SALT LAKE CITY (News4Utah) – Ballot Question #1 is a non-binding question; the legislature is asking the voters for your input before creating a formal law during the 2019 legislative session. If voters say yes, a 10-cent per gallon tax will be added to your fuel; three cents will go to roads, and seven cents would go straight to the Teacher and Student Success Account.
The TSSA will funnel $150 per student per school year to individual schools based on enrollment. Schools will only have access to the funds if they create a plan for the money that will directly lead to student academic success in the classroom, and is approved by their local school board.
Representative Becky Edwards is the legislator over the bill; she explained that plans may include, “Additional resources for an in-class aid, or an additional counselor, an aid for reading in elementary school, those are some examples and they’re very different from capital expenses like air conditioning or a new park at a school, those kinds of things come from a different pocket of money.”
Legislators estimate the gas-tax would cost the average Utah driver about $4 per month.
Other resources:
- Utah’s 2018 voter guide
- Our School’s Now campaign
- H.J.R. 20 Joint Resolution Submitting a Question to Voters
