Fiscal Highlights - June 2016

Department of Environmental Quality Fees - Brian Wikle ( PDF)

UCA 63J-1-504 requires that each fee assessed by an agency be "reasonable, fair, and reflect the cost of services provided"; that each fee be "established according to a cost formula determined by [specified officials] and the agency"; and that the fee agency "present each proposed [new or changed] fee at a public hearing". Furthermore, the statute requires an agency to "submit its fee schedule ... to the Legislature for its approval on an annual basis". The Legislature approved a total of 326 fees for the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for FY 2017.
Consistent with the statute, the department has four goals regarding the fee setting process:
  • Assure that fee payers (typically businesses and governmental entities) and taxpayers are treated fairly.
  • Recover costs of providing services without recovering in excess.
  • Provide quality service at the lowest cost possible through operational efficiencies.
  • Ensure that costs are borne by the beneficiaries of the service -- user pays.
The agency strives to achieve fairness by engaging in dialogue with representatives of industry and government and with members of the public. Data is not available regarding whether DEQ recovers in excess of its costs for providing each service covered by a fee; however, DEQ reports about 59 percent of its fee amounts are sufficient to recovers costs. Along with providing low cost service, the department helps customers by being predictable in the frequency of fee changes. For example, 57 percent of DEQs fees have not changed in the past five years, and the Division of Water Quality (the division with the most changed fees in the time period) generally leaves fees in place for five years before seeking approval to charge higher amounts. The table below summarizes by division the percent of fees that recover costs and the percent of fees that have not changed in at least five years.
June 2016 Content ( PDF)
Cost to Transfer UACD Employees to Agriculture - Ivan D. Djambov
The purpose of this article is to provide background information about the Department of Agricult...
Department of Environmental Quality Fees - Brian Wikle
UCA 63J-1-504 requires that each fee assessed by an agency be "reasonable, fair, and reflect the co...
Equipment Funding Allocations for the Utah College of Applied Technology - Jill L.Curry
The Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT) receives funding for equipment at its eight colleges...
Funding for Utah's Veterans' Nursing Homes - Steven M. Allred
The State operates four veterans nursing homes located in Salt Lake City, Ogden, Payson, and Ivins....
FY 2017 Capital Improvement Allocations - Angela J. Oh
The State of Utah has a statutory requirement to fund capital improvements and it is one of the f...
Market-Based Billing for State Audits - Clare Tobin Lence
During the 2014 General Session, the Legislature passed intent language supporting the State Audi...
Revenue Update - Fiscal Highlights - June 2016 - Andrea Wilko
Utah's revenue is expected to grow by 3.0 percent between FY 2015 and FY 2016. We anticipate collec...
School Funding Equalization - Ben Leishman
Utah is continually ranked as one of the most equalized states in the nation when it comes to fun...
The Price of Gas: More Driving and an Industry Recession - Thomas E. Young
One of the more transparent price movements in recent years is the drop in the price of gasoline. T...
USHE Enrollment Projections - Spencer C. Pratt
The Utah State Board of Regents recently adopted enrollment projections for the eight colleges and ...
What Happened at the June 16, 2016 Meeting of the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee? - Russell T. Frandsen
Morning AgendaCall to Order /Approval of MinutesSubcommittee Questions from the 2016 General Sessio...

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