(vibrant music) - Thank you for joining us tonight.

My name is Kelton Wells, executive producer of Politics and Public Affairs here at PBS Utah.

We're interrupting our normal programming to bring you live coverage of Governor Spencer Cox's 2025 State of the State Address.

We're doing this in partnership with KUER News.

Following the governor's remarks, we will also have a prerecorded response from Democratic leaders in the Utah Legislature.

We go now into the Capitol where it looks like the audience is starting to stand and begin their applause.

There you see Governor Cox walking in right now.

(audience applauds) This is in the House Chamber of the Utah Capitol.

This is where State of the State Addresses have historically been held.

You see the governor making his way up to the dais where Speaker Mike Schultz and President Stuart Adams, president of the Utah Senate, are already standing.

We expect the governor will talk about some themes that have been fairly consistent in his speeches recently.

He is very focused on housing affordability and housing attainability, as well as energy development in the state of Utah.

There you see him shaking the hand of Speaker Schultz and Speaker Schultz's wife.

And now we go to the Capitol for the governor's State of the State Address.

- We will now hear the State of the State Address delivered by Governor Spencer J. Cox.

- Thank you.

Please be seated.

(audience laughs) Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, Lieutenant Governor Henderson, Abby, Utah's public servants, and my fellow Utahns gathered here tonight, welcome.

I want to start by congratulating and acknowledging the 19 newly elected members of our House of Representatives.

Now, please hold your applause until I mention all 19 of them.

Representative Auxier, Representative Chevrier, Dominguez, Fiefia, (mumbles), I'm sorry, Fitisemanu, there we go, I got it right.

Representative Koford, Mauga, Miller, Grant Miller and Tracy Miller, Monson, Nguyen, Okerlund, Peck, Roberts, Sawyer, Shallenberger, Shepherd, Shelley, Thompson.

And also our three new senators who I don't need to introduce because they know this chamber very well, Senator Brammer, Musselman, and Stratton, welcome.

Let's give 'em a round of applause.

(audience applauds) Now, last week, I had dinner with our new legislators and their spouses.

My favorite part of the night was asking them why on Earth they would run for this position.

I wish every Utahn could have heard their answers.

It was almost impossible to tell who was a Republican and who was a Democrat that night.

They inspired me.

Love is not too strong of a word to describe how I feel about the public servants here tonight and the work you have committed to do for the people of our state.

I shared with them one friendly piece of advice, during this first week, you'll feel overwhelmed and wonder, "How on Earth did I get here?"

By your second week though, you will settle in and instead start to wonder, "How on Earth did the rest of these people get here?"

(audience laughs) Our time tonight, sorry, some of you took that too personally.

(audience laughs) Our time tonight is short, and so I'll ask, as in prior years, that you please hold any applause until the end of my remarks, hard as that might be.

(audience laughs) We are gathered here in the matchless Utah State Capitol overlooking the Salt Lake Valley.

I want us all to take a moment and imagine what this valley looked like 180 short years ago.

Hard-packed soil, light precipitation, hot summers, frigid winters, limited fresh water, sparse vegetation to sustain livestock, dust storms turned day into night.

Early visitors described it as, and I quote, "A barren wasteland."

It was arid, untamed, and unforgiving.

On his journey westward, Brigham Young crossed paths with the famous American mountain man Jim Bridger, who told him, "Mr. Young, I would give $1,000 if I knew an ear of corn could be ripened in the Great Basin."

Then in July 1847, the pioneers saw this valley with their own eyes.

It was so beautiful that one member of the party proclaimed, "Weak and weary as I am, I would rather go 1,000 miles farther than remain in such a forsaken place as this."

(audience laughs) And yet almost 180 years later, our Utah desert has pulled off the most miraculous upset, the land has blossomed as promised, and our home has become the envy of the Earth and a worldwide destination.

We stand on the shoulders of giants, our ancestors irrigated farms, excavated minerals, built homes and neighborhoods, powered cities, and connected this continent by rail.

In the face of adversity, they built.

They built here.

And my friends and fellow citizens, if there is one thing you take away from my remarks tonight, please let it be this simple refrain: we must build.

Scripture, and the 60s pop band the Byrds, tell us that "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under Heaven."

Now is a time for building.

