The federal government could shut down again on Feb. 16 — barring a compromise by President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats — but Utah’s state government will continue functioning for at least a year after lawmakers signed off on a series of base budgets Wednesday.
In what is an annual routine for the Utah Legislature, the bulk of last year’s spending plans were extended as a contingency while representatives and senators debate new spending priorities during the remainder of the 2019 session. Lawmakers began the practice after then-Gov. Olene Walker in 2004 threatened to veto the budget if lawmakers didn’t include money for an early reading program she championed.