Utah Nonbinding Opinion Question 1, 10 Cents per Gallon Gas Tax Increase for Education and Local Roads (2018)

Elections in Utah, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9 (mail), or Oct. 30 (online or in-person)
• Early voting: Oct. 23 - Nov. 2
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Voter ID: Non-photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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Utah Nonbinding Opinion Question 1
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Taxes and Education
Status d Defeated
Type Advisory question
List of Utah measuresUtah Constitutional Amendment AUtah Constitutional Amendment BUtah Constitutional Amendment CUtah Nonbinding Opinion Question 1Utah Proposition 2Utah Proposition 3Utah Proposition 4Submit

The Utah 10 Cents per Gallon Gas Tax Increase for Education and Local Roads, Nonbinding Opinion Question 1, was on the ballot in Utah as an advisory question on November 6, 2018. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported advising the state legislature to pass a gas tax increase of 10 cents per gallon to fund local road construction and maintenance, thereby freeing up additional funding for education.

A "no" vote opposed advising the state legislature to pass a gas tax increase of 10 cents per gallon to fund local road construction and maintenance, thereby freeing up additional funding for education.

Aftermath

The Utah State Legislature passed Senate Bill 149 on March 8, 2019. In 2018, the legislature compromised with Our Schools Now to provide education funding. Question 1 (2018) was part of the compromise. The creation of Teacher and Student Success Account was another part. Senate Bill 149 created the Teacher and Student Success Program to set up rules for distributing funds from legislation to schools, including upon outcome-based criteria. Details can be read here.

Click here to read about the compromise that results in this question being put on the ballot.

Election results

Utah Nonbinding Opinion Question 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		363,878	34.55%
No		689,254	65.45%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

Measure design

This measure was a non-binding, advisory question asking voters if they supported increasing the gas tax by about 10 cents per gallon to fund education and local roads. The legislature would have needed to pass another bill to enact the proposed tax since this measure was designed to gauge voter opinion and was non-binding. Because of Utah Constitutional Amendment No. 2, approved by voters in 1962, all gas tax revenue is dedicated to transportation funding. According to the compromise with Our Schools Now, the revenue from this gas tax increase would go toward transportation projects such as maintaining roads and bridges, but the legislature would then be able to use other revenue that this freed up for education funding.

Gas taxes in Utah and U.S.

The state gas tax was 29 cents per gallon as of 2018, which went into effect on January 1, 2016, upon the enactment of House Bill 362. The United States federal excise tax on gasoline was 18.4 cents per gallon as of 2018. In Utah, the total tax per gallon of gasoline was 47.81 cents: 29.41 cents in state taxes and 18.4 cents in federal excise taxes. The U.S. national average state excise tax on gasoline was 23.08 cents per gallon. The U.S. national average for taxes on gasoline including state excise taxes, fees, and the federal excise taxes was 52.12 cents per gallon.

How did this question get on the ballot?

To put this advisory question before voters, a simple majority vote was required in both the Utah State Senate and the Utah House of Representatives. As part of a compromise with Our Schools Now, the group backing a tax increase initiative to fund education, the legislature passed House Joint Resolution 20 calling for this statewide advisory question. Our Schools Now abandoned the signature petition drive for the initiative as part of the compromise. The resolution was introduced on March 6, 2018, and passed both the House and the Senate on March 8, 2018, with votes of 55-17 and 24-4, respectively. Because Utah did not have a process for advisory votes, the legislature had to enact House Bill 491 to establish a process for a statewide advisory question. HB 491 was not designed to establish a new, permanent process for advisory questions in the state. It included a provision to automatically repeal the process following the 2018 election.

What is an advisory question?

An advisory question is a type of ballot measure in which citizens vote on a non-binding question. The largest difference between an advisory vote and any other type of ballot measure is that the outcome of the ballot question will not result in a new, changed or rejected law or constitutional amendment. Rather, the advisory question symbolically makes heard the general opinion of the voting population in regard to the issue at hand.

Advisory questions are most commonly used at the local level, often to voice the opinions of a region to higher levels of government. At the state level, while uncommon, advisory questions are generally placed on the ballot by the state legislature to assess public opinion. However, advisory questions can also be placed on the ballot by petition in some regions.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The following question was put on the ballot:

“

To provide additional funding for public education and local roads, should the state increase the state motor and special fuel tax rates by an equivalent of 10 cents per gallon?

