2026 Legislative Session Week 3

With week 3 of the session in the books, lawmakers make major moves to reshape Utah's courts. Host Jason Perry leads a discussion about how this will impact the state's judiciary. Plus, as legislative leaders consider additional tax cuts, state agencies defend their budgets.

THE DEEPER DIVE:
• ⚖️ The bill that added two new justices to the Utah Supreme Court and also added judges to the Utah Court of Appeals and the district courts has passed the legislature and has already been signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox. Opponents of the bill describe is as "packing" the Supreme Court, while supporters say this simply gets Utah on the same level with similarly sized states.
• ✍️ Utah Reps. Celeste Maloy and Burgess Owens have filed a lawsuit in federal court over a Utah judge's ruling in a redistricting lawsuit. They claim the court-imposed map causes "irreparable harm". At the same time, an initiative effort to overturn the state's independent redistricting commission has one more week to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. We discuss whether organizers will meet the thresholds, and some controversy over alleged fraud on the part of signature gatherers.
• In a year with tight budgets, some lawmakers are pushing to cut income taxes for a sixth straight year. We look at the impact this would have on taxpayer pocketbooks, plus how some state programs could be negatively affected.
• Sen. Mike Lee is pushing for changes at the federal level to require proof of citizenship before voting in federal elections. Many of the provisions in his bill are already law at the state level in Utah.
• ️ Pres. Donald Trump has called for nationalizing some elections. The proposition has received bipartisan opposition, including from Utah's Republican Lieutenant Governor, Deidre Henderson.
• A bill to ban Kratom in Utah is making its way through the State Senate. We hear from people on both sides of the argument, and from from lawmakers about why this proposal has bipartisan support.

️ FEATURING:
• Sen. Jen Plumb – (D) Salt Lake City, Minority Assistant Whip
• Sen. Mike McKell – (R) Spanish Fork, Majority Assistant Whip
• Daniel Woodruff – Politics Reporter, KSL

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