And so I'm making this call to all Utahns, whether you live near the red rocks of St. George or the snow-capped peaks of the Uintas, whether you look out over the copper-crowned mountains of the west or the mirrored waters of Bear Lake, to all Utahns in every corner of this state and anywhere in between, in every one of our 255 cities and towns, to Utahns of every race, background, and creed, to the young and the young at heart, we must build.

Today, we can renew our forebears' tradition of true grit.

Generations of Utah entrepreneurs and leaders have fought through unfavorable conditions and built in the face of cynicism.

In time, those efforts turned Utah into what's now known as the best state in the country to start a business, the number one state for social mobility, the state where young people can still out-earn the prior generation, and the number state overall.

In short, the place where the American dream still means something.

And yet, we are not satisfied.

There are those who would see us turn into what so many other parts of the country have become, where ambition and building have died.

You see, Utah's values used to be American values.

For much of the 20th century, the United States led the world in infrastructure, housing, and technology.

We built roads, bridges, and homes at an unprecedented pace.

We harnessed our industrial might to win world wars and stopped fascism.

We stood as a bulwark against communism.

Strong families, neighborhoods, and communities were the foundation of this era of growth.

Sadly, over the past couple of decades, a tragic gap has formed between American ideals and our actions.

Negativity and inertia have replaced America's culture of building.

We stopped building infrastructure as a tangle of overregulation, outdated permitting processes, and entrenched NIMBYism fed by special interests and bureaucracies block the projects we desperately need.

We stopped building technology, ceding far too much of our manufacturing, industry, critical minerals, and energy production to our adversaries.

And worst of all, we stopped building resilient people.

For decades, families have been under attack.

The mental and physical health of our teens is threatened daily by large social media companies.

Our national birth rate is in steep decline and demographic concerns now present one of the gravest threats to our shared future, all while deaths of despair have skyrocketed.

But not here, at least not yet.

Utah is still an outlier.

Utah has stayed weird in the best possible way.

Here, we still believe that our greatest achievements lie not in our own success, but in that of our children and grandchildren and the communities we build.

Our hope is that they can grow up in a land of freedom, where they're safe, where their God-given rights are fiercely protected, where their opportunities are as boundless as their imaginations, and where they can get an education, get married, and have families of their own that live near us, but not always with us.

(audience laughs) Utah may be one of the last places in America that still believes these words of Teddy Roosevelt: "Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."

From thousands of conversations that I have had with Utahns across the state, I know this: Utah is not done dreaming.

We're not done doing big things and we are not done building.

Now, I recognize that when I talk about building, some people get a little nervous.

Some might even argue that we've blossomed a little too much.

I often hear valid concerns about our growth.

The warnings are stark.

One example, a Deseret News headline warned, "Resources of the State Unable to Support More Growth."

In that article, experts and civil engineers made it clear that Utah just doesn't have enough water to sustain more growth.

And they forcefully cautioned of, quote, a "rebuke by nature" and threat of significant loss.

Even my special Sanpete County is being overrun.

One article noted that, because of intense resource scarcity, some farms have shut down and families have moved away.

Times, as the median experts have warned, are indeed bleak.

But I guess this is the part where I tell you that the Deseret News headline wasn't from today, but was actually printed in 1942 when our population was 580,000 people.

Oh, and that Sanpete County article came from 1867.

(audience laughs) How is it possible that our state added an additional three million people, six times more than 1942, while also improving the quality of life?

And is it possible to do again?

While the answer is simple, it's not necessarily easy.

We must build.

History teaches us that in Utah when we are united and act together, we have always found a way past pessimistic prognostications.

For 180 years and counting, Utahns have been building our way out of problems even when things looked impossible.

And as so often is the case, we can find answers and inspiration by looking back.

Let me share three stories that illustrate what it has meant to build infrastructure, technology, and people here in Utah.

As a child, John Rowe Moyle learned the craft of stonemasonry from his father in England.

His family immigrated to the U.S., and in 1856, they pulled hand carts west to Utah.

John was asked to put his stone-cutting skills to work to help build Temple Square.

Now, he had a long commute.

From his farm in Alpine, John would leave his home at two o'clock in the morning every Monday, embarking on a six-hour walk to ensure he was at his post on time.

Then every Friday evening, after a full week of work, he would begin the long journey home, leaving at five o'clock and walking nearly until midnight to reunite with his family.

He repeated this grueling routine week after week, year after year.

Then one day, John was kicked by a cow.

Some of us knows what that feels like, except this was worse.

He suffered a devastating compound fracture of his leg.

