‘Invest in the future’: Legislators zero in on budget surplus, water issues at St. George Chamber event

ST. GEORGE — Talk of issues and policy to be addressed in the upcoming general session of the Utah Legislature was shared by four members of Southern Utah’s Sunshine Caucus during a Wednesday morning breakfast with the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce.

Southern Utah lawmakers discuss highlights of the upcoming legislative session during a breakfast hosted by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Sen. Don Ipson and Reps. Walt Brooks, Colin Jack and Joseph Elison spoke about some of the state budget’s near-$3 billion surplus and how it may be used, as well as issues related to Utah’s water rights and efforts to push back on ESG policies.

Sen. Evan Vickers and Rep. R. Neil Walter did not join the discussion that focused on giving chamber members a preview of upcoming legislation that might impact their businesses for better or worse.

This is the first of two articles covering topics discussed at the chamber breakfast. This story covers the budget surplus and issues related to Utah’s water use and rights to the Colorado River. The second article will cover the legislators’ opinion of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policy, how best to contact local legislators with issues and other topics.

Budget surplus

Starting the discussion was a question about the state budget, specifically the $3 billion surplus currently attached to it.

“We’re going to invest in the future,” Ipson said.

More specifically, the surplus will be used to invest in various infrastructure programs, the senator said. Money also will be applied to rainy day funds, one-time spending and a proposed income tax cut, among other items. Part of the surplus already has been set aside for education, he said.

Sen. Don Ipson speaks about the upcoming legislative session during a breakfast hosted by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Policy related to property, corporate and social security taxes are also being proposed for the upcoming legislative session.

“We’re going to address income tax — we’re probably going to have an income tax cut,” Ipson said,

Utah saw an income tax cut last year when the Legislature lowered the income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.85%. This and additional cuts amounted to a $192 million tax cut overall.

Ipson also reiterated the surplus funds’ use for state-level preparations for a possible economic slowdown.

“It’s a belief that if we’re in a recession, we don’t want to get caught up in it,” he said.

Concerning pending infrastructure projects, Brooks said, “I think we’re going to see a significant investment in Southern Utah.”

The “significant investment” was mentioned in connection with plans Washington County has to build a regional water reuse system.

Water

Water in general also became a broader topic of conversation when a chamber member asked about current issues between the Upper and Lower Colorado Basin states that share the Colorado River. The Upper Basin states include Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming, while the Lower Basin consists of Arizona, Nevada and California.

Rep. Colin Jack speaks about the upcoming legislative session during a breakfast hosted by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Recently, the Colorado River Commission of Nevada submitted a letter to the Interior Department proposing a plan that required Utah and the other Upper Basin states to cut their Colorado River use by a combined 500,000 acre-feet.

Over 20 years of drought and climate change have seen the flows in the Colorado River diminish, especially within the last two years. Lake Powell and Lake Mead are both at historic lows as well. There are additional worries the water level at Lake Powell will drop to a point that hydroelectric power produced at the Glen Canyon and Hoover dams no longer will be possible.

So far a regional contingency plan for the Colorado Basin states has triggered water use cuts for parts of the Lower Basin. The Upper Basin has yet to see any cuts, though it is anticipated in the future should the Colorado River continue to shrink.

Jack was the first to address the question by noting the way water use is measured by Utah and other states is not universal. Often, water conservation groups and other states that point to Utah as being a water-waster when comparing it to other states aren’t citing accurate data.

“We all need to understand that Utah, Nevada and Arizona don’t calculate water use the same,” said Jack, adding that Utah water managers count uses that aren’t considered by other states. If anything, other states are likely using more water than Utah is.

“That is something that is going to be addressed this session,” Jack said.

While the ongoing drought plays a part in the diminished capacity of the Colorado River, Jack agreed with a statement from a chamber member that Lake Mead was as low as it was due to a combination of the drought and overuse by the Lower Basin states.

Rep. Walt Brooks speaks about the upcoming legislative session during a breakfast hosted by the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce, St. George, Utah, Jan. 11, 2023 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Brooks jumped in next and said the Lower Basin has been overusing water from the Colorado River for decades.

Not only does the Lower Basin use their full allotment promised by the century-old Colorado River Compact, Brook said, but also water promised to the Upper Basin that isn’t being used. The unused part of these states’ allocation of the river flows downstream to the Lower Basin where it’s been lapped up, he said.

“They not only use their allocation, but more,” Brooks said, adding that while Utah certainly needs to stay within a water budget so it doesn’t use all of its promised water, the Lower Basin states should do the same, he said.

Making certain cuts to stay within a water budget “is a huge jump (for the Lower Basin) because of their overuse,” he said. “It’s a jump because they’ve been stealing everybody else’s water.”

For a long time Utah was “asleep” concerning its use of the Colorado River and typically went along with what other states proposed for it, Ipson said. This changed with the creation of the Colorado River Authority of Utah in 2021. It is the mission of that agency to preserve and protect the state’s interest related to the river.

The new state agency is considered as a way to put the state on equal footing with other Basin states like California that have armies of experts and lawyers who promote their own state’s right to the Colorado River.

“We were complacent on the river,” Ipson said. “We woke up one day and realized [they] had stolen our water.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!