Why Gov. Cox says this was the 'best' legislative session he's seen

SALT LAKE CITY — As the minutes ticked away on the final afternoon of the legislative session, the mood at the Utah Capitol was calmer and less tense than previous years.

Though there was still plenty of time for late-night shenanigans, Gov. Spencer Cox and top lawmakers said a focus on good process throughout the 45-day session led to better outcomes and the rejection of many of the more controversial proposals.

Cox told KSL on Friday this was the "best session" he's been involved in since first taking office in the House of Representatives in 2013.

"I thought this was a remarkable session," the governor said. "It felt much more like a true Utah session than a national divisive session."

With 20 days to review all the bills passed, Cox said he's looking at perhaps vetoing a few, but not many. Lawmakers have spent the last 45 days passing a sixth-straight income tax cut, making it easier to build gas pipelines in the state and adding justices to the Supreme Court and lower courts.

"I appreciate the collaboration," Cox said. "It doesn't mean we get everything we want. There are lots of bills I don't love, but that doesn't mean I veto those bills. It means we worked together and tried to get them in a better place, and that happened more this session than any other session."

Republican legislative leaders largely agreed, although that doesn't mean there wasn't some drama Friday. Rep. Trevor Lee, R-Layton, tried to squeeze in a last-minute repeal of SB54, the law that permits candidates to gather signatures to get on the primary ballot, into a larger election bill.

Lee tried to pause debate in the House to give time to prepare his proposal, but the floor sponsor of the original bill, Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, said he "violently" opposed doing that, and the effort was not successful.

Later, during a news conference, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, was asked about what Lee tried to do.

"I think the public should always look at what the Legislature passes," said Schultz, "not what an individual member puts out there."

This came one day after Lee was criticized online for a social media post that many perceived as racist.

"Diversity isn't our strength," Lee wrote on X. "It lowers your wages, marginalises (sic) your culture, increases your crime, fills your hospitals, occupies your housing, ruins your schools, consumes your taxes, tightens your laws, restricts your freedoms, endangers your children, and calls you racist."

The House speaker said he hadn't seen Lee's post. He noted that Utah was "getting overwhelmed with illegal immigrants" coming into the state in recent years but maintained that diversity is important.

"We want to be a diverse state," Schultz said. "We want to be a diverse economy. We want to have all those things. And I think if you look at our track record, it shows that, and we're going to continue in that direction."

Lee declined to comment on Schultz's remarks, or on his initial post, when reached by KSL on Friday.

Looking back at the session overall, Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, agreed that it involved a lot of collaboration.

"We've said it over and over again: 'My ideas are the best … but they get a whole lot better when they're vetted,'" said Adams. "And there's no one person's ideas that should carry the day; it should be a cumulative effort, and I think that's what we're trying to accomplish."

The Senate often tempers or blocks some of the extreme or contentious bills, but it played an even larger role as an enforcer late this session, shooting down House bills on immigration, elections and other subjects.

Among the bills that were rejected by the Senate were proposals requiring voters who return mailed ballots in person to show their identification, as well as requiring that students show proof of legal immigration status in order to qualify for in-state tuition benefits.

That's not to say senators disagreed with all the proposals they rejected. Sen. Scott Sandall, R-Tremonton, told reporters he agreed philosophically with provisions in several of the bills, but they lacked the "logistics" to put them into place.

"I think we've done a better job this year than we've done in the past, just vetting those," added Senate Majority Assistant Whip Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork. "I think in Utah, we try to find common ground."

Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said the process is meant to involve two different chambers that work together to find the right policy. She said she likes working in the Senate where members are "more pragmatic."

"The House has a lot more members, and it may be more difficult sometimes with that many individuals," Escamilla said, adding that senators also serve longer terms, which allows them to spend more time working on issues. "There was many, many years of work in some of these pieces. They didn't happen overnight."

Adams chimed in, calling Escamilla "a great champion and a great friend of the Senate."

The House speaker struck a similar tone, pointing to Utah's majority and minority caucuses working together as unusual compared to other states.

"We don't always agree. Sometimes we get in very public disputes about different positions on the bills, but we work together collaboratively to keep it unique and different," Schultz said. "I think the citizens of the state should be proud of their legislators on both sides of the aisle for making that a reality because Utah is one of the only states in the nation that does it that way."

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