Hello friends,

Our local neighborhoods are doing great things, and I love being with you to hear what is on your minds, learn of your recommendations, and gather for local celebrations.

Thank you, Springville City, for a great week of Art City Days. Soaring over Springville in a hot air balloon, seeing the beauty of our area and seeing thousands of friends and neighbors along the parade route, reminded me again of the wonderful communities where we live. Amidst the turmoil we see in the world, Art City Days showcased friendship, goodness, service, and community unity. Thank you!

The annual Freedom Festival Prayer Breakfast was a meaningful morning, uniting community members, faith groups, and civic leaders to commemorate America’s 250th anniversary. Utah Attorney General Derek Brown's inspiring keynote was complemented with uplifting and beautiful music that invited reflection on faith, unity, and the values that strengthen our communities and nation. Thank you, America’s Freedom Festival at Provo, for your decades of service celebrating, teaching, honoring, and strengthening the traditional American values of God, family, freedom, and country.

What a privilege this month to help turn the soil at the groundbreaking of the IHC Spanish Fork Hospital’s expansion. Five years ago, the hospital opened and has since provided exceptional care close to our homes. Due to increasing demand and population growth, the expansion will add 8 emergency rooms, 2 operating rooms, and 1 CT scanner room. Check out these stats over the past 5 years: 15,388 surgeries performed, 81,703 emergency room visits, 53,511 CT scans, 3,398 births. Thank you IHC for helping our local neighborhoods.

Congrats to Blue Unicorn for opening in Spanish Fork this month! The ribbon cutting by Jason and Meradith Christensen opened the new headquarters for delicious protein bars. The entrepreneurial spirit and hard work seen at Blue Unicorn is the foundation of the state’s strong economy, built upon principles and policies that benefit employers, employees, and families.

I enjoyed being with friends and education experts and leaders at the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools annual conference this month. Teachers, principals, directors, and board members gathered to discuss innovative solutions and engaging ideas to help students succeed.

I brought together at the Capitol local home builders, city leaders, developers, and housing experts to discuss and share ideas of how to make housing more affordable, especially for our children and grandchildren.

June’s 100-year celebration of the Strawberry Valley Project brought together dedicated and hardworking men and women who make it possible for us to have water in South Utah County.

The Strawberry Valley Project is a historic U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project in Utah that created the Strawberry Reservoir to divert water from the Colorado River Basin to the Bonneville Basin. It brought irrigation water to more than 45,000 acres in South Utah Valley, as well as early hydroelectric power, making a major milestone in Utah’s agricultural and economic growth.

Residents, businesses, cities, and communities throughout South Utah Valley have significantly benefited from the vision and sacrifice of those early South Utah Valley pioneers. Those private citizens and government leaders dreamed big and partnered together to construct the Strawberry Valley Project. This partnership has helped provide a sustainable place to live, work, and raise families for generations.

As we celebrate Independence Day and look ahead to America’s 250th anniversary, we remember what July 4 marks: the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the belief that our rights do not come from government, but that government exists to protect them. That idea shaped the birth of our nation and it remains our responsibility to preserve today.

In Utah, Pioneer Day gives us another opportunity to honor the faith, resilience, and determination of those who helped build the state we proudly call home. This year, Utahns have a new place to reflect on that story. The Museum of Utah is now open on the Capitol Complex, giving families, students, and visitors a place to explore the people, events, cultures, and ideas that shaped our state. The 17,000-square-foot museum is home to 950 items from Utah’s 30,000-artifact collection, 21 interactive displays and the Mormon Meteor III - the legendary race car that set land speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats. The museum is free to the public and open seven days a week. 

The Museum of Utah is located in the North Capitol Building at 450 N. State Street in Salt Lake City. I encourage you to visit this summer, bring your family, and take part in the many celebrations and local events happening throughout July as Utah and the nation celebrate America’s 250th anniversary.

The work of the General Session begins long before January, and the June interim meetings gave us another opportunity to study the issues Utah families and communities are facing. Committee work during the interim is where ideas are debated and refined before they ever become bills. This month, we reviewed agency reports, examined how state programs are performing, and asked questions about what is working, what is not, and where taxpayer dollars can be used more effectively.

Those discussions are essential to policymaking. Whether the issue is public safety, economic development, government efficiency, or long-term planning for Utah’s communities, the goal is the same: make sure state government is focused, accountable, and delivering real results for the people we serve.

There are no interim meetings in July, but we will be back at the Capitol on August 18 and 19. I hope to see you there in person, or you can follow along with all the committees live at le.utah.gov.

Out of the hundreds of issues discussed in the June interim meetings, here are just a few items of particular note:

We heard a presentation from the Division of Consumer Protection on the most common complaints and scams involving consumers. We also heard from local event venue owners on ticketing chargeback scams and their impact on businesses.

We received presentations from committee staff and representatives from the Insurance Department, fire chiefs, and industry partners on concerns related to affordability for homeowners’ insurance, particularly in wildfire-prone areas. We discussed policies enacted in other states to address gaps in coverage or to provide premium relief for homeowners through mitigation efforts.

We received a presentation from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General on A Performance Audit of Public Education K-3 Reading Programs and heard a response from the State Board of Education.

We received a presentation from the Office of the Inspector General of Medicaid Services regarding emerging trends of Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse and its actions to identify and address these trends, including preliminary investigations conducted by the office.

We discussed concerns with unelected individuals being appointed to boards of special districts that have authority to increase taxes. It was discussed and considered to create a workgroup to study this issue and provide recommendations at a future interim meeting.

We received presentations from Williams Company and Kern River Gas Transmission on natural gas pipeline systems and capacity in Utah.

We heard a presentation from the Utah Department of Transportation on bridge conditions across the state.

Utahns, we need your help. Our firefighters need your help. This has been one of the driest and most volatile fire seasons our state has seen in years. Nearly 400 wildfires have already burned more acres than all of last year, and nearly 80% have been human caused, which means many were preventable.

We also mourn the loss of three firefighters who answered the call to protect others and made the ultimate sacrifice.

When you see our local Mapleton, Springville and Spanish Fork firefighters around town, please tell them thank you for their work and service to protect life, property, and our environment. Please also follow local fire restrictions and use extreme caution. Visit the Utah Fire Sense website for up-to-date information on fire restrictions, current fire conditions, and prevention tips. Together, we can keep our neighborhoods and state safe.

As your Representative, setting our children up for success through quality education is one of my top priorities. That commitment is reflected in the historic policies we have passed over the last several years. As a Legislature, we’ve increased public education funding by $1.8 billion over the past five years, raised teacher pay, and invested in key programs that help prepare our students for tomorrow's workforce. Though we’ve made significant investments to strengthen our education system, the work isn’t done. Classroom size is a real issue in our school, especially for our youngest learners. Throughout the interim, we’re exploring ways to give students more individual attention and teachers more support. This is the beginning of a collaborative effort to ensure our students have the focus and resources they need to thrive not only in our schools, but throughout their lives. 

In a historic win for our public lands, Utah has permanently secured public access to more than 50,000 acres of wildlife-rich land in the rugged Book Cliffs roadless area of northern Grand County. This massive acquisition was made possible by a $50 million allocation from the Legislature and the streamlined land-transfer process established through H.B. 262 (2024). Renamed the Book Cliffs Roadless Wildlife Management Area, this space permanently protects world-class hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation for Utahns. By securing these lands now, we are providing a massive boost for our state while ensuring future generations can experience one of our state's most remarkable landscapes. 

Nearly $30 million from the sale will flow directly into the Permanent State School Fund, generating annual distributions to public schools for years to come. This is a win for both recreation and a win for public schools.

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