What Utah Voters Wanted and What They Got

What Utah Voters Wanted and What They Got

– By Howard Sierer –

Utah’s Republican-dominated legislature polled citizens in January, asking questions about current issues and potential legislation. House Speaker Brad Wilson said, “Good data drives good decisions.” So how well did Wilson and his colleagues do?

Tax Cuts. When it came to taxes, Utahns’ first priority was sales tax reductions: 65% of those polled wanted them reduced including 48% who specifically wanted reductions on grocery purchases.

Utah is one of only 13 states that imposes a sales tax on groceries. While Utah’s 3% grocery food tax rate is lower than its 5.95% rate on other sales, our state is out-of-step with most of the country.

Sales taxes are inherently regressive; that is, they place a higher burden on low-income citizens. Those in the bottom fifth of family incomes pay 7.1% of their income in sales taxes while those in the highest one percent of incomes pay 0.9% of their incomes in sales taxes.

Grocery food tax burdens are especially high in Utah with its highest-in-the-nation number of children per family.

Did we get what we asked for? No, bills to reduce or eliminate the grocery sales tax went down to defeat.

Governor Cox proposed a $160 million grocery tax credit in his budget recommendation, but lawmakers instead enacted a $163 million income tax rate cut for all Utahns along with a $16 million non-refundable earned income tax credit and a $15 million expansion for the state’s Social Security tax credit.

While higher-income folks will pay lower taxes and retirees will benefit, our lowest-income citizens will continue to pay tax on groceries. The legislature failed them.

Transportation. The legislature’s poll indicated support for additional transportation investment with respondents evenly split between roads and public transportation.

Congressional Democrats’ $1.9 trillion fiasco, the so-called “American Rescue Act” and primary contributor to today’s runaway inflation, dumped unneeded COVID relief funds on states which are now trying to figure out how to spend their record-setting budget surpluses.

Our legislature chose to spend its one-time, $1 billion in federal handouts on transportation infrastructure. A large portion of that will be going toward public transportation with the largest portion to double-track the Wasatch Front’s FrontRunner commuter train. The balance will go to projects prioritized by the Utah Transportation Commission, allowing many to be completed a year or more earlier.

We got what we asked for here: great use of one-time funding.

Education. When asked if they would support using tax dollars to allow parents to choose public or private schools, citizens were 69% in favor while only 27% opposed.

Legislators failed those in favor, rejecting the proposed Hope Scholarship bill which would have offered parents vouchers to allow school choice including private schools and even homeschooling. True to form, teachers’ unions opposed the bill. Questions were raised about a conflict with the state constitution and Gov. Cox promised to veto the bill, fearing possible consequences for the state budget.

My favorite, SB114 which would have required local school boards to publish school curricula in advance and hold public meetings prior to their adoption, went down to defeat, again at the hands of teachers’ unions.

Nonetheless, thanks to the state’s booming economy, public schools will get their biggest funding increase ever: $383 million resulting in a 6% increase per student.

Good show on the funding increase but the legislature ignored its survey results on school choice.

Voting Security. A substantial 67% of poll respondents favor improved voting security.

Legislators took note, passing a variety of bills with changes ranging from poll watching to voter ID. Thankfully, a bill to eliminate Utah’s mail-in voting process went down to defeat, opposed by Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, the League of Women Voters…and me.

Well done.

Education curriculum. Citizens were asked if Utah’s curriculum was “innovative.”

I’m not sure what this meant and poll respondents appeared similarly uncertain. The question may have been a stalking horse for HB374, which “prohibits elementary, junior high and high schools from having material that describes or depict pornographic or indecent acts.” The bill passed.

I’m on board with that. Sadly, teenagers today have all-too-ready access to such material over the internet. Providing that kind of thing at school lends an aura of public, institutional support for the porn epidemic.

Housing and Zoning. Citizens were asked if changes should be made to increase housing availability in order to reduce housing prices: 73% agreed.

Legislators appropriated $70 million for homelessness and housing this year, falling short of the $128 million the governor recommended in his budget. The legislature did pass HB462, which requires cities with public transit hubs to develop plans for moderate- and low-income housing within a one-mile radius of those locations.

Half a loaf is better than none but can still leave one hungry.

All in all, Utah’s legislature bolstered our reputation as a well-governed state. No one will be completely satisfied – I wasn’t – but I suspect most Utahns will continue to support the general thrust of what was accomplished.

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