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- The Utah Legislature started Tuesday, and immigration, tax cuts and transgender issues count among the areas of likely focus.
- Three proposals that emerged late last week apply to transgender people in universities, prisons and public schools.
- Tax cuts, nuclear power and election oversight will also be key topics of debate during the 45-day session.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers launched the 45-day legislative session Tuesday, and they're expected to debate immigration, oversight of the state's elections and scaled-back funding to the state's public universities, among many other topics.
Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, leaders of the Legislature's Republican supermajority, offered ambitious, upbeat messages in gaveling a start to their respective bodies.
The people of Utah "will come first," Schultz said. "Their stories, struggles, worries, dreams and potential will be the foundation of everything we do here."
Adams spoke of what he called "the Utah dream," the notion that prosperity is achievable by focusing on "the common good," tapping "personal freedom" and maintaining a sense of responsibility. The American Fork High School drum line offered a rousing opening to the Senate session. "We know America is the hope of the world. I believe Utah, the Utah dream and our republic, is the hope of America, and thus, we are the hope of the world," Adams said.
Even so, there are undoubtedly issues that will spark plenty of debate. In a press conference earlier in the morning, House Democrats, the minority in the Legislature, noted concerns with the tenor of the GOP approach to dealing with immigrants here illegally and GOP calls to bolster funding for school vouchers, among other things.
Apart from immigration, higher education funding and elections, leaders of Utah's Republican supermajority also hope to implement a tax cut of $165 million or more and will put a big focus on bolstering the profile of nuclear power in Utah. The transgender community will again get attention, with three measures unveiled late last week, including one to restrict the ability of transgender university students to get housing in gender-designated dorms in line with their gender identity.
In his opening remarks, Schultz led with an endorsement of the importance of career and technical education, which he indicated would get attention from lawmakers this session. Such education "opens doors many students never knew existed," he said. "By exploring trades and skills alongside traditional academics, they gain the confidence and credentials to take charge of their futures."
Referencing efforts in the administration of President Donald Trump to scale back federal spending and the federal bureaucracy, Schultz also said he'd like Utah to be part of the debate.
"We'd like to petition the federal government to allow Utah to stand as a national experiment, allowing us to keep a portion of our federal tax dollars, run the programs and discontinue federal oversight," Schultz said. "We do it better than anyone. Whether it's education, transportation, Medicaid, public lands — we manage more effectively, more efficiently and more affordably."
Adams alluded to the debate, which reached a pitch last year over citizen-led ballot initiatives, which some GOP leaders worry are influenced by out-of-state and corporate interests. Republican lawmakers had unsuccessfully pushed for an amendment question on last November's ballot outlining lawmakers' authority to tweak such proposals, and based on Adams' remarks, the issue is likely to reemerge during the session.
"We cannot let unelected special interest groups outside of Utah run initiatives and override our republic, destroy our businesses, demean, impugn and cast aside those who are duly elected to represent their neighbors and friends in Utah, he said. "We will not let initiatives driven by out-of-state money turn Utah into California."
Otherwise, the Senate president put a big focus on bolstering nuclear power in Utah, citing, in part, what he said is the need to meet increasing demand. More specifically, he alluded to promoting the growth of the artificial intelligence technology industry in the state. "AI needs data centers. Data centers need power — continuous and baseload power. There is very little, if any, excess power in America or Utah. We need more energy production," Adams said.
He went on, saying he envisions Utah as "the nation's nuclear hub," both in power production and in supplying the nuclear industry.
There had already been plenty of public deliberation on likely legislative issues ahead of Tuesday's launch of the 2025 session, which continues through March 7. Here's a rundown of other issues likely to be a focus of Republican lawmakers:
Transgender community
Republican lawmakers said to expect the issue to get attention, and three new proposals emerged at the end of last week.
- HB269, sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, would allow transgender males and females to live only in dorms that correspond with their gender identity under certain circumstances. They'd need to have amended birth certificates that correspond with their gender identity or have undergone a "primary sex characteristic surgical procedure," as outlined in state law, and have documentation showing as much. The legislation stems from a case at Utah State University, as outlined by conservative activist Eric Moutsos.
- HB252, sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, would prohibit the Utah Department of Corrections from initiating certain surgical or hormone treatments to help transgender prison inmates transition. The measure would allow the department to provide mental health care for patients with gender dysphoria.
- HB250, sponsored by Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, would prohibit school districts from disciplining teachers and other workers who "in good faith" use the name and pronouns of a student that coincide with his or her "biological gender," regardless, apparently, of the individual's preferences. The legislation would also prohibit disciplinary action when school workers use "the name, pronoun or gender-specific language the student's parent prefers."
Similar guidelines would apply to other employers.
Utah lawmakers last year approved legislation restricting restroom access for transgender people. Lawmakers passed a prohibition on transgender girls participating in high school sports in 2022 and banned gender-related surgeries for minors in 2023.
Immigration
Utah GOPers have unveiled at least 10 measures to address various facets of illegal immigration, a hot topic across the country.
Two proposals would toughen penalties for crimes committed by immigrants here illegally and bolster employment verification guidelines to make sure workers have authorization to work in the country. Additional measures would augment available school funding to help English-language learners and restrict health coverage available to certain children here illegally.
Trump has already made the deportation of immigrants in the country illegally a priority, particularly if they have a criminal background.
Higher education
Legislative leaders say they want to scale back funding at Utah's public universities to make four-year colleges more affordable. They've also said they want universities to focus on the areas where job demand is highest.
Parallel to that, Schultz has put a particular emphasis on boosting career and technical college offerings at the K-12 level and in postsecondary education.
Elections
Officials are likely to take a close look at Utah's mail-in balloting system given questions by some about the election and voting process. That the Utah lieutenant governor, an elected official, oversees elections is a particular concern for some since the official, whoever it happens to be, is responsible for overseeing his or her own election.
Nuclear power
Utah leaders, including Gov. Spencer Cox, have long touted nuclear power as a means of diversifying Utah's energy portfolio. A measure unveiled last week, HB249, sponsored by Rep. Carl Albrecht, R-Richfield, would bolster investigation into the rollout of the power source in Utah.
Tax cuts
GOP lawmakers have cut taxes in the last four years, and Schultz said $165 million has been set aside for reductions this year, probably in income or Social Security taxes.
