WELCOME
It is an honor to open the 2024 General Session of the 65th Utah State Legislature.
I’d like to welcome our newest addition to the Senate, Senator Heidi Balderree.
To everyone else, welcome back to the service of the great people of Utah!
I need to take a minute and express thanks again to our great staff. Our Senate staff is led by the one and only incredible chief of staff, Mark Thomas. Our entire staff will be introduced later, but let’s stand and show them our appreciation. They are the best I have ever worked with.
The same goes for all our legislative offices—The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, The Office of Legislative Fiscal Analysts, The Office of Legislative Auditor and Legislative Services led by our directors Jonathan Ball, Kade Minchey, John Cannon and Victoria Ashby.
We take credit for your great work; we hope you are listening. Thank you for what you do for us. And don’t worry; we will continue to take credit for your great work.
Thank you to the Capitol Preservation staff for coordinating the many events and the Utah Highway Patrol for diligently working to keep everyone who works, serves and visits the Capitol safe. No one does it better than they do. Thank you.
I could not function without my wife, Susan, who has always been there for me. Thank you for your understanding, patience, support, strength and love. Join me in recognizing her and all of our loved ones for their support that allows us to serve.
A little over 41 years ago, one of my personal heroes—President Ronald Reagan—came to Hooper, Utah. I know some of you are not 41 years old, but I was there. He stood on a trailer with bales of straw and hay surrounding him.
President Reagan had a vision and a will to implement the proper role of government. He concluded his remarks with these words. “Very simply, the policy of our administration is: This government of ours was created to be a convenience for the people, serving at the behest of the people. It was not supposed to be the master of the people.”
President Reagan stood for something. In my opinion, he stood for the principles that have made America great.
- A place where women and men are free because the government is limited.
- A free-market society where growth, prosperity and ultimately human fulfillment are created from the people up, not the government down.
- A government whose first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.
- A country that would ensure peace through strength.
This year, our Senate coin honors President Reagan and his great legacy.
Let us all honor and further. President Reagan’s vision as we dedicate our service not to the growth and expansion of government overreach but to limit the government’s role, empower individuals and protect the opportunities for all to succeed and prosper in the great state of Utah.
OVERVIEW
We cannot overlook what an enormous success story our state is. In just over 150 years, we have created the best economy, the most charitable society, the highest upward mobility, the most family-friendly, and the happiest state in the nation. We live in the greatest state in the nation because of the integrity and work ethic of the great people of Utah. We know how to innovate and do it with incredible determination and purpose.
So much of what we take for granted today was created by the foresight of those who have been here before us, those who stood up and helped make Utah so great. We are the beneficiaries of previous generations. We are not the descendants of fearful Men and Women.
Our future quality of life here in Utah—to a great degree—will be enabled by four key pillars that will create an unshakeable foundation of success and prosperity.
- Energy
- Education
- Water
- Community and Family-Friendly Culture
We have the second lowest electricity costs in the nation. We have the number one best return on the dollar spent on education. We have the foresight to plan and preserve our water. We stand for principles of service, giving, helping others, hard work and ingenuity.
ENERGY
Energy drives our economy.
In 1973, an Arab oil embargo was put in place. Gas prices tripled, unlocking runaway inflation. To curb inflation, interest rates were raised as high as 18%. That destroyed Utah’s economy. We will not let that happen again. We will keep producing the lowest energy prices in the nation.
Right now, we are experiencing the longest economic boom in our state’s history. We need to stand up for policies that keep our energy prices low and our economy strong.
Energy Independence
For the first time ever, and this is really concerning, last year Utah used more power than we produced. We must become energy-independent once again.
We already have everything we need to succeed at energy independence right here in our state: abundant natural resources, innovative industries, cutting-edge research from our esteemed universities, businesses willing to invest and a determined spirit.
Avoiding Energy Pitfalls
In recent years, we have seen the mismanagement of energy in our neighboring states and the instability it causes.
- In California, they vowed to do away with coal too soon, and the result was rolling blackouts and high energy prices.
- In Texas, failure to winterize their grid cost them hundreds of lives and billions of dollars.
- In Oregon, PacifiCorp is looking for customers, including potentially Utahns, to pay $90 million in wildfire liability.
Let me be clear: we WILL NOT pay for the mistakes of other states, and we WILL NOT stand by and pay the price or suffer the consequences of their poor policy decisions.
President Reagan said shortly after he assumed office, “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.”
We must continue to keep reliable and affordable energy as a key priority, which will help Utahns, the West and the United States.
EDUCATION
Our students’ and teachers’ successes are an integral part of our state’s success story.
We are blessed with an abundance of truly passionate, committed and dedicated teaching professionals. We, the Legislature and our teachers, are, and always have been, committed to providing an excellent education for the students of Utah—no matter where they reside!
In the last 10 years, the Legislature has doubled the spending on education, directly increased teacher salaries, and funded all-day kindergarten, educator preparation, school safety, teen centers and proven education programs that improve student outcomes and more. Thanks to a direct salary increase of $6,000 enacted during the last session, we now have first-year teachers coming straight out of college making about $60,000 in Utah – one of the highest in the West!
And we won’t stop there.
During this session, we will prioritize creating an optional program to sustain and reward high-performing teachers. The goal is to identify the best-performing teachers and reward their efforts by increasing their salaries to $100,000. It is important to compensate them for their dedication and improvement of student outcomes.
Along with significant investments in teachers, we need to be sure there are tools in place that track the progress of students’ outcomes.
One great example of this is the Park City School District. Currently, they are tracking actual individual student learning gains and comparing them to projected individual student learning gains.
