Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- House Speaker Mike Schultz said Utah Republicans want to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.
- Speaking at a town hall gathering, he envisions change putting more power on road construction in Utah officials' hands and reducing federal authority.
- The issue will be among many areas of debate during the 2025 legislative session.
OGDEN — House Speaker Mike Schultz said Utah Republicans hope to team with the newly created Department of Government Efficiency in a bid to chip away at the federal bureaucracy and put more authority in state hands.
The topic could be focus of legislation during Utah's 2025 session, which starts next Tuesday, and Schultz cited U.S. Rep. Blake Moore's role leading a caucus that will work with the nongovernmental agency, created by President-elect Donald Trump. "We want to work directly with DOGE, the Department of Governmental Efficiency with the Trump administration. We got an idea," Schultz, a Hooper Republican, said at a town hall gathering at Weber State University in Ogden.
Moore, a Republican who represents Utah's 1st District, will help lead the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus, formed to work with the new entity, and Schultz said Utah officials have already spoken with the U.S. lawmaker. Schultz was short on details but said, broadly, the plans, at least for now, focus on road funding and keeping Utah tax money that would otherwise be funneled to Washington, D.C., in Utah instead. As is, some Utah tax money is funneled to Washington, D.C., then back to the state through the federal transportation bureaucracy for roads projects here.
"We just don't want your strings attached," said Schultz, who appeared at Wednesday's gathering with other Republican House members from Weber County. "Let us keep our transportation dollars."
As he sees it, the sort of change he envisions would save the feds money and allow Utah to handle road projects with less money, without federal "strings." Moore, Schultz said, is "excited" about the plans, and transportation is just the starting point, with education another possible area of focus. The Department of Government Efficiency, dubbed DOGE, is led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy with the aim of scaling back government spending and regulations.
Otherwise, the lawmakers on Wednesday addressed nuclear power, public safety, tax cuts, illegal immigration and some of the other issues that have already emerged as likely issues. Schultz, Reps. Ryan Wilcox and Matt Gwynn and Representative-elect Jake Sawyer, elected last November, addressed the group.
Some $165 million in funding has been set aside for tax cuts, Schultz said, probably in income or social security taxes, though that remains focus of debate. "Over the last four years, we have decreased income taxes by almost 10%. So it adds up and makes a difference," he said.
Solar, coal and natural gas are key in addressing Utah's power needs, but Schultz said nuclear energy needs to get more focus. "We're going to make a big push to start developing more nuclear. We think that's something that there's a lot of opportunity in. We do not want to see Utah become like some of the other states where you have brownouts and even blackouts in some circumstances," he said.
Gwynn, the Roy police chief, addressed his planned legislation to crack down on fentanyl trafficking in Utah given the danger the drug poses. Per his proposal, those with 100 grams of fentanyl — the equivalent of 1,000 doses of the drug — would be charged with a first-degree felony and, if convicted, face mandatory prison time. "Fentanyl is not like any other illicit drug in the illicit market in the state of Utah. I believe that we shouldn't treat it like we treat the other drugs in the state of Utah," he said.
