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House advances bill to remove state portion of food sales tax; amendment to enact immediately fails
Summary
The House passed First Substitute House Bill 101 on Feb. 22, 2023, to remove the state portion of the sales tax on groceries contingent on SJR 10 and voter approval. A proposed amendment to make the cut effective July 1, 2023 failed; the bill passed 57–15 and will go to the Senate.
First Substitute House Bill 101, introduced Feb. 22 by Representative Roner, aims to eliminate the state portion of the sales tax on food. The sponsor told the chamber that removing the state sales tax on groceries would reduce taxes by about $20,000,000 and that the measure would only take effect if SJR 10 (a proposed amendment to the Utah Constitution changing income‑tax earmarking) passes and is approved by voters in November 2024.
Representative Lesser moved House Amendment 1 to make the tax removal effective July 1, 2023; the motion was treated as unfriendly and generated extended floor questioning. Representatives pressed the sponsor on budget surplus numbers and the fiscal impact of the amendment; figures cited in the floor exchange included a general fund surplus of $130,000,000 and an income tax fund balance of $1,100,000,000 for FY2022, and currently cited ongoing balances of about $410,000,000 in the general fund and $432,000,000 in the income tax fund. Opponents argued the amendment could jeopardize the state’s constitutional obligations to education funding and drive budget instability.
The motion to adopt Amendment 1 failed on the floor. The underlying bill subsequently passed the House 57–15 and will be transmitted to the Senate. The sponsor and supporters framed the bill as giving voters the choice to remove the food tax while preserving protections for constitutionally earmarked education revenue via SJR 10.
