Hello friends,

It’s an absolute privilege and honor to represent our neighborhoods and to serve you. With just one week left in our 2025 General Legislative session, much has already been accomplished for Utah during the past six weeks. In collaboration with my fellow legislators, we have worked tirelessly to strengthen Utah’s future by passing laws that enhance election integrity, support economic growth, and protect individual freedoms. We’ve prioritized making our communities safe, bolstering education for our children, and investing in robust energy, transportation, and water infrastructure. By reducing burdensome regulations, we are making Utah a place where families, businesses, and individuals can thrive. 

There’s still a lot to accomplish in our last week on Capitol hill. I invite you to engage and follow along with the process, in person or online at le.utah.gov, and if you have questions, please reach out. I would love to hear from you. 

 

For the past 38 days, I haven’t been able to see my wife, Roxane, very much. She came to the Capitol to surprise me this week. It was wonderful! I’m so grateful for her support, work, and love which makes it possible for me to serve in the Legislature.

Congrats to all the youth in our community who received the President’s Volunteer Service Award this week. This national and prestigious recognition created more than 20 years ago by the President of the United States is only given to a few people in the entire nation. Having the honor to present these awards and learning about the youth’s service was inspiring. They are helping our neighborhoods, cities, the state, nation and wonderful people across the globe. A big shout out goes to Ramon and Jennifer Roberts for their leadership, vision, and service to make this possible for the youth.

Utah is once again directly increasing teacher salaries. This investment reflects the Legislature’s and Gov. Cox’s dedication to attracting and retaining top talent in classrooms, ensuring that teachers are valued, supported and empowered to provide the best education for Utah’s students.

During the 2025 session, state leaders are continuing to invest in teachers by providing a direct salary increase of $1,000 and a $1,000 bonus for education support staff, in addition to a 4% WPU increase. Over the past four years, we’ve increased public education funding by $1.3 billion, raised teacher salaries, expanded paid maternity leave, and provided stipends for classroom supplies and student teachers. This year, we’re continuing that commitment by increasing resources for rural and at-risk student educators, funding a new cohort of Grow Your Own Educators, and enhancing career and technical education programs. Recently, U.S. News and World Report ranked Utah as the second best state in the nation for education — a testament to the hard work of educators all across the state.

There are 3 things I’ve consistently heard from nearly everyone in our local neighborhoods and from people throughout the state about Utah elections:

1. Utah voters generally support vote-by-mail (VBM)

2. Utah voters support showing photo ID when voting

3. Utah voters want to have election results on Election Night

Here's the problem: We can't have all 3 under current Utah law. H.B. 300 helps move us toward a solution, ensuring our elections remain both accessible and secure, without taking away your ability to vote by mail. Beginning in 2026, voters will include the last four digits of their state ID when voting by mail or drop box, while those without an ID will have time to obtain a free one. This ensures elections remain both accessible and secure without eliminating vote-by-mail. The bill also improves efficiency and reduces speculation by ensuring more timely election results. Additionally, voters will now opt in to receive a mail-in ballot, preventing outdated rolls and strengthening election integrity. These changes will boost Utah’s election security ranking from 33rd in the nation to 9th—preserving what we love about voting while making it more secure.

Reliable, affordable energy is the backbone of our daily lives—powering our homes, businesses, and future growth. We’re taking key steps to secure our energy future by: 

• Focusing on the development of new energy projects, promoting investment in diversifying our energy portfolio.

• Advancing nuclear power initiatives, providing a stable and low-cost energy source to meet growing demands.

• Addressing the responsible decommissioning of outdated energy assets, ensuring environmental safety and efficient resource management.

Embracing the “all-of-the-above” approach to energy is critical to maintaining our state’s economic strength, protecting hardworking families from rising costs, and ensuring that every Utahn has access to a reliable and resilient power grid—no matter the challenges ahead.

Hardworking Utah families are the backbone of our communities, and HB 106 is designed to give them the support they deserve. This bill enhances Utah’s child tax credit, providing meaningful financial relief for parents with children ages 0 to 5—a time when expenses are high, and every dollar counts. By increasing the tax credit for young children and ensuring more families qualify, HB106 puts money back in the pockets of young families. This is about financial relief for families, ensuring that Utah remains a place where families can grow, succeed, and prosper.

