Gov. Cox says Great Salt Lake, housing, social media will be priorities in 2027

SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Spencer Cox won't be breaking new ground in terms of his priority concerns when lawmakers convene for the Legislative session in January.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, he singled out three familiar topics as his top issues for the 2027 session: the Great Salt Lake, affordable housing and the impacts of social media on kids. He didn't offer specifics, but the topics have been standing focuses of concern among many leaders.

He also said a bill setting guidelines for creation and governance of data centers is in the works, based on an executive order he issued last May after controversy flared over a data center proposal in Box Elder County.

"What I will say is my top priorities haven't changed very much," Cox said. "Saving the Great Salt Lake is still at the very top of the list. We've made tremendous strides over the past few years, and I want to continue to put our foot on the gas here."

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Cox said Republicans suffered a "historic defeat" in the midterm elections across the country, but he didn't expect that would translate into such heavy GOP losses in state legislative races.

There will be a bump in the number of Democrats in the Utah Legislature following last week's election, particularly in the Utah House, and Cox suspects they'll be on board with the efforts. He didn't delve into specific strategies to boost declining water levels at the lake — an increasing source of consternation for many.

"It's great to see that this is a bipartisan effort. I think this is something that the new legislators will support us on, and I'm excited about that," Cox said.

He sees glimmers of hope related to boosting homeownership, but still says high housing prices are an area of concern.

"I'm still very worried about the price of housing. That's one that we've been trying to fix for a while," he said.

Cox read a report showing that homeownership among younger adults "is higher in Utah than just about anywhere else, but it's not going to continue that way unless we get the price of housing down."

Utah stands to get $212 million over the next decade as part of a $18 billion settlement with Meta over concerns about how its social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, impact kids.

"I want to make sure we're using that in ways that help kids get into the real world," Cox said.

He also referenced his efforts to boost childhood and adult literacy, saying, "We need to again put ... the gas down on literacy and helping people at the margins."

As for financing state government, he predicted "a decent budget year," saying Utah's economy is doing "very well" and noting state officials' frugality with funds.

Utah has "the strongest economy in the country, and I think that will ... show up in some of the budget numbers," Cox said.

Monday's press conference, hosted by PBS Utah, was the first time Cox offered his thoughts on last week's election results. Democrats dominated on a national level, taking over majority control of the U.S. Senate and House. In Utah, Democrats are set to flip 14 House seats now controlled by Republicans and two more in the Senate, according to unofficial results.

Dissatisfaction with Republican leaders and the administration of President Donald Trump seemed to figure in the shift across the country.

As such, Cox said he'd work with legislative leadership, "whatever that looks like, to make sure that we're not falling into those same traps that are happening nationally." He predicts that the partisan shift will result in the potential loss of the Republicans' veto-proof supermajority, which means there may be more collaboration between the governor and lawmakers on legislation.

Even so, the governor noted that Republicans still have "a pretty big majority" in the Legislature.

"People have to be clear-eyed about this. This is not a 50-50 legislature. It's not even close. That being said, though, working with the opposition party is a positive," he said.

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