Redistribution of Taxes to Provide Funding for Airport TRAX Line

Mar 06, 2008 by Eric Ray

It appears lawmakers listened to Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker's plea for them to find an alternate way of funding the TRAX line to the airport, if the city would not be allowed to use revenue generated by airport passenger fees. House Majority Leader Dave Clark presented a plan to allow a county to use part of its portion of the State Highway Projects fund from vehicle registrations to pay for such projects.

"There is some guide in that it does have some limiting factors of the funds, of what Salt Lake City can do with this in some reappropriating of some of these funds.  But I think it will give them a mechanism by which they can provide that particular funding, as well as allowing an opportunity for some other transit projects in counties," says Clark. 

Clark says $2.00 of the $7.00 contributed from vehicle registrations to the Highway Projects fund could be used for construction of the TRAX line. The bill also allows authorizations to use part of the local sales tax to fund tourism, recreation, cultural, convention, and airport facilities to be used on projects like the airport TRAX line. The House passed Fifth Substitute Senate Bill 245 with a 66 to 2 vote. The Senate concurred with a vote of 27 to one, and the measure now goes to the Governor.

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