Without access to medical care, they had no choice but to strap him to a door and amputate his leg near the knee.

Undeterred, John carved a wooden leg for himself.

Using the wooden leg, he taught himself to walk again.

Though extremely painful, he built up his strength and was soon able to make the 22-mile journey to Temple Square every week, as he had before.

He saw the project completed in 1893.

Our state's motto is industry.

John lived it, like many generations before us who poured their literal blood, sweat, and tears into building the infrastructure we rely on today.

By the way, you can actually go visit the DUP Museum across the street and see that carved wooden leg.

I almost brought it tonight, but I thought that would be a little weird.

(audience laughs) But only to teach Dan McCay a lesson.

(audience laughs) When it comes to building technology, it's hard not to think of Philo Farnsworth.

Born in 1906, Philo was a farm boy who collected issues of Science and Invention magazines.

At 11 years old, his parents took him to Salt Lake City.

He marveled at the electric street lamps, the steady hum of automobile traffic, and the web of telephone and power lines that connected a modern world.

Philo dreamed of building technology that would change the world too.

And it seems unbelievable, but at just 14 years old, he stunned his family and teachers by sketching out the basic design for the world's first electronic television system, an idea sparked while tilling fields on the family farm.

A year later, tragedy struck and his father passed away.

Philo became a primary provider for his family.

All of this took time away from his scientific pursuits, but with great perseverance, Philo ultimately turned his ingenious sketches into reality, changing the world forever by creating the world's first fully functional television.

Philo built technology not only when it was easy, but when it was hard.

That's Utah.

Now, we also know how to build great people too.

In 1940, Alben and Gunda Borgstrom said farewell to their two oldest sons, Boyd and Clyde, as they went off to serve our country in World War II.

As was customary for the time, Mrs. Borgstrom hung a service flag in her window in Thatcher, Utah, a flag with a white field and a red border.

Two blue stars were sewn in the middle.

In 1942, she added another blue star for her son Leroy, who joined the military as a medic.

The following year she added two more blue stars for her twin boys Rolon and Rulon.

They were just 18.

She anxiously awaited the return of her five boys.

In her own words, "The nightmare began on March 17th, 1944.

I answered the door and there was the Western Union man with a telegram for me."

Clyde was the first to lose his life in the war effort.

The service flag in the window of the Borgstrom home, once adorned with only blue stars, now carried one overlaid with gold, a sad symbol that everyone of that era understood.

Just a few short weeks later, another telegram turned a second blue star to gold.

Leroy, the medic, had died while saving a fellow soldier in Italy.

Then it was Rolon, whose bomber crashed in England.

Another star changed to gold.

Finally, Rulon, who died in France.

A fourth gold star.

The unthinkable, four of Mrs. Borgstrom's five deployed sons had died at war within six months.

She became the only four-star gold mother of World War II.

Her grief was immeasurable.

And yet, in this valley of despair, Mrs. Borgstrom went on a national radio broadcast to help raise money for the war effort.

She offered words of hope to a shaken nation: "I want to send a mother's prayer to all the boys tonight," she said.

"We here at home are proud of you boys and we hope that God will bless and protect you through this fearful war."

It was one of the most successful war bond efforts ever.

In her moment of greatest need, she was out serving others.

A funeral was held in Garland, and Mr. Borgstorm told the Army commander of the western U.S. that he would ask for no exceptions in the conscription of his youngest son who still lived with them.

He was 19, the same age as the twins when they died.

"When his country needs him, he will go."

Now, some members of the Borgstrom family are here with us tonight, and I would ask that they please stand and you give them a round of applause.

(audience applauds) You see, these are the kind of people we build in Utah.

Even when life forces us through more than we can seemingly bear, we build.

And so today, we are at a fork in the road.

We can either press forward with our pioneer spirit, our grit, our industry, and our faith, and build the next great chapter of Utah's story, or we can be washed away in the negative, nationwide malaise of dysfunction.

But remember this, the blood of John Moyle, Philo Farnsworth, and the Borgstroms is the same blood that courses through our veins.

Their DNA is our DNA.

Today, serving side-by-side with legislators here, I'm proposing bold action and building in five key areas.

First, housing attainability.

We are reforming the regulatory regime, supporting more single-family construction and fast-tracking approval processes.

Through the Utah First Homes program, we will build 35,000 starter homes in five years.

The greatest generation did this after World War II, and we can do it again.

