Utah
Utah lawmakers pass DEI overhaul, Gov. Spencer Cox expected to sign bill
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25250594/161A2374.jpeg "Utah lawmakers pass DEI overhaul, Gov. Spencer Cox expected to sign bill")
State Republican lawmakers sent a bill banning “discriminatory” DEI practices to the governor’s desk Friday after two weeks of extended debate and revision. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is expected to sign the legislation into law.
The Utah House took a final concurrence vote on the measure during Friday floor time, approving Senate amendments to HB261 with 60 Republican “yeas” to 14 Democratic “nos.”
The state’s GOP supermajority passed the bill easily with a party-line vote of 23-6 in the Senate on Thursday following the House’s initial passage on Jan. 19. The bill will now head to Cox, who signaled in December his eagerness to print his signature on legislation prohibiting diversity statements and other DEI initiatives.
Senate Education Committee Chair John Johnson, R-North Ogden, told the Deseret News on Wednesday, immediately following a meeting with Cox, that he had no doubt the governor would sign the bill.
The bill, titled “Equal Opportunity Initiatives,” is one of the highest profile “culture war” measures to emerge from the 2024 legislative session so far. If signed into law, it would overhaul diversity, equity and inclusion programs at public institutions in the state and replace them with resource centers open to all “high risk” individuals.
“The intent of this bill is that we treat everyone as an individual, taking into account all their circumstances, capabilities, opportunities and experiences with the goal of providing equal opportunities for everyone,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Katy Hall, R-South Ogden, prior to the House concurrence vote.
The bill aims to outlaw DEI trainings, requirements, programs and offices at public universities, schools “or any other institution of the state” that engages in what the legislation calls “prohibited discriminatory practices,” which includes policies that promote differential treatment based on race.
The bill requires public institutions to maintain neutrality on political topics. It also ensures that all students are able to access programs that provide student success resources and mandates that institutions of higher education conduct trainings and surveys focused on free speech.
State funding can be withheld if institutions fail to address violations of these requirements, the bill says.
“It is asking our state entities to provide an environment where everyone, if they work hard enough, and if they want, can succeed,” Hall said. “It will also provide an environment where civil discourse and a marketplace of ideas can flourish again on our university campuses.”
Equal Opportunity Initiatives joins a spate of similar measures across the country seeking to ban DEI initiatives, reaffirm academic freedom at universities and reestablish political neutrality in state hiring and training programs. But Hall and Senate floor sponsor Sen. Keith Grover, R-Provo, have said their proposal is a conciliatory third way, not based on any model legislation, that reclaims the best goals of DEI while abandoning its divisive side effects.
“The reason we’re doing this now is because it needs to happen. We need to now start providing equality of opportunity for all students,” Grover said during Wednesday’s floor debate.
Grover has said the “meat of the bill,” and the part he’s most excited about, is the funding and guidelines for each public university to create or maintain “student success centers” that will provide special resources for all “at risk” students based on their individual circumstances.
Lawmakers debate DEI bill
“Diversity, equity and inclusion” refers to policies meant to create an environment of equal opportunity in colleges, schools or in the workplace with a focus on groups that have faced historic discrimination. It can take the form of diversity statements in hiring, employee trainings and programs intended for particular identity groups.
But whereas proponents of DEI initiatives say they help to redress societal disparities and make all students or employees feel welcome, Hall and Grover have argued that DEI programs can create a chilling effect in academic institutions, often ruling out conservative viewpoints, and highlight racial divisions while showing little effect on participants’ actual sense of belonging.
In explaining her vote in opposition to the bill, House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake, worried about “unintended consequences,” not having to do with the substance of the bill, but surrounding what the legislation signals to minority communities.
“Taking out diversity, equity and inclusion, it just doesn’t send the right message to many of us,” Romero said.
During the weeks since the bill was introduced, Hall, Grover, and others have made great pains to clarify the messaging around HB261.
Rep. R. Neil Walter, R-St. George, who spoke in favor of the bill during both floor and committee time, clarified that unlike measures in other states, the bill would not automatically defund current programs or offices on college campuses.
“We are very much concerned about making sure that we help people have a successful experience in navigating higher education,” Walter said. “We’re not trying to, in this bill, do anything to take resources away from minorities or other underserved communities.”
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and concerned community members during two public hearings, have voiced concerns over how the bill’s broad scope might affect teaching strategies, data collection, public-private partnerships, health care initiatives targeted toward specific identity groups and even the 2034 Winter Olympics.
