SALT LAKE CITY -- Gov. Gary Herbert and state lawmakers have agreed to the major items in the creation of the next two-year state budget, including cutting public education by less than 1 percent, or around $10 million.
Herbert and the legislative leaders met Tuesday to hammer out the remaining obstacles in the 2010-11 budget negotiations.
"Everybody is on board. The hard realities set in," said Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, a member of the Utah House leadership.
The deal included increasing cigarette taxes to $1.70 a pack to help balance a budget in the aftermath of a national recession.
"It had to be done," said Sen. Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville.
Herbert had said he did not want new taxes and wanted to maintain funding for public education. Neither happened in this deal.
"The governor did not want drastic cuts to education, but he realized there needed to be a balance met in the negotiations," said Angie Welling, the governor's communications director.
Some of the public education money will be transferred to higher education.
Other lawmakers also fought to maintain educational funding and deal with a large increase in student population.
"We wish they had kept it whole," said Sen. Pat Jones, the Senate minority leader.
Among the more contentious elements debated as part of that overall school cut was a possible $6 million reduction in transportation funding, the reimbursement for busing.
But the leadership team and the governor decided to use tobacco money to help pay the transportation expense.
Davis County school leaders, among others, said the transportation cut would have seriously affected busing schedules.
A second major budget position taken by the GOP caucus in both houses Tuesday was to fund new higher-education construction in at least five places, including two buildings at Utah State University in Logan. A Weber State University building proposal did not make the list.
To pay for the building construction projects, the GOP caucuses wanted to delay $113 million in Utah road construction.
Two projects in Davis County were on a tentative list provided by the House leadership:
SBlt $25 million for an extension of 2000 West to Interstate 15 in Davis County.
SBlt $6 million for an auxiliary lane and widened bridge on northbound I-15 from 500 West to Parrish Lane in Davis County.
The delay in road construction to help balance the budget was instigated by the governor in a proposal in December but was initially rejected by lawmakers.
The governor agreed to the construction delay for new buildings, Waddoups said.
GOP lawmakers also announced they wanted to use money slated for economic development to instead fund 20 specific items that have surfaced since the overall budget was voted into place by a joint committee of the House and Senate last week.
On that list was more money for jail reimbursement and the drug offenders reform act -- also known as DORA -- both items that were lobbied for by several Top of Utah county commissioners and others. Those, too, found support in the final deal.
Issues regarding charter school funding have yet to be worked out, Waddoups said.
The overall budget deal still needs a final vote of approval from both houses and then the governor's signature.
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