Utah kicks off 2024 legislative session

The Utah State Capitol building. Photo: TownLift

Senate President Stuart Adams said that he wanted to pass legislation this session regarding water conservation, affordable housing, rising interest rates and energy prices.

SALT LAKE CITY — The 2024 General Session of the 65th Legislature began today at the Utah State Capitol.

For the next 45 days, 75 House representatives and 29 senators from across the state will meet to pass the state budget and new laws.

The subjects with the most bills this session include law enforcement and criminal justice, health and human services, government operations, education and revenue and taxation.

In an interview with TownLift, Senate President Stuart Adams said that he wanted to pass legislation this session regarding water conservation, affordable housing, rising interest rates and energy prices.

“Even though we had a great water year last year, we’re gonna continue to focus on water. Water is a big issue,” Adams said. “We need to maintain the effort we’ve had for conservation. We need to look at development, we need to look at all aspects of water and how best to maintain that precious natural resource that we have.”

“If we want to get interest rates down, if we want to make sure that we don’t destroy a great economy, we need to lower energy prices, and so we’re going to find a way to deal with energy prices,” Adams said.

$160 million has already been set aside in the state budget by the Executive Appropriations Committee for what will likely become Utah’s fourth tax cut in as many years.

Today marks day 1 of the 2024 General Legislative Session!

Our team is ready to put in the work and collaborate with legislators to keep Utah thriving. #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/C4Ek2nDogA

— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) January 16, 2024

High profile bills from the 2023 legislative session include the statewide abortion clinic ban and restrictions surrounding minors receiving gender-affirming health care, which were both signed into law.

Find additional information on the 2024 legislative session here.