OCR Text |
Show Foundation Report Shows Spending In Utah Above Previous Diennium; Expenditures to Reach 3180 Million Total state expenditures for-the for-the present two-year period (1953-55) biennium) are expected expect-ed to be $180 million, according accord-ing to Utah Foundation, the private, non-profit tax research organization. Approximately 38 fper cent of these state expenditures expendi-tures will be for education, 23 per cent will be for highways, 17 per cent for public welfare, and the remaining 22 per cent for all other state government functions. State expenditures for the current biennium are estimated by Utah Foundation analysts to be $17.4 million above those for the 1951-53 biennium and $34.5 million higher than 1949-51 expenditures. ex-penditures. Principal rises in the expenditure totals have been for education andTiighways. Unemployment Un-employment compensation expenditures ex-penditures also are considerably above those for the 1951-53 biennium. bi-ennium. On the other hand, expenditures ex-penditures for state building construction are expected to be down from 1951-53. According to Utah Foundation Founda-tion calculations, Utah State government expenditures during dur-ing the current biennium will exceed estimated revenues by $12.8 million. Nearly two-thirds of this difference consists of unspent appropriations made in previous bienniums for school and institutional buildings. The remainder will be made up by using other fund balances and surpluses which have accumulated accumu-lated prior to the beginning of this biennium. The study indicates that available avail-able general fund revenues and surpluses may be insufficient 1 to meet regular general fund appropriations made during the 1953-55 biennium. The principal reason for this possible general deficit is a substantial decline in liquor profits resulting from last year's price reduction in the liquor sold by the state liquor monopoly. Liquor monopoly profits during dur-ing the .six-month period, July 1, 1953, 'through December 31, 1953, were $451,172 below those of a similar period a year ago. Indications are that liquor profit pro-fit revenue for the 1953-54 fiscal fis-cal year will be $700,000 to $800,000 less than the amount realized during fiscal 1953. The Foundation report points out that the Sales Tax (Emergency (Emer-gency Relief) Fund has become be-come a second general fund in I Utah State government finance I during recent years. Appropria- tions totaling $37.8 million were made from the fund to 25 different dif-ferent agencies for the 1953-55 biennium. I It is doubtful that any sub-i sub-i statial sales tax transfers to the Reserve Building Fund will be made during the remainder of the present biennium, the report re-port continues. As a result, it appears that u fourth for theC! contingent ap bj. miliif y state buildingPPan7laK -Projects wiu& L this biennium. y a;i,;: |