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Council’s Corner

2021 Utah Legislative Session Recap

After a rocky start with both a pandemic and protests the 2021 Utah legislative General Session began on January 19, and ended 45 days later on March 5th. The legislators in the House of Representatives and the Senate considered some 1216 total bills of those 767 were numbered for consideration and 502 bills most likely will become state law. As the session began many were worried about what effects the COVID-19 pandemic would have on the session but, thanks to breakthroughs in Covid relief and a quick rebound in the Utah economy, (in most areas) lawmakers had 1.5 billion more to spend than predicted despite the pandemic. Lawmakers were able to do their work without imposing much in the way of fiscal suffering. Legislators passed a 22 billion dollar state budget without a tax hike; including tax cuts of 100 million. Education received a 475 million base budget including bonuses for teachers. Utah passed a bill to create a 6 member Colorado River Authority to advocate for Utah’s interests that is necessary for the state to preserve and conserve our rights to Colorado River water. Utah plans to capture this water via the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline that would transport up to 86,000 acre-feet through a 140 mile buried pipeline. Running from Lake Powell to Sand Hollow Reservoir. H.B. 60 easily passed allowing gun owners to carry a concealed gun without a permit. Utah will continue to issue concealed carry permits due to their reciprocity with several other states. A bill banning police from releasing mug shots until a person has been convicted of a crime to limit their impact on people’s lives, especially for those who are falsely accused or never found guilty passed and will go into effect 60 days from filing. Legislators also approved the creation of two new Utah state parks: Utah Raptor State Park near Moab, and Lost Creek State Park in Morgan County. The Beehive State finally has a State Stone that legislators have named Honeycomb Calcite, a rock found only in Utah’s Duchesne County as the state’s official stone. A new license plate was approved, the “Donate Life” special group plate advocates for organ donors and donor’s families. The Utah House gave final passage to legislation that calls for a public process to consider a name change for Dixie State University which doesn’t expressly exclude a name with Dixie in it. The bill states that “The board of trustees shall ensure that the name reflects the institution’s significance to the surrounding region, and enables the institution to compete and be recognized nationally”. After a public process a recommendation for a new name needs to be delivered to the Legislative Management Committee on or before November 1st. Look for events and opportunities to be involved and have your voice heard. As a voting member of the Legislative Policy Committee representing Washington City I was able to attend sessions in person and online. I appreciate the process by which we all can advocate our state legislators on matters of importance to you, our city, and state.

  –Kurt Ivie, Washington City Council

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