Recently, former House Majority Leader Jefferson Moss (R-Saratoga Springs) resigned from his seat in the legislature and position in leadership to take a spot in Governor Cox’s cabinet as Executive Director of the Governor’s...more
Utah’s Primary Election results continued the multi-year trend of voters rejecting the Republican candidates selected by delegates at the Republican county and state conventions. Several incumbents were forced to Primaries...more
As we reach the midpoint of the 2020 Utah Legislative Session, the state budget has emerged as this year’s theme. In early December 2019, the Legislature met in a Special Session to pass comprehensive tax reform that included...more
Traditionally in Utah, the Governor presents a budget and policy objectives to the Legislature in early December. However, due to a December 2019 Special Session in which a significant tax reform bill was passed, Governor...more
Utah Budget Update:
The state of Utah’s budget runs on a fiscal calendar of July 1-June 30. That gives legislators the ability to set the state budget during the legislative session and have the budget year begin in the...more
Utah’s legislative session is now underway and will be in-session through March 14th. During that time, Utah’s 104 lawmakers and Governor Herbert are hard at work crafting the 2019 state budget, and legislation that will...more
State Budget Projections Show $1 billion in New Revenue -
In December, the Governor’s Office, Senate, and House of Representatives jointly released revenue figures for the State’s upcoming fiscal year budget. The numbers...more
The last two weeks have been a roller coaster as Utah awaited the results of multiple “too close to call” races and a proposition. One race, Utah Congressional District 4 between Representative Mia Love and Salt Lake County...more
U.S. Senate: Mitt Romney (R) -
Former Massachusetts Governor and Hero of the 2002 Olympic Games, Mitt Romney becomes the junior senator for Utah. Romney replaces retiring Senator Orrin Hatch who represented Utah for the...more
The Election After the Election:
While many are closely watching the mid-term elections looking for a “Blue Wave” or tracking the outcome of Utah’s Medical Marijuana ballot initiative, I’m more interested in the...more
A Summer of Wildfires:
From time to time, there have been memorable wildfires in the Western states. As a child, I remember the Yellowstone fires of 1988 that burned 36% of Yellowstone National Park and dominated the news...more
Governor Gary Herbert called the Utah Legislature into a July Special Session. July is often a month when the Utah legislature takes a break from meetings due to the Independence Day and Pioneer Day holidays bookending the...more
8/8/2018
/ Inland Waterways ,
Internet Retailers ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Liquor Licences ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Online Sales Tax ,
Repatriation ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
Special Sessions ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Reform
Primary Elections might seem like the pre-season warm ups to the big game in November. In many respects they are, but for some districts the Primary Election is THE election because of the make up of the district. Thanks to...more
During the crush of the legislative session, the focus is typically on the bright, flashy bills that contain policies that tilt the scale on visceral issues. For instance, Rep. Karianne Lisbonee’s HB 205 Down Syndrome...more
3/21/2018
/ Abortion ,
Ballot Measures ,
Death Penalty ,
Gas Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Property Tax ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Reform