ADVOCACY
WHAT TO EXPECT WITH THE 2022 LEGISLATIVE SESSION BY CRAIG AND RYAN PETERSON
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ollowing a unique and difficult year in 2021, we look forward to another upcoming legislative session beginning January 18. The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the 2021 legislative session, and forced everyone to adapt to a new normal up on Capitol Hill. Most of the session was done remotely, with very strict rules around meeting participation at the Capitol. Luckily Utah, unlike many other states, allowed for full participation in committee meetings through Zoom which allowed the session to progress as normally as possible.
the original language and ultimately the legislature was able to select a map proposed by the commission or they could pass their own. Ultimately, the legislature chose their own map and Governor Cox signed off on the map in November despite many cries of gerrymandering over the “cracking” of Salt Lake County. Cracking is a term used to define the breaking up of a certain area to deprive it of political power. There are some looking at a possible legal challenge in Utah, similar to what has happened in Texas and North Carolina.
The pandemic continued to be a significant topic moving into the interim. While the legislature continued to work on relevant issues and study items that were identified during the 2021 session, a significant portion of the time was taken up by legislative response to the ways that COVID was impacting state government. There was also a close eye being kept on the federal government and decisions being made on U.S. Capitol Hill and the White House.
As we move towards the next legislative session, there have already been a few interesting developments. In October, Rep. Francis Gibson, the Majority Leader in the House of Representatives resigned his seat. That caused a little bit of a shakeup in House Leadership. Rep. Mike Schultz moved into the Majority Leader position, and Rep Jeff Moss was elected as the new Majority Whip. Speaker Brad Wilson and Rep. Val Peterson will stay in their current positions as House Speaker and Assistant Majority Whip respectively. Rep Robert Spendlove was appointed to fill the Assistant Appropriations Chair position that was left vacant when Rep. Moss was elected to his new position. Also, in the House, Rep. Paul Ray from Clearfield resigned his position in the legislature after serving 20 years. He will now lead legislative affairs for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
Moving into fall, the legislature began negotiating how to administer the nearly $1.4 billion coming into the state through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. In the past, we have seen the Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee work on a number of important issues that the UACPA is able to weigh in on but, this year, the committee didn’t take on as many items as in previous years. One major issue that the legislature did take on during the interim was redistricting. There was quite a bit of controversy regarding the proposed maps, as there always is in a primarily single party state. In 2018, the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission was created through the passage of Prop 4. In 2020, the legislature passed a compromise bill to adjust
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As always, we will be monitoring the legislative session closely for any issues that may have an impact on you as professionals or on your clients. There are already a few items that we are keeping a close eye on. First, there is an effort being mounted to cut the individual and corporate
THE JOURNAL ENTRY |
WINTER 2022
