Latest news with #UtahLegislature
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Brian King wins election as Utah Democratic Party Chair
Brian King said he believes more people are turning to the Democratic party as they're tired of Trump and the Utah legislature.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘We desperately need to do more': Utah Gov. Cox convenes mayors to urge more action on housing
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a news conference after a housing summit hosted at the Governor's Mansion in Salt Lake City on May 29, 2025. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch) In the spirit of 'collaboration' rather than preemption — a dynamic that for several years now has undergirded policy discussions over what should be done to address Utah's affordable housing crisis — Gov. Spencer Cox invited mayors from across the state to the Governor's Mansion in Salt Lake City on Thursday to talk. Utah has more than 250 cities and towns, but mayors from about 40 cities came to the governor's 'Built Here Housing Summit' to trade ideas in a closed-door meeting. In a news conference held outside the governor's mansion immediately after, Cox said they came together to work toward a 'shared goal' that he described as 'very simple, but urgent.' Utah governor doubles down on goal to build 35K homes in 5 years 'How can we work together — state and local — to make housing more attainable for Utah families?' Cox said. At the end of 2023, Cox set an ambitious 'moonshot' goal for the state and its home builders: build 35,000 new starter homes by 2028. Since then, Cox said 5,100 have been built or are in process across the state. 'We know that's not enough,' Cox said. 'We're on our way, but we desperately need to do more. With Utah's growing population, we need to do more, and we need to move faster.' The biggest challenge facing city and state officials when it comes to housing policy? Cox said it's the constant 'tension' between state and local government when it comes to local control over zoning and land use and whether state leaders should use preemption powers to force local governments to allow more housing types. Though some lawmakers have wanted the state to take more aggressive actions, in recent years the Utah Legislature has taken a gentler, 'collaborative approach,' focusing on providing a variety of planning tools to incentivize cities and developers to build more owner-occupied 'starter homes.' Meanwhile, other states including Colorado, California and Massachusetts have passed housing policy changes that have prompted lawsuits from cities resisting state mandates. The Utah Legislature hasn't flexed that muscle — at least not yet. Time will tell whether the toolbox the Utah Legislature has so far built to incentivize housing development will make a difference. But to gain momentum, Cox said state leaders must work with — not against — mayors and other city leaders to find solutions for affordable housing. 'The American dream of home ownership is slowly but surely slipping away from far too many, out of reach of our children and grandchildren,' he said. 'Reversing that trend requires collaboration, requires courage, and action from all levels of government.' About a dozen mayors who attended Cox's summit also joined Thursday's news conference, including Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd, Herriman Mayor Lorin Palmer and Spanish Fork Mayor Mike Mendenhall — all from cities that have utilized some of the zoning tools, like transit-oriented development, to build housing projects. Cox didn't name names, but he said there are still some 'bad actors' or a 'few cities here and there that aren't approving plans, that are taking years to get things done, that are very purposely driving up costs to make it so development can't happen.' Utah's new housing experiment 'And yet,' the governor added, 'we have dozens and dozens and dozens of cities who are doing this the right way.' He said 'we want to learn from each other,' but across 250 jurisdictions, 'oftentimes we don't share the wins, the things that are happening.' 'So,' Cox said, 'here's what's next.' He announced that the state is launching a 'statewide housing dashboard so that everyone from residents to city planners can track progress, identify gaps and learn from their successes.' 'We're committed to ensuring Utah doesn't fall behind on housing reform,' Cox said. The dashboard, circulated later Thursday afternoon by the governor's office, includes a heat map of where deed restricted units, deeply affordable units, and other forms of more affordable housing have been built. It also includes data on where the 5,100 'starter homes' have so far been planned or built. Most – 2,489 — are in Utah County. Salt Lake County has 706, and Tooele County has 432, according to the dashboard. As of Thursday, however, the site was still a work in progress, with some pages saying 'data under development.' Cox: There are 'broken incentive structures' worsening Utah's housing crisis Steve Waldrip, Cox's senior housing adviser, told reporters that the dashboard is being built using data from the University of Utah's Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, as well as data from a variety of real estate sources. If everyone can see what communities are making progress on providing housing options — and which cities aren't — Waldrip said the dashboard may act as a 'carrot-shaped stick' to push cities to do more for housing. 