Utah: Economic Tailwinds Continue

The Utah Legislature faced two major budget and tax policy challenges leading into the 2018 General Legislative Session: federal tax reform and a citizen’s initiative to increase public school funding. Together, the two created a unique opportunity for legislators to re-balance the state tax system and generate additional revenue for public education. During the session, Legislators addressed these issues as well as homelessness, Medicaid expansion, transportation investments, and others. By the end of the 45-day session, the state had a $16.8 billion budget for FY19, which was a 3.8 percent increase over the budget passed by legislators for FY18. This report provides details about the FY19 budget, examines the budgeting process, provides highlights on key budgetary items, and discusses the economic and demographic factors that impacted the budget.