Thank you to Senator Fillmore and Representative Whyte for leading out on what will surely be the defining issue of the next several decades.

Second, energy abundance.

We're laying groundwork for advanced nuclear reactors while protecting national security by building capacity to be a net energy exporter through Operation Gigawatt.

Together, we will unleash Utah's immense energy resources and drive prices down, all while making our grid more secure and reliable.

Thank you, President Adams, Senator Sandall, Senator Millner, Speaker Schultz, Representative Albrecht, and Representative Jack, among many others here tonight, for your work to unleash Utah energy.

Third, infrastructure and permitting reform.

We recently celebrated the construction phase of a new transmission line in our state that took the federal government 15 years to approve.

Fortunately, we finally have a federal administration willing to work with us to fix this national embarrassment.

In the meantime, we will continue to lead the nation by streamlining Utah's processes while maintaining environmental stewardship.

Thank you, Representative Clancy, for your partnership to rightsize the permitting process for critical infrastructure projects.

Fourth, community safety and support.

We're implementing public safety reforms that balance accountability with compassion.

Our innovative homeless initiatives are showing results.

We're demonstrating that we can have both security and dignity, and we are not shy in declaring that is what all Utahns deserve.

Thank you, Representative Lisonbee, for leading efforts on the issue of public safety.

And finally, family strength.

It's a bit embarrassing that we are one of only eight states that still taxes social security benefits, and I am determined to see this tax eliminated, putting money back into the pockets of our beloved senior Utahns.

It's time.

Check that, it's way past time.

I appreciate so many of you who share this commitment to eliminate the social security tax.

Senator Harper, Representative Brooks, and Representative Christofferson, thank you for your help in this effort.

And I am so proud that Utah has led a weary nation in protecting the youngest amongst us by empowering parents who want to shield their children from predatory social media practices.

But there is more that must be done.

We must rethink data privacy and portability.

So thank you Representatives Fiefia, Moss, and Teuscher and Senator Cullimore for your continued efforts in this area.

And Senator McKell too.

(audience laughs) Ladies and gentlemen, we must get phones out of schools.

Thank you Senator Fillmore for leading the way.

Let's always remember this truth: when families win, Utah wins.

I commit that my administration will do all in our power to unlock the power of building here.

But we must never forget, as I stated in my inaugural address two weeks ago, that our government is not what makes Utah great.

It's our people.

Faith, family, and community.

Moms and dads, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors.

There never has been, nor will there ever be another replacement.

Mostly, I want to make sure that our government stays off your back and out of your way so that we do not block the good that I know you are eager to do.

And in this process, if we all do our part, I know that we'll build on the legacy of Utah's best, people like the Borgstroms.

Just yesterday in this very room, the Utah House of Representatives, led by representative Tom Peterson, passed unanimously a resolution that will rename Highway 102, which runs through Tremonton and the old Borgstrom family farm in Thatcher.

It will soon be known as the Borgstrom Brothers Highway.

In the eulogy at the Borgstrom brothers' funeral, their high school principal said this, "So long as our land has in it such families as the Borgstrom family, and such boys as these boys who lie before us, America will not perish from the Earth."

And so, like those who went before us, and despite any obstacles in our path, we must build.

Built here means remembering that every bridge, building, and breakthrough started with someone who refused to accept impossibility.

Built here means rejecting false choices, like building thousands of new homes and maintaining our quality of life.

Built here means being unrelentingly impatient in our pursuit to make this a happier place to live because we know that success is not inevitable, it is earned.

Built here means axing every tax that we can so that our people can put more money in their hard-earned pockets to work in providing for their families and chasing their dreams.

Built here means rejecting conflict entrepreneurs, who would weaponize our attention and energy and destroy that which makes us special.

Built here means supporting the free people of Utah in finding their own way to build, whether it's a business, a farm, or a family.

Built here means making Utah inclusive to every lawful newcomer while fiercely guarding the proven values that make us proud and peculiar.

Built here means still doing the big things, the hard things in our lives and this legislative session.

Built here means not forsaking our ideals when we fall short of them, but dusting ourselves off, improving what we can, and narrowing the eternal gap between the isness and the oughtness in ourselves and the world around us.

Built here means giving our kids and grandkids an inspiring story to tell about our time so that 180 years from now, our descendants can look back at us with the pride and gratitude and reverence that we feel in our hearts today.

Utah, we must build.

May God bless us, our nation, and this great state as we build together.