'You can take it either way,' he said. 'It will highlight those who are succeeding. And that's not a bad thing.' Cox — who once served as mayor of his rural hometown of Fairview — said he knows local officials face challenges when it comes to housing. 'I have a tremendous amount of empathy for what they're going through,' he said, adding that he knows some have opted not to run for office again because of controversy over higher density housing projects. 'They'll do the right thing and improve a development that will benefit future generations, and then there's a referendum, and the project gets denied,' Cox said. 'They get voted out of office, because a small, very vocal group of neighbors … can (get) very angry about any type of new housing going in.' So Cox said he 'appreciated' their willingness to engage with state leaders to be part of the solution. The mayors who spoke during Thursday's news conference framed Utah's housing issue as a personal one that threatens quality of life for their kids and grandkids. Clearfield Mayor Mark Shepherd said all but one of his seven kids have homes of their own because they bought during the time when they could.' But he said he has one daughter he can't afford to buy amid today's higher housing prices, and 'the ironic thing is, she's married to a developer.' 'She's married to a home builder, and can't afford to build a house,' Shepherd said. 'The cost of everything has skyrocketed. We need a place to put our kids. We need a place to put those who want to come to the state, and that's every level of housing.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Though 40 mayors engaged with the governor on Thursday, Waldrip acknowledged there are still others that remain resistant to allowing more housing. 'I would definitely say no, not all mayors are on board with it. Some mayors have been elected in different cities on a platform of no growth. Mayors have been kicked out of office because they approved growth,' Waldrip said. 'So those mayors feel an obligation to stick to their campaign promise.' However, Waldrip said he's also talked to some of those mayors who now have changed their tune, realizing it's a 'real problem' and the lack of housing is leading some to give up on the American dream. To Spanish Fork Mayor Mike Mendenhall, Utah's housing problem shouldn't be political — and it can be fixed if leaders focus on the need for solutions rather than the barriers. 'If we can find a way for this problem not to be political, but be practical,' Mendenhall said, 'I'm confident that we can solve these problems for home ownership in our state.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
He once worked for Big Tech. Now this Utah lawmaker is leading efforts to regulate it
When asked about the biggest win Utah lawmakers achieved during the recent legislative session, Gov. Spencer Cox offered a surprising answer. His pick, HB418, wasn't surprising because it protects online user data — Cox has been one of the strongest proponents of reining in Big Tech — nor was it surprising that the governor picked a bill that passed with near-unanimous support from lawmakers in both parties. What was surprising was that the bill was the brainchild of a first-time lawmaker, who didn't miss a beat in shepherding it through the Utah Legislature in his first weeks in elected office. But the issue is something Rep. Doug Fiefia has been thinking about for years, going back to his time working for Big Tech companies like Google. It's no secret that Google collects a vast amount of data on millions of Americans, but when Fiefia began working in technology sales for the company he said he — along with many others in the company — viewed that data as a way for Google to improve its products by 'connecting the products or the companies to the people that were searching for them.' That view eventually gave way to an uneasiness about just how much information the company has and how it uses it, eventually leading to his departure, Fiefia said. 'The more and more I dove into it, the more and more I realized is this company, they're trying to make a bottom line. And the reality is that the features that they were building ... they are exploiting you and I,' the Herriman Republican told in an interview in the House lounge Tuesday. 