”

Full text

The full text of the resolution calling for Question 1 is available here.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 14, and the FRE is 43. The word count for the ballot title is 29, and the estimated reading time is 7 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Support

Our Schools Now- Vote For 1 led the campaign in support of the measure.

Supporters

• Beth Holbrook, president of the Utah League of Cities and Towns
• Utah Governor Gary Herbert (R)

Arguments

• Wilford Clyde, chairman of the Salt Lake Chamber, said: “Most people in the know, know that money was taken from the General Fund to take care of transportation. We need to replace that, and that’s why we need to have the gas tax.”

• Nolan Karras, a former Utah House speaker and Our Schools Now organizer, said: "We need some additional funding. We hope that this Our Schools Now fund, that we think is going to be built by this, will give schools tools to go beyond that basic survival level.”

Campaign advertisements

The following videos were released by Our Schools Now:

Title: "Governor Herbert Endorses Question 1" Title: "Our Schools Now!"

Opposition

Opponents

• Americans for Prosperity
• Utah Taxpayer Protection Alliance PIC

Arguments

Utah Taxpayer Protection Alliance PIC stated, "On November 6th, Uthans have a chance to put families first and vote NO on a ballot measure that would take more of our hard earned money. Question 1 would increase the gas tax by another 10 cents per gallon—only one year after the legislature just increased our gas tax! Some say we need additional revenues to fund education. But Utah had a more than $650 million surplus this year. And we already spend more on education as a percentage of our budget than any other state in the country. In fact, the state legislature has allocated $1.2 billion in additional funds to education over the last 3 years. Lawmakers should look at more efficient ways to allocate resources we already have. Taxpayers deserve greater transparency and accountability."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Utah ballot measures

Our Schools Now supported Nonbinding Opinion Question 1. Prior to supporting Opinion Question 1, Our Schools Now registered to support a citizen initiative that the group abandoned as part of the compromise that resulted in Question 1. This article does not include campaign contributions and expenditures reported prior to the compromise and the proposal of Opinion Question 1; information from reports following April 19, 2018, is included. After April 19, 2018, the committee had raised $1.3 million and had spent $666,703.25.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$1,295,685.00	$4,279.54	$1,299,964.54	$662,423.71	$666,703.25
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$1,295,685.00	$4,279.54	$1,299,964.54	$662,423.71	$666,703.25

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Nonbinding Opinion Question 1
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Our Schools Now	$1,295,685.00	$4,279.54	$1,299,964.54	$662,423.71	$666,703.25
Total	$1,295,685.00	$4,279.54	$1,299,964.54	$662,423.71	$666,703.25

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Gail Miller	$250,000.00	$0.00	$250,000.00
Vivint, Inc	$150,000.00	$0.00	$150,000.00
Management & Training Corporation	$100,000.00	$1,046.32	$101,046.32
Alan & Karen Ashton	$100,000.00	$0.00	$100,000.00
Zions Management Service Company	$100,000.00	$0.00	$100,000.00

Opposition

Ballotpedia had not identified any committees registered in opposition to the measure.

If you are aware of a committee registered to oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Fuel taxes in Utah

In Utah, fuel taxes are assessed on motor fuels and special fuels. Motor fuels include gasoline and gasohol. Special fuels are defined as "any fuel used for motor vehicle operation on Utah public highways or waterways that is not taxed as motor or aviation fuel," which include diesel, bio-diesel, kerosene, blended fuels, compressed natural gas, liquified natural gas, hydrogen, and "any other fuel used to operate or propel a motor vehicle on public roads that is not taxed as motor or aviation fuel."

The motor fuel tax was first enacted in 1923 and became effective at a rate of 3.5 cents per gallon in 1925. Since then, it's been increased 11 times. From July 1, 1997, to December 31, 2015, the state gas tax was 24 cents per gallon. The state gas tax was 29 cents per gallon as of 2018, which went into effect on January 1, 2016, upon the enactment of House Bill 362.

As of 2018, in Utah, the total tax per gallon of gasoline is 47.81 cents: 29.41 cents in state taxes and 18.4 cents in federal excise taxes.

