Governor Herbert delivered his first State of the State Address tonight. His priorities including keeping taxes from being raised, holding public education harmless from budget cuts, transportation, and legislative ethics reform.
For the first time in three years, we are expecting an increase in revenue for the upcoming fiscal year. Housing is beginning to stabilize, the state’s labor market is resilient and our unemployment rate remains below the national average. I know this is of small consolation to those who are out of work, but we will continue to make sound policy decisions to move this state – and your families – back to solid economic ground and toward a more hopeful future.
First and foremost, we must protect public and higher education.
Utah has long been committed to funding our public schools, our colleges and universities, and our technical institutions. In fact, few states in the country spend as much of their overall budgets on education as we do. Our unique demographics – which is a way of saying we have larger families – mean we must continue to increase funding to maintain and enhance the solid education and training our students receive.
In spite of our difficult budget situation, I call upon you, our great legislators, to maintain our current level of commitment to education!
Secondly, we must balance our budget responsibly, and in a way that does not stifle an economy that is finally beginning to show signs of recovery. We need to support our hard-working citizens and businesses, not stifle them with new tax burdens. We need to help them succeed, not hamper their success. And we need to think toward the future, not just of today.
Read the entire text of Governor Herbert’s State of the State address here.
Filed under: budget, Education, Energy, Ethics Reform, Governor, health care, higher education, Legislators, Property Taxes, Public Education, Small Business, taxes, Transportation, Utah Legislature | 1 Comment »
