Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tax Exemptions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Utah Senate rejects sponsor’s bid to alter sales‑tax exemption, SB2 fails
Summary
Senate debated Senator John Holmgren’s measure to roll back a sales‑tax exemption sunset to 1994 in order to address perceived inequities between Geneva Steel and Nucor. Under a suspension motion the bill received a roll‑call vote and failed, 10–14 with 5 absent.
Senator John Holmgren introduced Senate Bill 2 on March 31, 1993, urging the Utah Senate to move the sunset date for a sales‑tax exemption back to 1994 to correct what he described as an inequity between Geneva Steel and other manufacturers such as Nucor. Holmgren said the bill would “put it back to where they were before,” arguing the extension adopted in a prior session unfairly advantaged one set of producers over others and citing a fiscal note that he described as roughly $1,800,000.
Holmgren told colleagues the affected industries provide substantial local wages and that some firms in his district have borne the exemption since 1987. He said he did not want to close businesses but sought a fair approach: either include both firms in the exemption or eliminate it for both.
Opponents, including Senator Black, said the governor had not recommended the repeal and warned of community harm if Geneva Steel lost the exemption while it completed environmental upgrades and efforts to regain profitability. Black said Geneva needed the two‑year extension to preserve jobs in the community. Several senators urged the body to let a newly established tax‑review process examine exemptions rather than take immediate action.
After debate, Holmgren moved under suspension of the rules to read SB2 for second and third readings and proceed to final passage. The motion led to a roll‑call vote that the presiding officer recorded as 10 ayes, 14 nays and 5 absent; the motion and bill failed. No formal amendment to SB2 was adopted in the Senate.
The Senate’s action leaves the exemption in place under the status quo until further review; several senators said the tax‑review commission and interim revenue committees should evaluate exemptions and report back during the 1994 general session.
What happens next: Holmgren’s motion failed on the Senate floor; any further changes to the exemption would require new legislation or committee action in the interim and could be affected by potential litigation referenced during debate.
