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Senate approves expanded aviation fuel refund for Salt Lake City carriers after extended debate
Summary
The Utah Senate approved a second substitute to expand a fuel-tax refund at Salt Lake City Airport to all federally certified carriers, removing a prior gallon threshold. Lawmakers debated fiscal impact, which the sponsor said city officials had agreed to but which requires a fiscal note.
The Utah State Senate on Feb. 21 approved a second substitute to Senate Bill 49 that extends a per‑gallon aviation fuel refund at Salt Lake City Airport to all federally certified carriers.
Senator Stewart E. Valentine, the bill sponsor, said the second substitute ‘‘gives an aviation fuel tax reduction to all federally certified carriers who purchase fuel at the Salt Lake City Airport.’’ He described the measure as a compromise that ‘‘gives it to everyone’’ — removing a prior 90‑million‑gallon threshold and making carriers such as Southwest, Delta and United eligible from the first gallon purchased.
The second substitute reduces the state tax treatment by 1.5 cents per gallon for qualifying purchases at Salt Lake City; sponsors said the bill retains the existing 1‑cent/gallon allocation for aeronautical operations and would not draw from the aeronautical fund. Senator Valentine told the Senate that Salt Lake City leadership, including Mayor Rocky Anderson and the airport authority chairman, had agreed to the concepts in the substitute.
Senator Mike Hilliard pressed fiscal details and noted the scale: ‘‘If I remember correctly ... 1¢ of that money is about $1,500,000,’’ adding roughly that a 1.5¢ change would be on the order of $2.2 million. Hilliard and others pressed for clarity on whether cargo carriers (FedEx, UPS) and noncommercial operations would qualify; supporters responded that the bill applies to any federally chartered carrier purchasing at Salt Lake City.
Senator Hickman argued the change could look like a statewide subsidy for carriers using the Salt Lake hub, saying he was ‘‘really concerned about what we’re doing ... it becomes or appears to become a subsidy to all the airlines who use the Salt Lake Airport.’’ Sponsors replied that the city had negotiated and accepted the arrangement and that the fiscal note would be prepared as the bill moves to the House.
After extended debate and a call of the Senate, the second substitute passed on final passage; the clerk recorded 27 aye votes, no nay votes, and two absent. The bill will be transmitted to the House for further consideration and will carry a fiscal note to quantify the state and local impacts.
Implications: The measure narrows the prior gallon‑threshold approach and spreads the same per‑gallon refund to all qualifying federal carriers at Salt Lake City. The full budgetary effects await the fiscal note that sponsors said the House will review.