In response to each concern, Hall and Grover have said their bill would allow current practices to proceed in almost every instance unless they violate the bill’s restricted practices. The bill’s sponsors have worked with critics of the bill and stakeholders, including the Utah Board of Higher Education and University of Utah President Taylor Randall, to craft language that avoids unintended consequences.
Randall told the Deseret News Thursday morning that the university would wait to comment until final revisions were made. But Randall readily agreed that the process of amending the bill has been collaborative.
“I will say that the collaboration has been good,” Randall said. “The bill has changed in a variety of ways dramatically. We’ve appreciated the conversation. I think it’s built a shared understanding around the concerns of this issue but also the potential benefits that we also have for just continuing to focus on student success in a diversifying state.”
What does, and doesn’t, Utah’s DEI bill prohibit?
According to the legislative text, banned DEI practices would include maintaining any policy that:
- Promotes differential treatment in employment status or program participation based on “personal identity characteristics,” like race, sex or religion.
- Asserts in trainings or procedures that individuals with one personal identity characteristic are inherently superior, privileged, oppressed or culpable for past actions, because of their personal identity characteristics.
- Requires statements of an individual’s position on DEI initiatives, or topics like anti-racism and critical race theory, before taking action in regards to employment, admissions or state financial aid, among other things.
- Carries the title “diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The bill does not prohibit policies required under state or federal law related to discrimination or harassment, including Title VI, VII and Title IX provisions. The bill contains carve outs for grants, academic research and course material, and requirements needed to maintain eligibility for athletics, accreditation and federal programs. It also includes an exception for previous agreements entered into between the University of Utah and the Ute Indian Tribe.
No training or office will be affected by HB261 unless they violate the bill’s “prohibited discriminatory practices.” The same goes for special ed programs and student groups, Hall and Grover have said.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (Good Things Utah) – A Park City charitable foundation is challenging outdoor athletes to turn their miles into meals for hungry kids. Terrence Moorehead is the co-founder of the non-profit RipLine Foundation. He says the RipLine Foundation seeks to channel the energy of Utah’s outdoor athletes, adventurers, and enthusiasts into the fight against childhood hunger. RipLine’s mission: Fight Hunger Feed the Future. It’s delivered through three peer‑to‑peer leader challenges across the year that turn movement into meals for children in need. 100% of funds raised go directly to vetted giving partners, including No Kid Hungry, Feeding America, Feed the Children, and Vitamin Angels.
The challenge is to turn every mile walked, run, biked, or hiked, and every hole of golf played into meals for kids facing food insecurity. Terrence says ‘Outdoor athletes are the most generous, motivated, and passionate community in the state and we’re done pretending we can’t do something to help our kids. Every mile is a meal. Every climb is a meal. Every round of golf is a meal. If you’re already moving, you’re already qualified.’
He says this summer they have Miles in the Wild™ – walking, running, biking, and hiking – which currently runs through September, and Balls Out™ which is our summer golf challenge. They are encouraging athletes in their preferred sport to rally networks of family, friends, coworkers, and crews to sponsor their effort.
Terrence says ‘Childhood hunger is unacceptable in a country this abundant — and it’s an area where we can have a real and meaningful impact. What’s been missing is a model that scales — that turns individual effort into measurable, repeatable impact. RipLine is built to do exactly that. Every Leader brings a network. Every dollar reaches a child. The math works. The Foundation has committed to providing one million meals in 2026 alone — its first year of fundraising — with a 2030 target of four million meals and one million children nourished.’
To sign up go to riplinefoundation.org
SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Utah, views liberty as a driving force in American history, which is why he’s thrilled about a 60-foot-long and 36-foot-tall arch planned for a space near the Utah Capitol.
The Grand Liberty Arch, designed by renowned artist Sabin Howard, is expected to become one of the largest bronze sculptures in the West by the time it’s completed over the next seven years. Kennedy believes it will highlight the effort to gain liberty over the past 250 years.
“For two and a half centuries, liberty has been an active ingredient in the background of American history, and the driving engine of our national progress,” he said on Monday, as a 6-foot model of Howard’s piece rotated within the Utah Capitol rotunda next to him. “It is the vital spark that transformed a collection of colonies into a beacon of global innovation and human potential.”
However, those who live near its planned location are less excited by the state’s plan, not by the sculpture as much as the spot the state has in mind and the process by which it was selected. They believe it will drastically alter a longstanding open space, and question why the project was voted on quickly without much public feedback.
