Archive

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 expenditures hinge on revenues, both forecasted and collected. This flip side of the budget coin provides a unique challenge for policy makers, since revenues in the short term are largely […]

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 the 2023 and 2024 General Sessions contingently put money towards the Plan, if certain revenue collections materialized. The shortfall in FY 2023 resulted in a rescinded $125.0 million appropriation. During […]

In June, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) opened the doors on its latest store, an upgrade for the Salt Lake City Downtown location which was considered out of date and undersized. This first ever two-story location featuring nearly 40 doors of refrigerated products is perhaps the latest example of the shift initiated by […]

According to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, average rental prices along the Wasatch Front climbed more than 20% from 2020 to 2021. While the State of Utah’s Housing Market Report (report) does note contraction in the housing market in 2023, the implications of interest rates and the pandemic on Utah’s housing market are enduring: […]

During the 2013 General Session, the Legislature passed H.B. 129, “Amendments to Powers, Functions, and Duties of Office of Legislative Fiscal Analyst,” which required the Office to develop and publish a taxpayer receipt. The receipt is intended to answer the question of how an individual’s tax dollars are expended for government purposes. The receipt does […]

The Statewide Master Plan guides investments in existing state office space and supports the new construction of carefully planned rural centers. The first master plan for state buildings was completed in January 2021 by the Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM). The plan evaluated 215 state-owned and state-leased office spaces and laid out multiple […]

Salaries have long been a focal point in discussions about education funding. Teachers are fundamental to our educational system, and debates about their compensation have focused on adequacy, fairness, and impact on recruitment and retention. In Utah, salaries for public educators are comprised of state, local, and federal funds. Ultimately, the total amount a teacher […]

In February 2022, the first of several large settlements was finalized in the nationwide, multi-district litigation against opioid manufacturers and distributors. These settlements, worth an estimated $26 billion, were with Janssen (J&J) and the “Big 3 Distributors” (Cardinal, McKesson, and Amerisource Bergen). Additional settlement agreements have been reached with McKinsey and Company (a consulting firm […]

Local jails play a significant role in Utah’s criminal justice system. Specifically, county jails serve an important function by housing a portion of state inmates and certain probationers (who are sentenced to serve in a county jail as a condition of their probation). The program that pays for state inmates to use local facilities is […]

2024 Third Special Session Fiscal Impacts During Wednesday’s Special Session, the legislature considered five bills and two resolutions. Only two of those bills or resolutions had direct, measurable fiscal impacts to the state: June Revenue Reports These positive fiscal impacts, however small, were welcomed by the relatively stagnant revenue growth observed in the latest revenue […]

On Friday, May 17th, the Tax Commission along with the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget released the latest revenue monitoring reports, detailing collections through May 9th. Through 10 months of the fiscal year (FY), revenues to all state funds have kept pace with the astronomical collections observed during tax season […]

For the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA), it’s almost the happiest time of year. With the General Session in the rearview mirror, economists now watch with anticipation as the state income tax fund should see the largest single bump of the fiscal year. While April 15th has come and gone, revenue reports won’t show the outcome […]

It’s hard to believe that two years ago we were writing about the abnormally dry conditions gripping the state, while last year the legislature considered how to pay for the impending threat of flooding. It’s true that every General Session has the common problem of predicting what resources will be needed up to 15 months […]

Late last week, the Tax Commission released their revenue summary report, detailing collections through eight months of the Fiscal Year (FY). As of March 7th, revenue to all sources grew 0.2%, or $22.8 million, over FY 2023. The March Revenue Snapshot, produced by the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, […]

The Legislative Fiscal Analyst’s Performance and Operations Team recently published two new efficiency evaluations of state agency programs: Last December, we highlighted some of the operations methodologies that the team uses for process improvement. In this post, we describe how various methodologies relate to each of the recommendations made to the State Records Committee for […]

The Utah Legislature concluded the 2024 General Session with an operating and capital budget of $29.4 billion for fiscal year 2025. The budget includes $12.9 billion from the sales-taxed backed General Fund and the Income Tax Fund. Top legislative budget priorities included state fund investments in:  As required by the Utah Constitution, legislators balanced the […]