'I think I realized very quickly that users — us, you and I — as regular citizens, were never the customer. We were always the product that was being sold and we were being served up on a silver platter.' Fiefia's answer was HB418, a first-of-its-kind bill that gives Utahns the right to control the data that is collected from them by social media companies. The bill requires that users be able to delete their data from a platform or download and transfer it to another platform. It also directs social media companies to enable communication across different platforms, akin to how email users can communicate with others regardless of provider. Cox called it 'as big a piece of legislation as I have ever seen a freshman (lawmaker) run' during a ceremonial signing of the bill in April, during which Fiefia said he hopes the law will 'shift power back to where it always should have remained — with the people.' 'They were trading our free will for profit margin and that's why I wanted to run this type of bill — to give people back the control of their data to own, manage and control it,' he said Tuesday. 'And I think this is the first step. I think there are probably more steps to come after this.' Google did not respond to a request for comment. In the case of HB418, Fiefia's youth was a key factor in building support for the bill, as he was able to explain the technicalities of online data collection in a way that made sense to older or less tech-savvy colleagues. He compared modern data ownership to regulations enabled by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which allow users to keep their phone numbers if switching providers. Put that way, Fiefia said, skepticism from colleagues warmed up to the idea, telling him: 'I don't understand all the technical pieces of this, but if that's the principle, I agree.' Fiefia looks like a conservative Republican on most issues — his campaign website declares him anti-abortion, pro-business and pro-gun — but his thinking on tech regulation mirrors a change within the conservative movement that has been led in part by Utah. The state was the first in the nation to enact broad social media regulations — though their future is still being worked out in the courts — and has joined with a coalition of states in suing major companies that own Facebook and TikTok. Fiefia still views himself as pro-business, but argues that social media companies have built their brands off of content created by users. Rather than view his data privacy bill as stifling business, he sees it as promoting individual ownership of intellectual property. 'We would never allow any other industry to do what we've allowed Big Tech to do,' he said. 'You're right, I believe in the free market, but when it comes to our identify, our digital footprint and their control of it and their manipulation of it, that's where I think conservatives came to the table and said: 'You know what, we don't like regulating, we believe in a free market, but this is just wrong. They've crossed the line.'' 'This is actually my property,' Fiefia added. 'I created this. I wrote that. I posted this. That is mine and what we've allowed them to do for so long is to claim it, to use it and to abuse it.' While governments are still scrambling to catch up with the disruption social media platforms have caused, the next powerful technology, artificial intelligence, is emerging. The 'reactive' approach to social media has contributed to poor mental health outcomes for children, Fiefia said, and the lawmaker is hopeful government will be more proactive this time around. 'I fear that if we do the same thing, if we take the same approach with AI, too many people will get hurt,' he said. 'The advancement of AI and the technology is so robust and so advanced that if we take a reactive approach, I fear that it's just going to be too late.' But Fiefia worries that Congress is already taking steps to make it harder for states to adopt artificial intelligence protections. Tucked into President Donald Trump's 'one, big, beautiful bill' — which passed the House Thursday — is a provision enacting a 10-year moratorium on state regulations of artificial intelligence. 'We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off,' Vice President J.D. Vance said in February, per CNN, articulating the administration's position. Fiefia disagrees, arguing that states are nimbler and better able to adapt to rapid technological advances compared to an infamously unproductive Congress. He anticipates Big Tech and privacy issues are 'going to be my fight in the Legislature ... for the rest of my time here,' so AI will be on his mind regardless of what Congress does. That's not to say Fiefia is opposed to the advancing technology — it's just the opposite. He seems tremendous potential across the board, particularly in health care, where he is optimistic artificial intelligence will lead to medical breakthroughs and cures for disease that humans have been unable to master. He just doesn't want to make the same mistake many did with social media by overlooking the potential harms. 'We've got to find a balance, to figure out how do we protect users and make sure that we continue to support innovation?' he said. 'That's what I'm always thinking about. I don't ever want to over-regulate, but I also want to see if we allow this technology to run, what does it look like if it's used by the wrong hands?'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Most of Utah's snowpack has melted. What do Utah's reservoirs look like now?