The American dream of homeownership is a cornerstone of Utah's values. For the past year I have worked with people and organizations from throughout the state on two significant legislative measures, H.B. 360 and H.B. 368, which are poised to make this dream more attainable for our children and grandchildren. 

 

H.B. 360 focuses on increasing housing affordability by implementing policies that encourage the development of diverse housing options, while H.B. 368 streamlines local land use regulations, reducing bureaucratic hurdles and expediting the construction of new housing projects. Together, these bills aim to expand housing availability and attainability, empowering more Utah families to achieve the stability and pride that comes with owning a home.

Utah is home to nearly 13,000 nonprofit organizations, collectively employing more than 6% of the state’s workforce and contributing billions to our economy. Utah is also the #1 state in the nation for volunteerism. From food banks ensuring no family goes hungry to shelters providing a safe place to sleep, from cultural institutions enriching our communities to advocacy groups amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard—nonprofits are at the heart of what makes Utah strong, compassionate, and resilient. This week we celebrated Nonprofit Day on the Hill. It was wonderful to meet and visit with so many who are strengthening our local and statewide communities.

Bill topics have once again been varied and vast this week including: reverse search terms for criminal investigations, animal shelters, AI in law enforcement, mining, cybersecurity with our drinking water, student athlete name, image, likeness (NIL), towing, abandoned airplanes at airports, eye glasses, and many, many more.

Below is my voting record for the 6th week of the Legislative Session.

The Problem:

• Smartphones are a major distraction in Utah schools—disrupting classroom environments, decreasing academic performance, and contributing to bullying and social isolation. Parents and families need support, students need guidance, and teachers need assistance responding to this growing epidemic.

• 97% of students with phones use them during school hours

• 237: notifications received by teens on their phone daily

• 10-15 min: the time it takes students to lose focus in class with their phone present

• 35% of teens admit using their smartphone to cheat

• 72% of high school teachers report phone distraction as a major issue

• 2X: student loneliness has doubled since 2012, correlated with rise of smartphones

• 99% of teachers support a policy that limits phone use.

The Solution:

• Senate Bill 178 Devices in Public Schools will flip the existing standard by limiting smartphones, smart watches, and emerging technology in classrooms—while allowing Local Education Agencies (LEA) to adjust policies to meet local needs. SB178 also requires that students have access to devices in cases of emergencies and creates exceptions for students with health or education considerations. Through the creation of a public-private partnership of the Utah Legislature and private donors, funding will be available to help districts implement these policies.

Proven Benefits of Limiting Phone Use in Schools:

• Psychological-related visits significantly dropped, with nearly 60% fewer specialist consultations among girls.

• Students scored a full letter grade and a half higher on multiple choice tests

• Bullying incidents were reduced by 43% among boys and 46% among girls

• Test scores increased up to 14% among the lowest-achieving students

• Sexual harms to students were reduced, as phone-enabled sexting, cyberbullying, grooming are all on the rise

FAQS:

• Q: What if my child needs to contact me during a personal or school emergency?

  • Student safety is the top priority. SB178 requires that students be able to access their phones in cases of imminent threats and other emergencies. 

• Q: Why a state-wide policy?

  • Implementing a state-wide policy ensures that every district takes steps to limit cell phones in schools. Early adopters in Utah have already observed benefits, such as increased test scores and improved classroom culture.

• Q: Will this create extra work for teachers?

  • Currently, policies on cell phone use are often left to individual classrooms, placing the entire burden of enforcement on teachers. Implementing uniform policies at the school district, or state level would relieve teachers of this responsibility, ensuring consistent enforcement across all classrooms.

• Q: Will students comply?

  • Research shows that, over time, students recognize the benefits of reduced phone access, such as decreased stress and increased focus in class. Education and positive reinforcement about limited cell phone use can help improve compliance.

• Q: What specific policies could districts choose to implement?

  • The Utah State Board of Education and The Policy Project will provide model policies with recommendations and research-based best practices for districts to adapt to their specific needs.

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