All Budget Highlights Posts
Late Autumn Revenues Fall Short of Projections
On Wednesday, November 20th, legislative and executive branch economists released the revenue update for November, detailing collections for the first four months of Fiscal Year...
November 20, 2024
The Severance Reference: Mapping Oil, Gas, and Mining Taxes in the Budget
The tax generated by the sale of oil and natural gas, and the mining of various compounds is a complicated, and widely discussed piece of...
November 15, 2024
At Your Service: Statewide Internal Service Funds
You may recall last August when we discussed Internal Service Funds (ISFs) as they relate to the Attorney General’s Office. Today, we take a step...
November 8, 2024
TIF Talk: Understanding the Lingo of Transportation Funding
The Transportation Investment Fund of 2005 (or TIF for short) is one of the largest accounts in the state budget, with revenues of over $3.2...
November 1, 2024
Trust the Process: Prepping Budgets for the General Session
During the Legislative "off season," appropriations subcommittees are hard at work diving into the nitty-gritty, budgetary details that no General Session allows enough time to...
October 18, 2024
The Story on Scholarships: Utah’s Tuition Assistance for Higher Education
Within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), the Legislature actively funds 13 scholarship programs centrally located and overseen by the Utah Board of Higher...
October 11, 2024
Q&A with LFA: the Top 5 Questions Answered by the Fiscal Health Dashboard
The Fiscal Health Dashboard is a one-stop shop for legislators and constituents to answer questions about Utah’s current and long-term financial position. The Legislative Fiscal...
October 4, 2024
Au Courant on Appropriations: Changes to Subcommittees and State Grant Processes
This fall, the leaves won’t be the only thing changing around the Capitol. During the 2024 General Session, the Legislature passed both a resolution and...
September 27, 2024
A Higher Standard: How the 2024 New Funding Follow-Up Report Helps Improve Outcomes
When the Legislature appropriates new funding for a project, it’s kind of like your family setting out on a road trip to your favorite theme...
September 20, 2024
Budgeting for the Backcountry: Utah’s Trailblazing Investments in Outdoor Recreation
In the 2021 General Session, the Legislature separated the Divisions of State Parks and Outdoor Recreation which were previously a single line item housed in...
September 13, 2024
Refined Revenues: How Economists are Improving Collections Tracking
When conjuring a picture of the state’s budget, appropriations (authorized spending) and expenditures (actual spending) jump to the front of mind. However, both appropriations and...
August 30, 2024
Belt-Tightening in Comfort: How the 2024 General Session Prepared Utah for a Deficit
In July we covered the Statewide Master Plan, a guide for state office space planning and investments. In that post, it was discussed how both...
August 16, 2024