People recreating near Utah reservoirs this Memorial Day weekend will likely find many of them full after a mixed bag of a winter. Utah's reservoir system remains 87% full with about 10% of the peak statewide snowpack left to melt, according to Utah Division of Water Resources data. Twenty-five of the state's 43 largest reservoirs are currently 81% full or more, including five that are listed at full capacity. Only eight are listed at 60% or lower, including Lake Powell, the nation's second-largest reservoir, and Panguitch Lake, which is still being repaired after cracks were found in the dam last year. Some of the other lower reservoirs are also scattered across central and southern Utah, where this year's snowpack wasn't as productive as in northern Utah. 'It's encouraging to see how much we've benefited these last three years, having average or above-average precipitation and snowpack,' said Joel Williams, the water division's deputy director. 'It's helped fill our reservoirs. We still are hurting in the southern part of the state … and we know we need some good snowpack in the future to help them out.' Williams provided members of the Utah Legislature's Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee an update on the state's snowpack on Wednesday. While reservoir numbers are good, he outlined some trends that water managers must track this year. This year's spring snowmelt hasn't been as efficient as experts had hoped, which lowered the state's water outlook heading into May. Snowmelt has been 'a bit earlier than average,' so the statewide snowpack could reach zero inches of snow-water equivalent before it normally does in the middle of June. Reservoirs at 100% or more capacity: East Canyon Reservoir Pineview Reservoir Porcupine Reservoir Scofield Reservoir Woodruff Creek Reservoir Woodruff Narrows Reservoir Reservoirs at 81% to 99% capacity: Big Sand Wash Reservoir Causey Reservoir Currant Creek Reservoir Deer Creek Reservoir Echo Reservoir Flaming Gorge Reservoir Joes Valley Reservoir Jordanelle Reservoir Hyrum Reservoir Lost Creek Reservoir Miller Flat Reservoir Newton Reservoir Otter Creek Reservoir Rockport Reservoir Sand Hollow Reservoir Smith and Morehouse Reservoir Starvation Reservoir Stateline Reservoir Strawberry Reservoir Utah Lake Willard Bay Reservoirs at 61% to 80% capacity: Bear Lake Cleveland Lake Gunlock Reservoir Huntington North Reservoir Ken's Lake Millsite Reservoir Moon Lake Reservoir Quail Creek Reservoir Red Fleet Reservoir Settlement Reservoir Steinaker Reservoir Reservoirs at 41% to 60% capacity: Gunnison Reservoir Minersville Reservoir Panguitch Lake Piute Reservoir Yuba Reservoir Reservoirs at 21% to 40% capacity: Lake Powell Lower Enterprise Upper Enterprise Several southern and central Utah basins have already reached the end of the snowmelt, hitting zero inches earlier than usual, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service data. Some had decent snowpack levels, but Williams said it was also a 'dismal' winter for southern Utah. As a result, Gov. Spencer Cox's drought declaration centered on 17 counties, mostly within those regions. Despite dropping levels, some Lake Powell ramps remain open for Memorial Day weekend. The Antelope Point Business, Bullfrog North Launch, Halls Crossing, Wahweap Main and Wahweap Stateline Auxiliary ramps are available for houseboats and small motorized vehicles, per the National Park Service. Meanwhile, most of the remaining snowpack is in the highest elevations of northern Utah. About 2 inches of snow-water equivalent remains within the Great Salt Lake basin, 11% of its peak and 63% of its median average for late May. This year's projected hot summer could increase evaporation rates along lower-level reservoirs and the Great Salt Lake, which is something water managers will have to 'plan for,' Williams cautioned. Potential monsoonal moisture would help reduce evaporation loss over the summer should storms materialize, but long-range outlooks seem to indicate that those storms may not reach the Great Salt Lake Basin. Water conservation measures are encouraged, as the state hopes for a better snowpack next winter. The Great Salt Lake's southern arm lost 3 feet of water after last year's summer heat. Williams said lake levels could become a concern again if the region experiences a repeat this summer. The lake is currently listed at 4,193.4 feet elevation, which is a level that could still impact brine shrimp viability, recreation and ecosystem health, according to the state's Great Salt Lake Strategic Plan. It's only about 1½ feet above a stage where 'serious' effects on air quality and mineral production are also possible. The lake hit a record low of 4,188.5 feet elevation in 2022 before a couple of good snowpack seasons improved the lake's fortunes. 'We had a little bit of a breathing (room) and it's back to a little bit of a nervous feeling,' Williams said. 'We don't want to hit a new record low; we want to maintain the progress we've had and work on increases and ways we can increase the flow.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Utah commission chairman defends approval of Rocky Mountain Power 4.7% rate increase
