“The initiative process, I hope, never drives the legislative process or what the governor does. I think it’s a weapon out there for those who think we’re not paying attention,” Hillyard said. “Personally, I agree with what [Gov. Gary Herbert] is trying to do and that is let the economic growth pay for education naturally. I personally think a tax increase of 7⁄8 percent would be a death knell and it would undo everything [former Gov.] Jon Huntsman tried to do.”
Huntsman pushed through major tax cuts for most Utahns, lowering the top income tax rate to 5 percent. However, because Utah’s Constitution earmarks all income taxes to public and higher education, a recent report from the Utah Foundation said that change costs Utah schools nearly $140 million a year — one of a series of tax changes over more than two decades that the foundation said has sapped $1.2 billion annually from the education budget.
If lawmakers respond, it would not be the first time a legislators were forced into action by the threat of a ballot initiative.
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