KEY POINTS
  • Utah Senate President Stuart Adams said the state needs to become the first in the country to construct micro-nuclear reactors.
  • State House Speaker Mike Schultz said lawmakers want to petition federal authorities to let Utah manage some national parks and forests.
  • Both legislative leaders highlighted affordability — in energy, housing and education — as a top priority in the 2025 legislative session.

The heads of Utah’s Legislature outlined their strategies on Tuesday to preserve the “Utah Dream” and prepare the next generation of Utahns to inherit it with specific policy goals for the 2025 legislative session.

On the first day of the 66th legislative session, state Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, predicted Utah’s continued prosperity will depend on tripling energy production by 2050.

To do this, the state must position itself as the “nation’s nuclear hub,” becoming the first to use micro-nuclear reactors and producing enough energy to support artificial intelligence data centers.

“There are some who would like to alter or destroy this Utah Dream. We cannot let that happen,” Adams said. “To keep the Utah dream alive, Utahns must once again lead the way.”

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State House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said this kind of innovation will require an education system more aligned with workforce needs.

House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, speaks in the Utah House of Representatives chamber at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

Schultz unveiled the House majority’s plan to partner with the state’s public universities to “refocus resources where they matter most” by cutting administrative costs and consolidating low-performing programs to boost high-demand majors.

“Every dollar saved can go back into the hands of students, ensuring their investment in education yields a brighter future for both students and our state,” Schultz said.

Both leaders prioritized the affordability of living in Utah while preferring not to focus on some of the social issues that have dominated headlines in recent years.

Their unified message, delivered in separate opening ceremonies Tuesday morning, was clear: Utah lawmakers are focused on economic success built on Utah innovation.

Elder Brian K. Taylor, General Authority Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, gives the opening prayer in the Senate chambers during the first day of the 2025 legislative session at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Lawmakers target judiciary and federal lands

Beneath the Senate chamber’s gilded clock, Adams made it clear that he is playing the long game this policymaking season.

Adams took the Senate dais following a program that included a prayer by Elder Brian K. Taylor, General Authority Seventy for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a percussion performance by the American Fork High School Band, and a pledge of allegiance led by Kenneth Rooks, silver medalist in the men’s steeplechase at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Adams touted plans for a fifth consecutive income tax reduction in 2025 and major investments in an “advanced transportation system” ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics.

But Adams began his remarks with a warning. In what appeared like a reference to last summer’s unfavorable judicial rulings, Adams warned against overreach by appointed officials and lawmaking via the “pure democracy” of citizen-led ballot initiatives.

Utah Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, presides over the Senate chambers during the first day of the 2025 legislative session at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

“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,” Adams said. “We cannot let the Utah Dream die. We will not let initiatives driven by out-of-state money turn Utah into California.”

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When the Utah Supreme Court ruled against the Legislature’s attempts to alter the results of ballot initiatives and pass constitutional amendments, Schultz joined Adams in criticizing the decision and proposing reforms to make judges “more accountable” to voters.

On Tuesday, Schultz said the Legislature also needs to hold the federal government accountable for its alleged mismanagement of national parks and forests.

Schultz announced that lawmakers aim to petition federal authorities to allow the state to perform “a national experiment,” where Utah will receive a portion of its federal tax dollars to manage some of these parks and lands without federal oversight.

Utah’s legislative leadership were of one voice on the importance of lowering prices for Utahns on key commodities, specifically housing and energy.

Schultz addressed a packed House floor and gallery for his second opening-day speech as speaker. His remarks were preceded by a prayer from Pastor Rod Hall of Faith Baptist Church, music by the West Field High School choir and a Pledge of Allegiance led by Schultz’s granddaughter.

Scottie Schultz gives the Pledge of Allegiance in the Utah House of Representatives chambers as part of their opening session on the first day of the legislature held at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News

Schultz, a prominent real estate developer, vowed to collaborate with local governments to address zoning obstacles and to incentivize more affordable home construction.

“If we don’t get housing right, Utah’s No. 1 export will not be its products. It will be our kids and grandkids,” Schultz said. “The American dream will be exported from Utah.”

Utah legislative 2025 priorities

As reflected in their opening-day speeches, Adams has indicated his priority is energy production, and Schultz has said his caucus will prioritize investing in alternative or reformed higher education opportunities.

The 2025 legislative session is also expected to feature major debates on immigration law enforcement, criminal justice reforms related to homelessness and electoral system overhauls.

In early January, Republican lawmakers announced a slate of bills focused on ensuring public safety following the record-breaking increase in immigration under President Joe Biden.

A Mexican migration officer explains to migrants that permission to travel across Mexico to the US-Mexico border was suspended after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the CBP One app would no longer be used to admit migrants, canceling tens of thousands of appointments, in Tapachula, Mexico, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. | Edgar H. Clemente

The proposals included: increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s detention capacity in the state, qualifying migrants convicted of class A misdemeanors for automatic deportation, and enhancing criminal penalties for gang activity, fentanyl distribution, human trafficking and driving without a license.

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Following a tempestuous 2024 election cycle, some Republican lawmakers are also intent on reforming how Utahns vote and who oversees the certification of election outcomes.

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Pieces of legislation have been drafted to create an independent state office for election oversight, to require voters to opt-in to receive a mail-in ballot, and to require voter identification when mail-in ballots are submitted.

With limited new revenues, the House majority has said it will focus on tackling the growing problem of chronic homelessness across the state by cracking down on consistent enforcement of anti-camping laws and ensuring shelters remain drug-free.

“Fighting for Utahns means prioritizing policies that make life more affordable, ensure better opportunities for our children, and protect the unique natural beauty of our state for future generations,” Schultz concluded. “It means keeping communities safe, ensuring a strong economy, bettering our education system, and preserving the freedoms that allow every individual to thrive.”

The legislative session runs for 45 days, ending on March 7. You can find all of Deseret News’ political coverage here.

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