The Grand Liberty Arch
The Capitol Preservation Board signed off on the project in May, with the expectation that the estimated $55 million cost will be raised privately. Former Zions Bank CEO Scott Anderson was working with JLL Salt Lake City Real Estate to raise the funds, meeting with family foundations and large corporations, officials said during the meeting.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox penned a letter in support of the project in February, saying that he believes in the “significance of this legacy piece.” Howard, who recently completed a World War I memorial in Washington, D.C., had his latest vision on display at the Utah Capitol over Fourth of July weekend, so people could better view his vision.
The sculpture depicts many elements of the past 250 years in the U.S., from the Revolutionary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence to the building of the country and its westward expansion. An unveiling ceremony was held Monday, where Howard and others were able to describe it and its importance for now and the next 250 years.
“America is dynamic. … Americans do not stand still,” he said. “The Grand Liberty Arch is a celebration of liberty that has transformed our nation.”
It’s expected to be built in phases over the next seven years, completed in time for the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Over 100 people showed up for the ceremony, making sure to snag a photo of the model by the end of it.
A neighborhood’s concern
The sculpture is to be located at 17 W. 500 North, on a parcel across the street from the Utah Capitol, informally known by some as the Capitol triangle. Utah owns the land, but it’s also not considered part of the primary Capitol Complex, meaning it’s not subject to some of the same Capitol grounds rules, Cox said.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, called it the “perfect location” during the board’s May meeting. Renderings show a plan to remove some of the park’s longstanding trees, replacing them with cherry trees around the arch that essentially adds to the Capitol’s walkway.
The location has also created a stir within its neighborhood. The Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council ended a June 17 meeting by debating several options to respond to the state’s decision.
There were some concerns raised about some of the depictions, but most are concerned about potential impacts to the current open space, which is used for an annual gathering, but also smaller park space since it’s located right next to homes, said Jonathan Bruns, chairman of the Capitol Hill Neighborhood Council.
“It’s off the main (path), so it’s a little … removed from the main grounds. It’s usually a quieter spot,” he explained.
With thousands of people projected to cross the street to view the piece, they said it could snarl traffic along Capitol and Columbus streets. Others were concerned by the size and scale of the project and the quick process to select a design, which appeared to include little to no public feedback.
Salt Lake City Councilman Chris Wharton, whose district includes the area, pointed out that the state is exempt from local processes, meaning there’s nothing the city or county could do to intervene. As a resident and lawyer, he suggested a formal complaint to the Capitol Preservation Board over the monument process around the Capitol complex, which the neighborhood council plans to do.
The council agreed to submit a formal complaint to the board and Utah Attorney General’s Office to make sure that the board followed Utah’s Open and Public Meetings Act and normal processes for a monument. It also agreed to submit a public records request on the project for a “comprehensive report of community feedback.”
Part of the complaint centers around a discussion of a 100-year monument project for which there were two options discussed in May, separate from the arch. One celebrated the golden spike, while the other highlighted women’s suffrage in Utah, but the project was placed on hold over logistics.
Board members didn’t abandon the project, but said the arch could ultimately serve as the selection. That made the neighborhood question if it followed the correct process for monuments, Bruns explained.
“It kind of seems like this went around the rules in an odd way. … We are obviously doing work to make sure it was done by the right processes,” he said.
The attorney general’s complaint has since been filed, while the rest are in the works, he told KSL. He’s unsure if the council would file a lawsuit over the time and money that would strain a volunteer group of residents.
Bruns credited Howard for being responsive, adding that he’s hopeful the state can also be understanding of the neighborhood’s concerns, whether that’s project adjustments or a new location.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
ST. GEORGE, Utah (KUTV) — A jury returned a guilty verdict against a Chicago man accused of trafficking 25 pounds of cocaine through Utah with a firearm and cash.
Marcus Kentral Brown, 41, of Chicago, was found guilty on Tuesday of possessing 500 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to distribute and carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
A Utah Highway Patrol trooper pulled Brown over in his Jeep Grand Cherokee on July 13, 2021. Brown reportedly said that he was traveling back to Chicago from California.
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The U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Utah said that, according to evidence presented at trial, the trooper conducted a consensual search of the vehicle and found 10 packages of cocaine (25 pounds worth) and a loaded Glock pistol in a hidden compartment in the rear cargo area. The trooper also found air fresheners and about $14,000 in cash.
Brown is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 28 in St. George.
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