The chairman of a commission that approves utility rate adjustments across the state says the board only awarded a portion of Rocky Mountain Power's proposed rate increase because some of the company's woes were 'the result of their own actions.' The board allowed the state's largest power provider to collect a revenue increase of $87.2 million, which amounts to a 3.8% to 4.7% increase for the average customer, late last month. Rocky Mountain Power, which initially requested a 30% rate increase before cutting it down to 18%, still has a few days left to request a rehearing before those changes go into effect. The decision largely had to do with an issue with Utahns paying for problems the provider and its parent company have had outside of the state, as well as a failure from the company to provide evidence of benefits with other projects tied to the proposal, said Jerry Fenn, chairman of the Utah Public Service Commission. 'Do we want Rocky Mountain Power to be successful and earn a reasonable rate of return on their investment? Yes, but we also want to protect ratepayers from what we think are unjust and (unreasonable) rate increases,' he said. Fenn defended the board's April 25 decision during a presentation to members of the Utah Legislature's Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Interim Committee on Wednesday. The committee requested an update on the situation, which drew plenty of attention last year, as well as ire from the Utah Legislature. Rocky Mountain Power officials explained that inflation, since its previous rate increase in 2020, has resulted in increased costs to fuel power plants and to purchase wholesale power rates. At the same time, they planned to use increases to help offset rising insurance rates and fund capital investment projects, such as completing a 400-mile transmission line into central Utah. 'We go out and spend money on behalf of customers to make investments to provide an essential service,' Rocky Mountain Power President Dick Garlish told lawmakers last year. Its initial request called for a revenue increase of $667.3 million, or a 30% rate increase spread out between 2025 and 2026. Gov. Spencer Cox and other state leaders were critical of the proposal. The governor called it 'completely unacceptable,' while representatives questioned how massive wildfire settlements made by Rocky Mountain Power's parent company, PacifiCorp, factored into the equation. Rocky Mountain Power also provides energy in Idaho and Wyoming, while PacifiCorp also has dealings in parts of California, Oregon and Washington. The company has paid over $1 billion in various wildfire-related settlements, many of which came from wildfires ignited by power lines in Oregon five years ago. Lawmakers argued that residents shouldn't be forced to pay for issues in other states. Rocky Mountain Power later reduced its revenue request to $393.7 million, which would have been an 18.1% rate increase in 2025 with no subsequent increase in 2026, following the early feedback. The request quickly became one of the more closely followed proposals to end up in front of the Public Service Commission, Fenn said on Wednesday. The board sifted through the arguments from both sides, as well as thousands of written or verbal public comments. Commissioners also held two public hearings on the matter, one of which was held in Cedar City, which is 'unusual' for the board, he pointed out. The board ultimately decided that the 18% request wasn't 'prudent' enough to pass along to the customer. 'At the end of the day, we concluded ... that Rocky Mountain Power's models provided a growth rate that was greater than the growth rate of the economy,' he said. 'We really didn't think you could grow greater than GDP (gross domestic product).' The board also believed it was 'unreasonable' for Utah customers to pay for company issues happening outside of Utah, such as wildfire settlements and capital projects in other states, Fenn added, referencing a class-action lawsuit in Oregon. A jury there found PacifiCorp liable for negligence tied to wildfires in 2020, the Statesman Journal reported in 2023. The company is appealing that ruling. What the commission ultimately approved is expected to result in a monthly increase of $4.31 for the average residential customer, who consumes 700 kilowatt-hours per month, or $3.31 per month for the average multifamily dwelling. Members of the legislative committee lauded the board for how it handled the process. 'I really appreciate you guys sticking up for us,' said Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville. The company still has time to formally request a rehearing, which is required in the appeal process, Fenn said. He expects the request will be filed. He said the request must be filed by Sunday, but Rocky Mountain Power officials say it's Tuesday because of the weekend and the Monday holiday. Jonathan Whitesides, a spokesman for the company, declined to say whether it would request reconsideration, other than that a denied request could spark a judicial review with the Utah Supreme Court. He said earlier this month that the company was still reviewing its options. He added that the company was still 'committed' to wildfire mitigation, despite the lower rate increases. 'It's going to be a challenge, but we're going to continue forward with the projects we've got going on (and) operational practices,' he said on May 6.