Fuel taxes in the U.S. as of 2018

The United States federal excise tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon as of 2018. The U.S. national average state excise tax on gasoline is 23.08 cents per gallon. The U.S. national average for taxes on gasoline including state excise taxes, fees, and the federal excise taxes is 52.12 cents per gallon. Utah is ranked 26 out of the 50 states for having the highest combined state and federal taxes per gallon of gasoline. The chart to the right, from the American Petroleum Institute, shows the state and federal fuel taxes as cents per gallon for all the U.S. states as of April 2018. Hover over states to compare fuel taxes on gas and diesel.

Compromise between the legislature and Our Schools Now

See also: Utah Income and Sales Tax Increase for Public Education Initiative (2018)

Our Schools Now filed and circulated an initiative designed to raise about $700 million per year for education through an income tax increase and a sales tax increase.

Our Schools Now negotiated a compromise with the state legislature that resulted in the approval of two bills during the 2018 session designed to increase revenue for education.

• House Bill 293, given final approval on March 8, 2018, and signed by the speaker of the House on March 13, 2018, was designed to freeze property tax rates—which otherwise would have been adjusted downward. It also decreased income tax rates to 4.95 percent. The bill provided a net gain for education spending and created the Teacher and Student Success Account.
• House Joint Resolution 20 provided for the submission of a non-binding advisory question to the voters at the November 2018 election asking whether voters supported increasing gas taxes by $0.10 per gallon to fund local roads, which would have, in turn, freed up revenue from the general fund for education. Revenue from the tax was estimated at about $100 million per year. The advisory question was rejected by voters.
• HB 293 and the proposed gas tax—if it had been approved by voters and then by the legislature—would have provided and estimated $375 million in additional education spending per year. Voters rejected the gas tax increase question.

Following the approval of HB 293 and HJR 20, Our Schools Now ceased collecting signatures to put the initiative on the ballot.

Lane Beattie, president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber and member of the Our Schools Now steering committee, said, “The Salt Lake Chamber has been an ardent supporter of greater investment in Utah’s education system, modernizing our tax code and ensuring our infrastructure is equipped to handle our robust population growth, this solution addresses all three. Our support of the Our Schools Now initiative has always come with the hope that a legislative solution could be reached. We are thrilled with the efforts of dozens of stakeholders to find a compromise and now urge members of the legislature to support this comprehensive package.”

Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed HJR 20 and HB293 in a ceremonial bill signing on April 16, 2018. Sydnee Dickson, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction said: "This is really up to the voters now. It's been amazing that all these different entities came together to support this initiative on behalf of the schools. So really now it's carrying forward to the general public."

In the 2019 legislative session, the legislature passed Senate Bill 149 on March 8, 2019. The creation of Teacher and Student Success Account was a part of the 2018 compromise with Our Schools Now. Senate Bill 149 created the Teacher and Student Success Program to set up rules for distributing funds from legislation to schools, including upon outcome-based criteria. Details can be read here.

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

• An August 2018 poll found that 50 percent of respondents supported the increase while 47 percent opposed it and 3 percent remained undecided.
• A June 2018 poll asked 654 voters "Do you support or oppose this proposed 10-cent gasoline tax increase?" and found that 56 percent of respondents were opposed to the gas tax increase.
• In a May 2018 poll by Dan Jones & Associates, voters were asked if they supported the nonbinding opinion question measure to raise gas taxes 10 cents per gallon with the money going toward education and local roads. The poll found that, among Republicans, 52 percent oppose the measure and 45 percent support it. Among Democrats, 76 percent support it while 17 percent oppose it.

Below are the polling results:

Utah Nonbinding Opinion Question 1, 10 Cents per Gallon Gas Tax Increase for Education and Local Roads
Poll	Support	Oppose	Unsure	Margin of error	Sample size
Dan Jones & Associates Poll 8/22/18 - 8/31/18	50%	47%	3%	+/-3.4	809
Salt Lake Tribune-Hinckley Institute of Politics Poll 6/11/18 - 6/18/18	42%	56%	2%	+/-3.9	654
Dan Jones & Associates Poll 5/15/18 - 5/25/18	52%	43%	15%	+/-4.0	615
AVERAGES	48%	48.67%	6.67%	+/-3.77	692.67
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Path to the ballot

To put this advisory question before voters, a simple majority vote was required in both the Utah State Senate and the Utah House of Representatives. Moreover, the legislature had to enact a bill establishing a process for such a statewide advisory vote, which did not exist prior to the 2018 session. The legislature gave final approval to House Bill 491, which established the process for an advisory vote, on March 8, 2018. Gov. Gary Herbert (R) signed House Bill 491 on March 26, 2018. House Bill 491 was designed to allow this one opinion question. It was not designed to establish a new, permanent process in the state. HB 491 included a provision automatically repealing the process following the 2018 election.

