Cox vetoed SB37 — a rather wonky but important bill that would have fundamentally changed how the state handles property tax revenue that’s used for schools.
Currently, about $842 million collected from local minimum basic rate property taxes goes directly to school districts to bolster education funding. However, with SB37, sponsor Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, wanted to change that in order to create more budget flexibility and to “equalize” funding across school districts.
Under his bill, the property tax revenue would instead be diverted into the state’s general fund. After receiving the money, the Utah State Board of Education would then have 35 days to transfer an equal amount into local school district accounts. The bill would allow the board to use income tax dollars — which are required under the Utah Constitution to be reserved for education expenses — to replace those property tax dollars in the state’s general fund (which can be used for other priorities) before money would be sent back to school districts.
While opponents, including various educator groups, worried it could jeopardize future education funding, Fillmore argued on the Senate floor it wasn’t “a clever way” for state leaders to “steal money from public education.”
“The bill requires that whatever money is collected, the exact same amount of money in the exact same time frame with the exact same funding flexibility is distributed to school districts as soon as it’s collected,” Fillmore said.
But the Utah State Board of Education opposed the bill. The day before lawmakers’ 45-day session ended, the board passed a resolution urging Cox to veto it. One board member, Sarah Reale, described the bill as “really fishy” and “money laundering,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Read the full report at UtahNewsDispatch.com.
