Constitutional Amendment on Utah ballot would require state's severance taxes on natural resources deposited into a permanent trust fund.

Amendment A » If passed, constitutional Amendment A would require a portion of the revenue from all of the state’s severance taxes on natural resources, excluding severance tax revenue used for Indian tribes, to be deposited into a permanent state trust fund beginning July 1, 2016.

Sponsors of the measure, state Rep. Jim Nielson, R-Bountiful and state Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, say investing a portion of Utah’s natural resource revenues will provide funding for future generations.

Such revenues rise and fall as commodity prices and extraction activities fluctuate. Nielson and Hillyard contend that spending all of the state’s severance tax receipts when revenues are up leads to program cutbacks when revenues decline.

Eventually, revenues from nonrenewable resources will disappear, they say. If Utah hasn’t invested any severance tax revenues, future generations will do without such funding.

By contrast, state Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, maintains such an amendment would permanently reduce Utah’s ability to address economic downturns when the state could be forced to raise taxes or cut in services.

In 2008, voters approved the current constitutional language that guides such revenues. Litvack noted that currently, public officials have the power to make decisions about the appropriate balance between Utah’s current and future needs.

Further, the state already sets aside some revenue generated from natural resources, which are deposited in the Permanent Trust Fund. Litvack contends they will grow substantially as oil and gas prices rise in coming years.

 Christopher Smart Salt Lake Tribune