The Utah Legislature passed 582 bills in the 2025 General Session, only nine shy of the record set last year. In response, Governor Spencer Cox is calling on lawmakers to decrease that number in the future. He believes too much legislation prevents Utahns from engaging in the process. Our expert panel discusses whether or not we're likely to see any changes next year.
We also explore the major themes of the session, including changes to higher education funding. Utah's public universities and colleges face a 10% budget cut unless they redirect funding to programs that are considered high demand.
Gov. Cox has 20 days to sign, veto, or allow bills to become law without his signature. He is getting pressure from groups to veto some legislation, including HB77. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Trevor Lee (R-Davis County), effectively bans pride flags from flying at schools and government buildings in the state. Organizers of the Sundance Film Festival are reportedly concerned about the message the bill sends to members of the LGBT+ community. This comes at a time when the festival is considering moving to another state, and on the hills of the legislature appropriating $3.5M in an effort to get the festival to stay in the Beehive State.
An effort to overturn Utah's new ban on collective bargaining for public employee unions is kicking off this weekend. A coalition of union organizers is attempting to get a referendum on the ballot to undo HB267. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Jordan Teuscher (R-Salt Lake County), passed in the legislature with bipartisan opposition. Gov. Cox has already signed the legislation into law. In order to make it on the ballot, referendum organizers need to secure more than 140,000 signatures from around the state.
Host Jason Perry is joined by Rep. Hoang Nguyen, a Democrat from Salt Lake County and member of the PBS Utah Advisory Board — Rep. Jefferson Moss, a Republican from Utah County and House Majority Leader — and Max Roth, anchor with Fox 13 News.
Funding for The Hinckley Report is made possible in part by Merit Medical and by the financial contributions of PBS Utah members. If you would like to support the work we do, please visit https://pbsutah.org/supporthinckley
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