$11.5M public preschool bill advances; State revenues may fall short

$11.5M public preschool bill advances; State revenues may fall short

(Laura Seitz/Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — An $11.5 million bill that would expand public preschools gained early approval, Utah students marched at the Capitol to battle the "pollution monster" and lawmakers are being warned that they might have less tax money to spend this year.

State revenues may fall short of projections, lawmakers warned

Tax revenues may be falling short of projections, leaving less money to spend this session, members of the House GOP caucus were warned Thursday.

"There is a hell of a lot less money than we think there is. So whatever you think you're going to get, you're not," House Majority Assistant Whip Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, announced.

While the latest budget projections won't be ready until Feb. 19, they may well be below the estimates agreed to by legislative leaders and Gov. Gary Herbert late last year, House Budget Chairman Dean Sanpei, R-Provo, said.

"Most years, February revenue estimates come in higher and we have more dollars than we thought we did in December. But if there were ever a risk the revenue estimates were going to come in lower, it could be this year," Sanpei said.

The reason is tax collections tied to oil and gas extraction are down due to the low prices at the pump "that have fallen off a cliff," he said, as have stock market earnings, which will affect income tax collections.

"It's really hard to imagine how revenue numbers could be up," Sanpei said.

Committee approves $11.5M bill to expand public preschool

Adding to a legislative focus on early childhood education, lawmakers gave early approval Thursday to a bill that would expand preschool offerings to Utah children.

The bill comes with an $11.5 million price tag, but it would make public preschool available to an additional 3,000 to 4,000 students who show signs of struggling once they reach kindergarten, according to bill sponsor Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden.

Lawmakers hope providing more preschool opportunities will help children from low-income families and other at-risk populations master foundational skills before they enter kindergarten, and make them better readers later on.

The bill also seeks to offer more options for parents as they decide what preschool program is right for their child, whether through a local school, a private company or home-based online programs.

"We are trying to expand the capacity and access for parents to have choices to where they could enroll their children in high-quality pre-K programs," Millner said. "That is the goal of this — to expand access."

SB101 gives most of the appropriation to the Utah State Board of Education as a grant to expand public preschool offerings, as well as $2 million for Upstart, an existing online public preschool. Another $2.5 million would go to the Utah Department of Workforce Services to help low-income families enroll their children in preschool through scholarships and other programs, as well as to train teachers.

Millner's proposal would also change current statute that doesn't allow charter schools to administer preschool programs in Utah.

Bill would create new designation for autocycles

A state lawmaker is proposing to create a designation for a new category of unconventional vehicles.

Rep. Stewart Barlow, R-Fruit Heights, presented HB38 to the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday.

An autocycle is a three-wheeled vehicle with the efficiency of a motorcycle but resembling a small car.

Barlow said the vehicles are being designated by manufacturers as a type of motorcycle, but they have seats, seat belts and often enclosures.

The biggest problem, he said, is where to test drive the vehicles.

Dems demand all information on possible public lands lawsuit

Democrats on a Utah commission considering suing the federal government over ownership of millions of acres of public land in the state are demanding all information pertinent to the potential lawsuit.

Senate Minority Caucus Manager Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, and House Minority Assistant Whip Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, say in a letter to the Utah Commission for the Stewardship of Public Lands on Thursday that they have been shut out from vital information needed to make a decision.

Specifically, Dabakis and Briscoe say they want to see an analysis of any defenses and counterarguments to the litigation the Davillier Law Group has recommended. Attorneys for the firm told House Republicans last week that Utah has a sound case that could go directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Lawmakers seek changes to find voter favor in local transportation tax hike

After Utah voters in several counties shot down last year's Proposition 1, a tax increase to fund local road projects, lawmakers are now pursuing ways to make the tax hike a little more palatable.

Like Proposition 1, HB215, sponsored by Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, would allow counties to raise taxes by one penny for every $4 spent upon voter approval. However, it would also allow city leaders to keep the money that would otherwise go directly to transit districts, including the at-times controversial Utah Transit Authority.

Another bill, HB183, would give local leaders in certain rural counties the ability to flex how much of the tax revenue goes to transit districts.

Representatives from the Utah League of Cities and Towns and Utah Association of Counties support HB183, which passed a House committee Thursday with no opposition. Greene's bill, however, is finding little traction.

'Young lungs matter': Students march to Capitol to battle pollution 'monster'

"Pollution is like a monster," fifth-grader Elliott Mumm boldly declared to roughly 1,000 students gathered in the Capitol rotunda Thursday for a clean air rally.

The Madeleine Choir School student continued his speech by spouting off statistics and small suggestions for change. He concluded with a fist pump and a "woot," and then walked back to sit among the 19 other fifth-grade student speakers.

Tyler Knibbe, a Madeleine Choir School teacher and the organizer of the event, said the students spent three weeks preparing posters and speeches for the rally.

The students attended a clean air rally last year, but the school decided the students would have a better experience if they held the rally themselves, Knibbe said.

"We really worked that into our curriculum. They wrote letters, they wrote opinion pieces and that sort of thing," he said.

Approximately 300 Madeleine students attended the rally. Students from the Salt Lake Arts Academy, Salt Lake City Open Classroom, Bonneville Elementary and some home-schooled students also attended, Knibbe said.

Students who spoke at the rally shared statistics about air pollution and offered suggestions about how to improve Utah's air. Students encouraged carpooling, upgrading existing homes to reduce emissions and stopping idling cars.

Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche, Morgan Jacobsen, Emily Larson, Dennis Romboy, Katie McKellar

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