Issue Position: Fiscal Management

Issue Position

The Legislature is required by our constitution to craft a balanced budget and we do an excellent job of living within our means. And you don't just have to take my word for it. Utah has been ranked in back-to-back-to-back reports by the Pew Center as THEbest managed state in the union. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) recently ranked Utah number one for the best future economic outlook.

What exactly are these financial policies that have kept us in a relatively secure position through the recession? Though the State's budget is more complicated than the average family budget, the same basic principles apply. We don't spend more than we have in the bank. We pay for on-going expenses with on-going revenue sources. One-time money sources are used to fund one-time projects. Our borrowing (bonding) is done prudently and only for infrastructure (roads and buildings) projects. Most importantly, we have not spent all of our money collected in the boom times, but have instead saved some for a rainy day. Because of strict adherence to these budget principles, we were less susceptible to the crumbling of the global financial markets and better positioned to recover our economic strength.

I also credit some of our financial success to the structure of our government. We have a part-time legislature made of people who all hold full-time jobs in addition to being a legislator. We are bankers and farmers, realtors and dentists who own small businesses or work for large corporations. We aren't insulated from the frontlines of real world living and budgeting. And we don't have the luxury of deadlocking on issues like California, New York or even Congress. Our 45-day General Legislative Session requires we do our homework and come to the capitol prepared to do the work of the people quickly and efficiently.

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