Lawmakers again grounded an attempt to spend about $14 million to replace the two aging state-owned airplanes that are used to shuttle government officials around Utah, saying they first want more data to show whether the spending is wise.
Gov. Gary Herbert — who sometimes uses those planes to fly himself and visiting dignitaries around the state — had requested $12.5 million for that earlier this year, plus he counted on some additional money from selling them off to raise the total needed. Lawmakers did not approve it in the regular budget.
Then this spring, one of the aircraft had a critical wing flap failure that led to a close-call landing in Moab.