Utah Transit Authority officials hope they've found a sponsor for legislation that would put on a future ballot a sales tax increase to fund development of a light-rail system.
The bill, which UTA says is being reviewed by legislative general counsel and has yet to receive a number, would increase the UTA's tax ceiling from 1/4 of 1 percent to 1/2 of 1 percent of local sales and use tax. The increase would be subject to voter approval, initially in Salt Lake County where the first phase of a rapid mass transit system would be built."We are doing this in the Legislature now because the federal funding window is closing," said UTA spokesman Craig Rasmussen.
He explained that if Utah moves quickly to collect funding on a local level, the U.S. Department of Transportation could match whatever the state raises; otherwise, delays could prove costly as the trend at DOT is to decrease its financial commitment to mass-transit projects.
Estimated cost for a light-rail system running from Sandy to downtown Salt Lake City and expanded bus service to complement it is $225 million.
A date for a referendum approving the tax hike has not been determined. But, Rasmussen said, putting the issue on the November general election ballot would not be out of the question, if the bill passes.
Light-rail supporter, Sen. Kay Cornaby, R-Salt Lake, said he would be lead sponsor of the bill, and lawmakers are working on a team of sponsors in the House.
The legislation comes after several years of studies and task forces that have concluded a light-rail system is needed to prevent traffic gridlock along the I-15 corridor in Salt Lake County. A Deseret News/KSL opinion poll taken last spring showed 75 percent favoring a light-rail system along the Wasatch Front and almost half of those polled said they would use it.
However, there are others who have examined the issue of mass transit locally and nationally and believe it's too expensive and overly optimistic.
A federal government report last October found numerous problems with light-rail transit projects such as the one planned for the Wasatch Front. The report from the federal Urban Mass Transit Administration, found that light-rail projects have been plagued by underestimation of construction and operating costs and overestimation of ridership.