2023 Legislative session ends with ‘historic’ investments

SALT LAKE CITY – The 2023 Utah legislative session ended Friday with the lawmakers passing the biggest price range within the state’s historical past.

In all, the price range totaled $29 billion.

Gov. Spencer Cox stated one of the crucial essential elements of that price range is a record-setting tax reduce.

“The residents of Utah can be getting the biggest tax reduction in our state’s historical past, by multiples,” he stated throughout his post-session information convention.

In all, the legislature handed 575 items of laws. As of Friday the Governor  had signed 26 into regulation.

A number of the payments handle will handle saving the Nice Salt Lake.

“There are a number of water conservation payments together with over $500 million in funding when mixed with the $500 million final yr,” Cox stated. “That’s over $1 billion in water funding and couldn’t come at a greater time or extra essential time with all of the snow that now we have within the mountains and our capacity to get that water to locations the place it’s desperately wanted, most notably the Nice Salt Lake for generations to return.”

Lawmakers additionally put aside extra money for training.

“We’re excited that we had been capable of get a big improve in instructor pay in addition to optionally available all day kindergarten, one thing that now we have been engaged on for a number of years,” Cox stated.

He was particularly animated when it got here to the 2 payments despatched to his desk which are geared toward social media corporations.

One would enable dad and mom to approve new social media accounts for his or her youngsters.

“We’re additionally specializing in holding social media corporations accountable for the injury that they’re doing to our younger individuals. One of many ways in which we’re doing, that could be a presumption of hurt to youngsters underneath the age of 16,” Cox stated. “In order that it will be incumbent upon that the social media corporations to attempt to overcome that presumption, and it empowers dad and mom the personal proper of motion to sue social media corporations or for injury that’s finished to their youngsters.”

These payments will seemingly face a problem in court docket and Cox stated he’s prepared for it.

“I can’t wait to carry them accountable. I can’t wait to get in entrance of a choose and jury with these media corporations, it will likely be one of many happiest days of my life once we get to indicate the world what they’ve recognized and what they’ve been doing to our youngsters.”

Home Minority Chief Angela Romero referred to as it a whirlwind of a session the place they did about $28 billion in funding for initiatives which are essential to the neighborhood.

She additionally had some considerations about some issues that handed.

“I actually had considerations about what occurred with abortion this yr and us making an attempt to restrict who can get an abortion,” she stated. “The opposite factor is once we tie scholarship cash—$8,000 to youngsters to go away public college to go to personal college, and we tie that with lecturers raises.”

Consultant Romero highlighted a few of the good additionally together with thousands and thousands of {dollars} towards home violence and sexual assault prevention.

She stated she agreed they did so much for safeguarding and enhancing the Nice Salt Lake however she added extra must be finished.

Cox has 21 days to signal or veto payments.