Capitol Capers

Bills that may have slipped right by us during Utah's highly unusual 2021 legislative session.


No one can follow everything that happens at the Utah Legislature, and that was particularly true for the 45-day vote-a-rama that concluded on March 5.

In a typical legislative session, you're likely to learn as much about bills by sitting in the Capitol cafeteria as you are by watching debate from the House and floor galleries. Much of journalism is professional eavesdropping, and it's considerably harder to do in a socially distanced, virtual-first format.

Thus, I spent the week after session listening to committee hearings and chamber discussion that I had missed the first time around. Like any year in recent memory, schools got a funding bump, road projects were greenlit, Salt Lake City and County got jabbed in the ribs repeatedly, and certain taxes were cut—which could impact Utah's share of federal COVID-19 relief.

But with some 500 new or altered laws headed to the desk of Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, most will not get the attention they deserve. And for every nakedly sinister proposal that rightfully grabs the headlines—looking at you, transgender athletics ban—there are dozens that either die in darkness or tiptoe quietly into code.

Read more: https://www.cityweekly.net/utah/capitol-capers/Content?oid=16556051
(Salt Lake City Weekly)