Concurrent Enrollment (CE) is a long-standing program that connects Utah’s public schools and higher education institutions, allowing high school students to earn credit for both high school and college in the same course. In the 2024 school year, more than 56,000 Utah students participated (or roughly 26 percent of all high schoolers), making CE a […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
During the 2025 General Session, the Legislature passed H.B. 265, “Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment” which, in connection with House Bill 1, “Higher Education Base Budget” created the framework for reallocating existing resources within the state’s higher education budget. Broadly, Strategic Reinvestment requires each of the eight public, degree-granting colleges or universities to create a plan that repurposes funding for programs and divisions which warrant additional inves...| Budget | Utah Legislature
To understand how our favorite sports team is doing, we look for a scoreboard that provides a snapshot of our team’s performance. Displaying key performance indicators (KPIs) such as the score, time remaining, turnovers committed, and penalties gives us important information. Empowered by this data, we can decide how much emotional capital to invest in the short-term for a game and over the long-term during a season.| Budget | Utah Legislature
During the legislative interim period, appropriations subcommittees engage in thorough analyses of budgetary matters that cannot be fully addressed during the General Session. These in-depth reviews are conducted as part of the Accountable Budget Process, a statutory mandate established by H.J.R. 18, “Joint Rules Resolution on Base Budgeting Provisions” (2019 General Session). Under this process, […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
The Utah Division of Services for People with Disabilities (DSPD) provides a variety of supports to help people with disabilities live more independently and participate fully in their communities. These supports are designed to meet the unique needs of each individual. Some people require around-the-clock care, while others may only need a few hours of assistance each week to remain independent. Services can include help with daily living tasks, supported employment, day programs, or respite...| Budget | Utah Legislature
Public Infrastructure Districts (PIDs) are limited purpose local government entities which can be created by cities, counties or other political subdivisions to facilitate the development of infrastructure for public benefit as outlined in UAC Title 17D, Chapter 4. Initially authorized by S.B. 228, “Public Infrastructure District Act” in the 2019 General Session, these districts can […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
The recently federally enacted “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (H.R. 1) is set to create fiscal impacts for the state of Utah and could lead to future financial responsibilities related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). This new legislation changes the funding structure for both the administrative costs and the benefits provided through the program.| Budget | Utah Legislature
As students and faculty return to campuses across Utah, a quiet revolution is underway in how the state funds and builds its higher education facilities. Since 2019, Utah has shifted from a reactive, year-to-year funding model to a strategic, forward-thinking approach that provides a stable financial foundation for capital projects. This change, initiated by Senate […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
While our Grandma’s legendary two-year supply of emergency rations might be more rice and beans than legislative genius, this Pioneer Day we’re digging into a different kind of foresight: the Legislature’s plan to steady the public education budget during difficult economic times. Developed in 2020, this plan (titled the Public Education Funding Framework) includes three primary components:| Budget | Utah Legislature
In Utah—and the rest of the western United States—footing the bill for wildfire prevention, suppression, and mitigation is a persistently hot topic. The challenge of addressing wildfire on state, private, and federal lands, layered with the complexities of increasingly arid conditions, multiplied by population growth, and seasoned with competing budgetary priorities results in a natural […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
Recently, the Legislature has been active in the expansion or creation of designated areas which utilize funding mechanisms such as taxing authority, redirected revenue, and bonding capacity to achieve public purposes for a broad audience of Utah taxpayers. In exchange for these financial benefits, the local districts are tasked with furthering goals such as urban revitalization, economic development, and cultural enhancement.| Budget | Utah Legislature
The 2025 General Session continued the Legislature’s work in thoughtfully utilizing the Opioid Settlement payments to help Utah’s citizens impacted by the opioid epidemic, including the growth of fentanyl use. As a reminder, in 2021, nationwide settlements were reached to resolve all opioid litigation brought by states and political subdivisions against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen, and also against manufacturer Janssen Ph...| Budget | Utah Legislature
The Legislative Fiscal Analyst’s (LFA) annual budget report for the State of Utah dates all the way back to the 1960s. That means that for the last 60 years we’ve provided a breakdown of the state’s budgetary acts to help you find the answers to what you’re looking for. Do you want to know how […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
As discussions surrounding tariffs circulate through the news, it is important to understand what they are and how they work. Tariffs are taxes that are imposed by governments on goods and services imported from other countries. The primary intent of tariffs is to raise the price of imported goods relative to domestically produced goods, so that national commodities have a competitive price advantage. Tariffs are a form of protectionist policy and are often employed to protect emerging and st...| Budget | Utah Legislature
According to the Federal Reserve, in 2015 the average home value in Utah was just over $230,000. Ten years later, the average home value has more than doubled to an average price of $530,000. While 2015 to 2020 provided steady, moderate growth, the last five years were marked by the profound impacts of the pandemic and interest rates. As can be seen in the graph below, the interest rate increase in 2022 changed the trajectory of the market from the rapid ascent that began in mid-2020, returni...| Budget | Utah Legislature
During the 2025 General Session, the Legislature passed three major bills that impacted the state’s budget for transportation and infrastructure: The impact of these bills is an increase from Sales Tax for transportation and a simplified calculation for specific set asides. The following post summarizes the budgetary impact of these bills and explains how they […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
To provide a useful estimate of the year-to-date revenue for any state fund, collections must account for tax earmarks that are set aside for specific purposes and in some cases generated from specific subsets of a tax. The Tax Commission’s Revenue Summary (which informs the Revenue Snapshot’s contrast between collections and revenue estimates) provides a […]| Budget | Utah Legislature
