SALT LAKE CITY – November 1, 2025 – Utah Treasurer Marlo M. Oaks has released Utah’s 2025 Debt Affordability Study, providing an assessment of the state’s debt capacity, authorizations, and financial outlook. The report offers context for Utah’s use of debt, tracking authorizations, outstanding obligations, and trends that influence long-term fiscal planning.
Highlights from this year’s study include:
- Debt Levels: Utah’s debt stands at 10.5% of the Constitutional Debt Limit, the lowest level in more than 40 years. The State pays an average rate of 1.82% on outstanding GO debt.
- General Obligation (GO) Bond Authorizations: The State currently has $384 million in outstanding statutory GO bond authorizations, including $70 million newly authorized in H.B. 502 (2025 General Session). Projects specified in all previous statutory authorizations were funded with cash in 2022 S.B. 6 and 2023 H.B. 6, except for one $12 million project. Consequently, apart from the new $70 million authorization and the remaining $12 million prior authorization, the balance of current GO authorizations cannot be issued without additional legislative action to repurpose those authorizations.
● State Building Ownership Authority (SBOA): The SBOA retains $85 million in lease-revenue bond
authorizations from S.B. 0009 (2025 General Session). The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services (DABS) anticipates utilizing this authorization no earlier than January 2026. In 2024, the State refinanced $90 million in prior bonds and issued $16 million in new bonds for DABS facilities, saving more than $600,000 and reducing the risk of federal sequestration on outstanding Build America Bonds (BABs).
● Public Infrastructure Districts (PIDs) and Infrastructure Financing Districts (IFDs): The use of PIDs and IFDs has expanded rapidly since first authorized in 2019. More than 200 districts are now active across Utah, carrying a combined debt load more than three times greater than the State’s total GO and lease-revenue debt. While the debt is legally separate from the State, a widespread economic downturn that disrupts payments, increases legal disputes, or otherwise creates economic hardship for municipalities could place pressure on local governments and, by extension, the State’s credit environment. Although the risk may be remote, continued growth of these districts warrants close monitoring and may justify action to prevent unintended consequences.
The Office of State Treasurer appreciates the collaboration of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget, Division of Finance, Utah Retirement Systems, State Auditor’s Office, and Zions Public Finance in producing this study.
Download the study: https://treasurer.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025-Debt-Affordability-Study_Released-November-1.pdf.
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