Thank you.

(audience applauds) - If you're just joining us, this is live coverage from PBS Utah and KUER News of Governor Spencer Cox's State of the State Address.

We are interrupting our normal programming to bring you this special coverage online and over the air on television and radio.

We now turn to a prerecorded message from Democratic leadership in the Utah House and Senate for their response to the governor's address.

(pleasant music) - I am Senator Luz Escamilla, senate democratic leader in the Utah State Senate, and I'm honored to stand with my friend and colleague, leader of the House of the Democratic Caucus, Representative Angela Romero.

We are approaching a challenging legislative session and we're doing it with determination and resolve.

We remain committed to protecting the rights and dignity of all Utahns, not just some.

We will push back on reactionary policies that are punitive to working families and we will fight for solutions that uplift all communities and we'll address the real challenges Utahns face every day.

We will safeguard the constitutional rights of Utahns, ensuring due process, freedom of speech, and the values that our state and nation are built upon.

- Today, Senator Escamilla and I are standing in the halls of the beautiful Utah Capitol.

This building belongs to all of us, and the critical legislation that we will be debating and passing in the coming weeks could significantly impact your everyday life.

We encourage you to engage in the legislative process by contacting your legislator, visiting the Capitol, and attending committee meetings.

You can even do this online at le.utah.gov.

Your involvement is essential as we push back against the extreme policies that have impacted our state in recent years.

- Our democracy functions best when we are all involved and when the checks and balances between the three branches of government and separation of powers are respected and upheld.

Democrats are committed to protecting the judiciary, ensuring it remains independent and fair.

By standing up against efforts to weaken judicial power, we aim to preserve Utah's democratic values and the rule of law.

- Utah public lands are filled with natural beauty, cultural heritage, and recreational opportunities.

I feel a profound connection to the public lands that hold the history and spirituality of my ancestors.

By keeping public lands in public hands, we safeguard wildlife habitats, support outdoor recreation, and maintain the natural landscapes that define Utah's unique character.

Over the next decade, it is crucial for Utah to invest in renewable energy sources.

By harnessing the power of wind, solar, and geothermal energy, not further investing in coal fire power plants, we can reduce our dependency on diminishing resources while protecting our environment and creating a resilient, sustainable energy infrastructure for generations to come.

- As a state who values families, we must do better.

The cost of living crisis is also impacting Utah's ability to afford basic necessities, including feeding their families.

Currently, one in six children in Utah faces food insecurity.

No child and no family should have to worry about where their next meal will come from.

By advancing policies that ensure access to nutritious, affordable food and investing in programs that support our local food producers, we can build stronger, healthier communities.

- Utah's economy is often praised, yet so many of our hardworking families feel left behind by the increasing cost of living and housing.

Creating common sense improvements to our density policies and decreasing the cost of housing will help Utahns build a stronger foundation for their families, careers, and long-term prosperity.

- Utah has one of the biggest childcare deserts in the nation with families unable to find affordable license and high-quality childcare for their children.

By prioritizing accessible, affordable childcare, we can support Utah families.

We will also strengthen our economy and uphold the values that make our state strong.

Every child in the classroom today represents our future.

Well-funded schools empower our children, strengthen our workforce, and give every student the chance to succeed.

We are committed to investing in public education, opposing vouchers that serve only a few and supporting our colleges and universities as they shape Utah's future leaders.

- I've seen the impact of homelessness in my own district and neighborhood, a problem that is growing across our state and our nation.

As the legislature, it is our responsibility to provide proper resources, not to let communities and people suffer.

Rather than criminalizing those among us who are experiencing homelessness, we must break the cycle of housing instability, incarceration, trauma, and addiction.

- Public safety in our neighborhoods and communities is a top priority for Utahns and for our caucuses.

Democrats have always led the way in addressing public safety issues.

We are committed to evidence-based, data-driven approaches and collaborative practices with our law enforcement agencies to ensure safety for all.

We are committed to holding all criminals accountable regardless of their background.

Conflating public safety with immigration is misguided.

Our national immigration crisis needs to be resolved by Congress.

As we continue to work through public safety challenges through proven effective strategies, we will not be taking the easy road of scapegoating and blaming one community for the collective problems we face together.

We will confront all public safety issues with meaningful solutions, not by leveraging them for political advantages.

- Many Utahns worry about the impacts of mass deportation policies.