On Friday, February 16th, the Legislative Fiscal Analyst along with the Governor’s Office announced updated consensus revenue estimates for Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 and 2025. The net impact of these modest changes are positive. While the last few years of astronomical growth may paint available revenue in a lackluster light, in reality these figures demonstrate […]

As week four of the 2024 General Session comes to a close, so too does the work of appropriations subcommittees. Next Monday and Tuesday, the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) will hear reports from each of the seven topical budget committees. These reports detail all committee actions including motions, intent language, reallocations, fees, and the coveted […]

Recently, the Utah Legislature has identified the need to invest in mental health interventions and crisis support. S.B. 155, “988 Mental Health Crisis Assistance” (2021 General Session) created the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline line. The 988 Lifeline, which went live July 2022, has provided support, resources, and hope to individuals experiencing mental health emergencies […]

Management expert Peter Drucker said, “what gets measured, gets managed.” As a state, Utah is committed to wisely using state dollars in order to provide effective services. Recently, state agencies have been refining their strategic plans to better communicate a path to serve citizens (see executive branch agencies strategic plans). This effort focuses on the […]

Revenue Updates Earlier this week, the Tax Commission released the latest revenue summary, detailing collections through January 8th. This month’s report captures sales and wages from the first half of the holiday rush. Accordingly, it’s no surprise that Sales Tax revenues ticked up slightly from December’s revenue recap. In all, collections to the General Fund […]

We Budgeteers of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst are over-the-moon about this year’s edition of the Compendium of Budget Information (COBI)! Of course, we are also over-the-moon about the return of Mando and Grogu later this year. We’re the staff office whose conference room is named after a popular space opera, after all. Consider the source. […]

As the Legislature kicks off the 2024 General Session, many budget discussions will focus on how the Legislature can allocate funding to facilitate solutions. Meanwhile, the Legislative Fiscal Analyst’s (LFA) Performance and Operations team will focus on improving internal processes for working with agencies that implement appropriated funding. A crucial step of process improvement is […]

On Friday, December 15th, the Tax Commission published their monthly revenue summary (detailing collections according to tax type) in conjunction with the Revenue Snapshot from the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (comparing collections to revenue estimates). Through five months of the fiscal year, the state’s General, Income and Transportation Fund […]

On Tuesday morning, Governor Spencer Cox released his budget recommendations for Fiscal Year 2025. The Governor stressed “people, growth, and good government”, asking legislators to prioritize funding for housing and homelessness, mental health services, education, and employee compensation. The Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst annually provides a summary for the nearly 200 pages of […]

The Utah Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Division currently owns two airplanes: a King Air C90 (purchased in 1999) and a King Air B200 (purchased in 2000). These planes are available for agencies and officials to use to conduct state business. Additionally, the Department of Transportation (UDOT) leases two hangars and office space (approximately 19,000 square […]

On Friday, November 17th, 2023, the Tax Commission released their Revenue Summary report, detailing collections through four months of the fiscal year. Concurrently, the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget jointly published their Revenue Snapshot for November, which compares updated revenue figures to consensus revenue estimates from February of this […]

During the 2019 General Session, the Legislature passed H.J.R. 18, which amended Joint Rule 3-2-501. The bill requires each of the seven topical appropriations subcommittees to scrutinize twenty percent of their assigned budgets in a practice called the Accountable Budget Process (ABP). The goal of this interim review is to come away with an Accountable […]

On Tuesday, October 24th, the Tax Commission released the first revenue summary report for FY 2024, which details collections for the first quarter of the fiscal year. Along with that summary, the Legislative Fiscal Analyst and the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget published the October Revenue Snapshot, comparing revenues to the consensus forecast. Through […]

Starting in spring of 2020, the Federal government provided a series of stimulus packages aimed at mitigating impacts associated with the pandemic, injecting over $31 billion into the state of Utah for various purposes. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) carried the largest portion of discretionary funding under the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund […]

On March 1, 2023, the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) began reviewing all Medicaid cases for eligibility. Prior to this the federal government would not allow any State to disenroll Medicaid clients regardless of eligibility changes as part of its response to the public health emergency. From March until August, the department has reviewed 121,025 […]

During the Legislature’s previous three general sessions, $2 to $3 billion in new funding has been appropriated each year for two to four hundred projects. In many instances, agencies spend the full appropriation, projects are fully implemented, and taxpayers are better served. However, this isn’t always the case, which begs the question: how can we […]