outlook, and Hilliard warned committees that some fiscal-note bills will have to be trimmed or absorbed in existing budgets. He said the transportation fund showed a multi-million-dollar shortfall and urged subcommittees to prioritize "building blocks" and supplemental items to find savings.
Senators asked for more detail about the figures and the process. Several members urged caucus and committee-level meetings with analysts and the governor's staff; Hilliard scheduled leadership meetings with the governor and caucus briefings before committees meet the same afternoon. He stressed that some fiscal-note bills may already be folded into committee budgets and that final decisions must be reached quickly: "Everybody needs to understand that by Friday night when we leave here, the budget goes to bed."
What happens next: leadership will review the estimates with the governor at noon and meet with caucuses at 2 p.m. Appropriations subcommittee chairs were directed to reconcile their committee recommendations with the updated revenue picture; decisions on whether to fund compensation at 6% or hold at 5% will be part of those negotiations.