It is crucial for our state leaders to uphold fairness and compassion, protecting the rights of all residents regardless of status.

Utah has long been a place of opportunity and inclusion.

Our policies must reflect these values, ensure justice and respect for everyone.

Utah's true strength comes from its people.

Our rich diversity of experiences, background, and ideas make our state exceptional.

Together, we can build a Utah that embraces and welcomes all, where everyone feels a sense of belonging and has the opportunity to prosper.

- Let us work toward a Utah that reflects and celebrates the stories and contributions of every individual.

United, we can create a more inclusive and equitable future for all Utahns.

Join us in this effort.

Get involved, speak up, and help shape the Utah we all deserve.

- Once again, if you're just joining us, this is live coverage from PBS Utah and KUER News of Governor Spencer Cox's 2025 State of the State Address, as well as the response from Democratic leadership in the Utah Legislature.

Whether you're joining us online or through one of our over-the-air signals, we thank you.

We now turn to the political experts from PBS Utah and KUER for some analysis.

Joining me in studio, we have Jason Perry, host of the Hinckley Report and director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah; Saige Miller, politics reporter with KUER and co-host of the State Street podcast; and Sean Higgins, also a politics reporter with KUER and co-host of the State Street podcast.

This speech tonight certainly had a theme.

By my count, some derivative of the word build was used about 40 times.

- [Saige] That's close, I got 38.

- Saige, you got 38.

Okay.

(Sean laughs) Sean, I'm curious, how does using this word, talking about this theme so much, how does that relate to the priorities we've heard the governor talking about so much over these past several months?

- Well, we heard it right out of the governor's mouth.

We must build and we must build it all.

We saw housing and nuclear energy infrastructure, public safety systems here in the state of Utah and more resilient people.

I think when it comes down to the raw numbers of how this relates to what we're gonna see out of the legislature, we saw Spencer Cox repeat that audacious goal of 35,000 starter homes in the state of Utah by 2030.

We're hearing that there may be some legislation that specifically address making it easier to build more condominiums, more owner-occupied condominiums, as opposed to some of these high-rise apartment buildings we're seeing particularly along the Wasatch Front.

But there's also a local component to that as well, that is kind of out of the legislature's hands.

A lot of these building decisions are in the hands of these local municipalities, in their city councils, county councils, and planning commissions.

And if those smaller bodies are not on board with what the governor and the legislature want to do, we kind of go nowhere.

So as far as that is concerned, I think housing will be the biggest thing.

As the governor said, it'll be the number one issue in the foreseeable future for us.

- Jason, a lot of these goals, obviously they require buy-in from the legislature, they require lawmakers to actually pass a bill, allocate funding.

From a political standpoint and from someone who has served as a chief of staff to a former governor, what is happening behind the scenes?

When a governor has his list of goals, he's working with the legislature to make them happen, we have the legislative session ahead of us, what is that dance that has to happen?

- Well, it is a bit of a dance and they're trying to establish their priorities right now.

What's interesting, as you see from the governor, as we'll see from the legislature, and we even saw from the democratic response, there are some very real challenges to growth in the state of Utah.

We're a resilient state, the governor talked about some historical context on that, but the growing pains that we have continued to feel over the years have to be fixed in new ways.

And it's gonna require all of them together to come to those.

When it comes to things like infrastructure, as Sean talked about, even getting into nuclear energy, these small modular nuclear reactors, there is a core theme that seems to be kinda consistent with all of these groups.

And they're gonna have to work together on them 'cause these growth issues are not going away and it's what they're hearing from their constituents time and time again.

So the bills that are coming out right now are sort of centered around those.

They'll be adapted just a little bit, but it's interesting to see a common theme, which means we're probably gonna give something to happen.

- And just to add on that, I would add that, when they're looking at energy, I would say sometimes even leadership in the legislature is being a little bit more ambitious since Spencer Cox's.

We heard Senate President Stuart Adams say during his opening speech on the Senate floor that he wants to triple energy production by 2050.

And Spencer Cox wants to double it.

And so he wants to put in a lot of resources to not just be able to sustain Utah's power grid and give power to everybody's homes and to power AI data centers and things like that, but he also wants to be able to export that form of energy, which is gonna cause a lot of innovation in the state.

But what they're also looking at doing is wanting to bolster kind of those programs that kind of lead in STEM in our public universities and colleges of wanting to reinvest and reallocate certain funding to build more engineers, to build more contractors, to build more construction workers, to make these ideas come alive more so as well.

