Dear Neighbors,
The budget process is one of the most interesting responsibilities I have as your representative. It has also received quite a bit of attention recently in the media from Governor Herbert. Several years ago the Legislature adopted the idea of using “base budgets” to build the State’s budget. This concept was created after a former Governor held the entire State budget hostage pending passage of a pet funding project. It was a very effective technique because everything from teacher pay to highway funding hinged on the approval of the pet project, which the former Governor ended up getting. After that experience, legislative leadership decided that some portions of the budget were too important to be held hostage in this way and ought to be removed from the budget wrangling that happens later in the session.
Budget Process
The base budget funding process begins with appropriations subcommittees looking at all the funding received by each department and program during the last fiscal year. Essentially it is what a flat budget looks like, i.e. no growth or inflation. In good years, base budgets are approved and then additional funding for new programs, growth, and inflation are added later in the session. In tight years like we have seen the past few years, this means base budgets are cut to fit revenues and then money is added back with one-time money later in the session.
Governor’s Role
When a bill is passed during the session, the Governor has 14 days to sign or veto a bill. This means that if the Governor vetoes a base budget, the Legislature will still be in-session and can consider overriding the veto or voting out a new budget bill. The final budget bill, called “the bill of bills,” is always passed the last night of the session and contains any supplemental funding to the base budgets and the Governor has until the end of March to sign or veto that bill.
Governor Herbert expressed a little bit of frustration this week with the base budget process. This is all part of the normal back-and-forth up here and the natural “sandpaper-like” relationship that exists between branches of government. There is supposed to be push and pull as we work on public policy and budget issues. Everyone has their own ideas of the right course for the State and sometimes meshing those ideas can be a little messy. However, I am confident we will have a balanced budget by the time we adjourn on March 10th.
Legacy Highway
I want to make sure you are aware of an important issue in West Kaysville. The Utah Department of Transportation recently announced a potential transportation corridor in western Davis County for Legacy Parkway. As proposed, this corridor will have a significant impact on neighborhoods in West Kaysville.
This week we met with Kaysville Mayor Hiatt and UDOT to continue our discussion about my opinion we move the corridor west and away from homes in our area. I promise to do all I can to make sure your voice is heard as decisions are made regarding this road. We will fight as if your homes are our homes. You deserve nothing less.
Please go to the West Davis Corridor website at www.udot.utah.gov/westdavis, and submit your comments no later than March 7th. If you want to see changes in the corridor as I do, it’s important for you to let your voice be heard.
Though things move quickly on the Hill, I welcome any questions or comments from you, especially during the legislative session. I can be reached by email at bradwilson (at) utah.gov or by phone at the Capitol (801) 538-1029. The Legislative Home Page, www.le.utah.gov, features links to proposed bills, live audio and visual feeds of legislative debate and committee meetings and contact information for all members of the Legislature. Check it out during the session to see what I’m up to at the Capitol. Stay tuned for more updates as the Legislature moves into Week 5.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your representative.
Sincerely,
Brad Wilson
Representative Brad Wilson