As part of a compromise with Our Schools Now, the group backing a tax increase initiative to fund education, the legislature passed House Joint Resolution 20 calling for this statewide advisory question. The resolution was introduced on March 6, 2018, and passed both the House and the Senate on March 8, 2018, with votes of 55-17 and 24-4, respectively.

Vote in the Utah House of Representatives March 8, 2018
Requirement: Simple majority vote in both chambers
Number of yes votes required: 38  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	55	17	3
Total percent	73.33%	22.67%	4.00%
Democrat	12	0	1
Republican	43	17	2

Vote in the Utah State Senate March 8, 2018
Requirement: Simple majority vote in both chambers
Number of yes votes required: 15  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	24	4	1
Total percent	82.76%	13.79%	3.45%
Democrat	5	0	0
Republican	19	4	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Utah

Poll times

Utah is an all-mail voting state that offers vote centers for voters that choose to vote in person. All vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Utah voters are able to vote in person at any vote center. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Utah, an applicant must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of Utah for at least 30 days prior to the election, and at least 18 years old by the next general election. Pre-registration is available for 16- and 17-year-olds. 17-year-olds may vote in primary elections if they will turn 18 by the general election. Registration can be completed online or by mailing in a form. The deadline to register online or by mail is 11 days before Election Day. After this deadline, voters may register in person at a vote center by casting a provisional ballot and providing two forms of identification.

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

Utah does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Utah has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

Utah allows same-day voter registration at polling places during the 10 days preceding and on Election Day.

Residency requirements

Prospective voters must be residents of the state for at least 30 days before the election.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Utah does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a person who commits fraudulent registration is "guilty of a class A misdemeanor" under Utah Code 20A-2-401.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Utah lieutenant governor’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Utah requires in-person voters to present non-photo identification while voting.

The following list of accepted ID was current as of May 2025:

“

"Valid voter identification" means: a form of identification that bears the name and photograph of the voter which may include: a currently valid Utah driver license; a currently valid identification card issued under Title 53, Chapter 3, Part 8, Identification Card Act; a currently valid identification card that is issued by: the state; or a branch, department, or agency of the United States; a currently valid Utah permit to carry a concealed weapon; a currently valid United States passport; or a currently valid United States military identification card; one of the following identification cards, regardless of whether the card includes a photograph of the voter: a valid tribal identification card; a Bureau of Indian Affairs card; or a tribal treaty card; or two forms of identification not listed under Subsection (79)(a) or (b) but that bear the name of the voter and provide evidence that the voter resides in the voting precinct, which may include: before January 1, 2029, an original or copy of a current utility bill, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; before January 1, 2029, an original or copy of a bank or other financial account statement, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; a certified birth certificate; a valid social security card; an original or copy of a check issued by the state or the federal government, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; an original or copy of a paycheck from the voter's employer, dated no more than 90 calendar days before the date of the election; a currently valid Utah hunting or fishing license; certified naturalization documentation; a currently valid license issued by an authorized agency of the United States; a certified copy of court records showing the voter's adoption or name change; a valid Medicaid card, Medicare card, or Electronic Benefits Transfer Card; a currently valid identification card issued by: a local government within the state; an employer for an employee; or a college, university, technical school, or professional school located within the state; or a current Utah vehicle registration.

”

Click here for the Utah statute defining accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.

Related measures

• Missouri Gas Tax Increase, Olympic Prize Tax Exemption, and Traffic Reduction Fund Measure (2018)
• California Proposition 6, Voter Approval for Future Gas and Vehicle Taxes and 2017 Tax Repeal Initiative (2018)

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot
• Education on the ballot
• Advisory question

Utah

• Utah ballot measures
• Utah ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Utah House Joint Resolution 20
• Utah Lt. Governor: 2018 Statewide Ballot Questions

Support

• Our Schools Now campaign website
• Our Schools Now Facebook page
• Schools Now Twitter page

Opposition

Email links to editor@ballotpedia.org.