A task force created by the Legislature is pushing for the state to take significant control of the scandal-plagued, now-independent Utah Transit Authority.
But to what degree that occurs depends largely on the damage such a move might do to the state’s now-perfect credit rating for bonds. After all, UTA has amassed $2 billion in debt as it recently built new rail lines — and plans more borrowing soon.
“This is a huge change,” Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, co-chairman of the Transportation Governance and Funding Task Force, said about the proposals.
He told members Thursday that a subcommittee studying how UTA and overall transportation should be governed has narrowed choices to two main options, and both would significantly increase state involvement in the now-independent UTA.