Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- Gov. Spencer Cox and Utah leaders served at the Utah Food Bank, emphasizing community building.
- Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson anticipates education-focused bills, including school safety and service initiatives.
- Cox is optimistic about social media legislation and the upcoming legislative session's direction.
SALT LAKE CITY — After taking the oath of office on Monday, Gov. Spencer Cox, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Attorney General Derek Brown and others came together Tuesday afternoon to serve at the Utah Food Bank.
While sorting apples, Cox told the Deseret News, "This is just who we are. This is what we do, and it's important that we don't lose it. All of the good things we accomplish in government is because this stuff happens. If this stuff stops happening, then government is broken, and our society is broken. We need to get back to community building."
Many of the same state leaders will take part in a public swearing in ceremony at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at the Eccles Theater.
With a population of roughly 3.5 million in the state, the Utah Food Bank reported that 415,000 people face hunger, and 1 in 6 Utah children are at risk of missing a meal every day.
With the statistics in mind, the service activity coincided with the Cox administration's renewed focus on service. The event brought together around 125 Utahns, 9,000 pounds of boxed or canned food and 27,000 apples.
Heidi Cannella, the food bank's director of communications, said of the event, "It was wonderful to have such great support from our elected officials and their staff, and we're just pleased to work with the administration so well."
Lt. Gov. Henderson looks forward to education bills
Henderson said she is excited about Utah's upcoming legislative session, looking especially at bills aimed at education, including funding school safety and teacher programs.
She mentioned the state's ongoing work to help students focus during the school day by removing phones from classrooms and to implement programs that will allow students to bond with each other through service.
Cox echoed Henderson's enthusiasm for promoting service initiatives at Utah schools. "We're doing some pilot programs in high schools, and I would love for it to be a graduation requirement — service hours," he said.
Cox also referenced the One Utah Service Fellowship program he launched in September 2024. He described it as a yearlong service fellowship for kids in between high school and college that would partner them with a nonprofit. "We started that last year, and it's been awesome. We've got around 200 kids now doing that. All of the great accolades that we get are because we have people doing this."
Similarly, a senior adviser to Cox and director of the Office of Families, Aimee Winder Newton, looks forward to addressing family-related policies, specifically regarding social media legislation. Newton also mentioned the Office of Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which currently serves around 600 Utah families, sending professionals to educate new families on child development and connect them with community resources.
Cox optimistic about social media lawsuit direction
With the recent release of an unredacted filing against TikTok, Cox explained the importance of continuing to protect kids using social media. "For about a year, we've been collecting data and documents that were so important in that filing. That was just TikTok, but this kind of stuff is happening on all social media platforms."
"I think the bills we've passed in the past couple of years are the ideal way to limit social media for kids; we've just got to get them implemented," Cox told the Deseret News. "We're looking to get some good rulings from the Supreme Court soon, and we got a great ruling out of California on one of their bills just this past week, so we're very optimistic."
New attorney general explains his role in the upcoming session
Brown and his wife, Emilie Brown, were two of many who came to serve at the food bank. Emilie Brown saved wonky apples Cox had tossed into the rejection box. The attorney general, meanwhile, explained his upcoming involvement in the legislative session.
"Here's what I am doing: I'm working with the Legislature. There will be 900 bills that are introduced," Brown said.
He said he will work with the head of the general counsel for the Legislature, Victoria Ashby, her team and legislators.
Brown explained his office works with lawmakers as legislation develops. "And then because legal counsel doesn't want to wait until the law gets challenged, we'll work with them along the way, so you can kind of shape it as you go."
The general session for the Legislature will begin on Jan. 21 and will go for 45 days.
