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:
- Tax Relief – $167.7 million ongoing and $37.1 million one-time for an income tax rate cut from 4.65 percent to 4.55 percent, $2.3 million ongoing beginning in 2026 to expand eligibility for the child tax credit from age 3 and under to age 4 and under, $1 million ongoing and $22.0 million one-time to continue rural film incentive credits;
- Transportation — $330.0 million ongoing and $775.0 million one-time for infrastructure and transportation projects;
- Public Education — $211.7 million to increase the WPU Value by 5.0% to $4,443 for FY 2025, up from $4,280 in FY 2024. $57.0 million for at-risk students and digital teaching tools, $40.0 million for scholarships, and $440.0 million in one-time projects from the Public Education Economic Stabilization Account;
- Higher Education — $20.0 million for university performance funding, $7.0 million ongoing and $5.0 million one-time for technical colleges, $160.0 million one-time for new building construction;
- Affordable Housing — $17.0 million for $300 million in subsidized loans under the Utah Homes Investment Program, $3.0 million for Shared Equity Revolving Loan Program, and $3.0 million for the Law Enforcement First Time Home Buyer Program;
- Homelessness — $10.0 million ongoing and $11.8 million one-time for Statewide Homeless System Support, $25.0 million one-time for Low-barrier Shelter, $0.5 million ongoing and $2 million one-time for Home Courts, and $2.6 million for mitigation; and
- State Employee Compensation — $135.0 million ongoing for 3% compensation increases for executive branch and higher education employees, 2% pay for performance increases for executive branch employees, 5% discretionary increases for other branches of government, 0.7% salary enhancement for Tier II employees.
As required by the Utah Constitution, legislators balanced the budget to projections of available revenue.
For significant budget actions according to appropriations subcommittee, please see this budget summary document: Spending Summary.
An index of new funding items and their location in appropriations bills is available here: Index of Budget Adjustments.
There are a number of resources available for the public and legislators to understand more about Fiscal Year 2024 and 2025 funding:
Budget Quick Facts – A pocket-sized guide to the budget.
DataViz – An interactive graphical representation of the budget. View the budget by sources, uses, and new money. Click a bubble to see how that item has changed over time, and in what bills it changed. Search for budget requests and find where it exists in appropriations bills.
Compendium of Budget Information (COBI) – A complete guide to the Utah State budget. Find budget requests on the Issues tab, and Line item/program budgets on the Financials tab.