Our state has gifted and talented teachers making sure students have a solid foundation to succeed in life. Every student deserves to feel the sense of worth and accomplishment that comes as they have the opportunity to learn and grow. This is a model that we can and will replicate and improve.
Together, we will work to ensure students and teachers have the necessary resources and opportunities to thrive.
WATER
We are being blessed again this year.
During the last two sessions, we allocated nearly a billion dollars for water conservation efforts and development, further mitigating Utah’s ongoing water issues and preparing for future growth.
We know that without strong water resources and infrastructure, we would not be able to survive in Utah. Those who planned and built reservoirs looked way beyond what they needed. Without reservoirs like Echo, Wanship, Jordanelle and Willard Bay, we would not and will not survive the drought we are in. They were built for hundreds of years to come. Today, we need to have the same hundred-year vision for our water resources, development and infrastructure.
Solving our water issues will be a combination of working together with our neighboring states, putting together innovative policies and programs, and continuing our conservation efforts – ensuring the security of our water for generations to come.
COMMUNITY AND FAMILY-FRIENDLY CULTURE
The fourth and final pillar of Utah’s sturdy foundation is our strong communities and family-oriented culture.
Families need:
- Affordable housing
- Social media that is safe
- Adoption process that works and
- Reasonable taxes
We need to continue to focus on moving families out of apartments and into homes. Last year, we allocated $50 million to the first-time homebuyer assistance program. That has changed lives! It has already helped hundreds of families purchase their first home, unlocking their American dream. And it continues to encourage builders, developers and cities to develop and build more affordable homes.
We will continue leading the nation in protecting kids against social media. We will hold social media companies accountable for the harm they are inflicting upon our youth. And we will stand for our children and proudly fight the litigation.
In Utah, we value life. Last year, we eliminated barriers in the adoption process. We must continue to ensure that as families choose to adopt, the process is fair and affordable.
And the best way to support families is to ensure they keep as much of their hard-earned money as possible. We have cut taxes again, again and again, for three straight years. and we will make the same effort this year. As with any cut, we will measure twice, cut once, and act reasonably, with an eye to the future.
THE UTAH WAY
In May, I had the opportunity to visit Ukraine. We were the first state and maybe the only state delegation to visit Ukraine. We saw the devastation that results from war. But we also saw, in my opinion, what it means to be a “Utahn.”
Let me explain. I saw refugees being helped by Utah organizations like the Stirling Foundation and August Mission. Utah companies like Malouf in Logan, who donated over 22,000 mattresses, and individuals like John and Natalya Miller, who donated millions of dollars in life-saving medicine. I saw homes that had been destroyed, but organizations like To Ukraine with Love, businesses like Zions Bank, and individuals like Dell Loy Hansen were building new homes.
I could not be more proud to be from Utah—the most charitable state in the nation. Dell Loy Hansen has spent 10s of millions of dollars building and rebuilding homes for Ukrainian families. Please join me in recognizing them.
While we were there, we visited cities that Russian Troops had occupied. When the Russians invaded the town, they shot men, women and children in the streets and in their cars. They occupied the homes of Ukrainian families and threw their furniture, appliances and toilets into the streets.
They then dug trenches. Initially, the Ukrainians thought the trenches were to protect and fortify the Russian troops against a counterattack. But they soon found out, the Russians used the trenches to bury Ukrainian bodies. It reminded me of the Holocaust.
So very similar to what happened in Israel on Oct 7.
In the occupied areas where the Russians were in control of the Ukrainian citizens, parents were told to send their kids to summer camp. Their children never come back.
A Ukrainian organization, Save Ukraine, has done miraculous work, and of the thousands of children that have been lost, they have retrieved over 200 children.
Utah’s Children’s Justice Center and the Stirling Foundation have led America’s efforts to assist them. Tracey Tabet, the State Director for Children’s Justice Center, and Nicole Stirling with the Stirling Foundation are here with us today. Please join me in thanking them for their monumental efforts.
There is a fight going on in the world—a fight between good and evil. America, Utah, and this Legislature will always stand up and defend good and fight against evil.
We are the home of Hill Air Force Base and F-35A aircraft. Utah citizens fly those amazing aircraft. Northrop Grumman exists at Hill with their 4,000 new engineers living in Utah and the Sentinel weapon system designed to take out intermediate and long-range missiles headed toward the United States or anywhere else in the world. Our National Guard currently has 500 Guardspersons deployed, and they are always at a moment’s notice ready, willing and able to defend us.
This is a fact; I have heard it from people all around the world: America and the great citizens living in Utah are the hope of the world.
Join me in recognizing those Utahns who help those in need and work day and night to protect our freedoms.
OLYMPICS
One more time, the Winter Olympics are coming to Utah again in 2034.
Utah has always been ready, willing and able to open our state to the world.
We will again put on the best Olympic Games ever.
Surveys have time and time again shown our state has the greatest level of support and commitment for hosting the games, greater than any other bid location in the world.
The torch of the Winter Games and the torch of freedom burns bright in Utah.
CONCLUSION
Before the 1964 presidential election, Ronald Reagan said, “This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government… or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little group of intellectual elite… in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”
We know the way to sustain prosperity and enable the American dream does not come from a far-distant place. It is best determined here, locally, In Utah. The Utah Way!
In Utah, we’ve proven it with our actions. The results of those actions are demonstrated by our outcomes, over and over again.
Utah has the best state overall ranking from the U.S. News and World Report. It is the number one spot for upward mobility and the best economic outlook for the 16th year in a row. We are the best-managed state, the fastest-growing state, with one of the lowest unemployment rates, the happiest state, and we are the most charitable.
We have a great legacy to uphold.
May God continue to bless Utah and the United States of America.
Now, let’s get to work.