It's mostly kind of focusing on what are the groundwork can we set now in order to make it easier in the future to continue to go with the theme "build off of one another?"

- It's interesting, he almost sort of put this as Utah as the counterexample to the rest of the country, which I think is interesting.

All these platform ideas that he put forward kinda try to show that we are unique in many ways.

And I think he's trying to show that we can export this model and maybe it's our own little laboratory right now here in the state of Utah where we are sort of unique in many ways.

- In a lot of ways it is interesting what the governor said and what the minority caucus leader said.

They're talking about the same issues, but approaching them from different angles.

Sean, how much appetite are you seeing on the hill for compromise, for bipartisanship?

- I think on a lot of what we heard from the governor tonight, the Democrats will be largely in favor of.

I think speaking with members of the minority when it comes to Utah's rapid growth, it's hard to argue with the economic numbers that Utah has put up these rankings that are the envy of the rest of the country.

But the question the Democrats are asking is, "Who might be being left behind by some of this?

Are we focusing too much on this rapid growth that there are people who are struggling that we're just forgetting are there sometimes?

And is that born out in the homelessness problem that is now a central topic in a lot of cities across the state?

Is it part of this education discussion we're having right now?"

And I think Democrats, if I could put a fine point on it, Democrats are, I would say very much in favor of a lot of what we heard tonight.

Maybe a little reluctant to be as pedal to the metal as some in the legislature would like to be.

- We heard a lot of different themes, and so I'd like to dig into some of those themes.

Maybe talk about what we're seeing on the hill over these next, you know, the session runs 45 days over these next several weeks.

And then kind of that counterbalance between what the governor is pushing for, what Republican leadership in the House and Senate may be saying.

And on the other side, what the minority leadership may be saying.

So on housing, Sean, you mentioned this earlier, the Utah First Homes program, that is something that Governor Cox has really pushed for, talked about a lot, 35,000 starter homes in the next five years.

And then on the flip side, Representative Romero called for common sense solutions to density policies.

Are the two sides working together on this issue in an impactful way?

- I think yes.

Big picture, yes.

The differences come down into those- - Minute details.

- Minute details of how it gets done.

I talked about the local component of this.

There's only so much the state can do when it comes to land use authority.

That is, by law, in the hands of local governments, what happens on the land that they own.

So when it comes to these common sense solutions to density, you hear a lot of talk in cities like Salt Lake and more dense population centers in the state, is we gotta go up, not out.

Salt Lake County is largely built out.

We can't really sprawl as much as we have in past decades.

There is a little bit of space to still do that, but largely where people are living and working, there's not any more space to build.

So we gotta go up.

And I think that's what Democrats are talking about when they talk about these common sense solutions.

I know there's been a lot of work on these housing and transit reinvestment zones in the legislature over the last couple years, maybe giving some tax breaks to municipalities who decide to build multi-use housing and businesses near transit hubs.

I think that's definitely a common sense solution that both parties can get behind.

I think the big picture, there's a lot to agree on, but those tiny little details.

And I think that that pull between rural and urban is really going to come to a head in this discussion about housing.

- I'm also kind of curious to see in this discussion how much they really do look to municipalities or they kinda wanna hop over them a little bit.

This idea of zoning and what kind of housing can be placed where, whether that's density or single family, how big can they be, have been a real hindrance, especially when you have these communities that don't necessarily want certain kinds of housing in their neighborhood.

The governor pointed it out, right?

NIMBYism is what it's called.

I wonder if the legislature is going to do something around kind of jumping over municipalities to say, "Hey, we're gonna change some zoning laws, we can get this done."

I think they're gonna have to start being a little bit more aggressive.

They have this goal of 35,000 starter homes, but I'm questioning do they have all the places where they're gonna put those $35,000 starter homes?

Are the cities on board with those starter homes or are they gonna have to make some policy changes at the state level that is going to take away some power from the local level, which they've done before in the past when it comes to housing.

But when they're looking at the minority side, I think when they're looking at housing too, they're looking at a lot of renters.

A lot of people right now, it's not attainable to own a home.

Spencer Cox said, "Well, families, our generation, Gen Z and Millennials, are perhaps making more money than their families or than their parents.

They're still living at home.

He made that very clear that we want them to have their own home, but maybe just like not with us.

Those homes aren't necessarily available now.

So we're not seeing the dollar stretch as far.

And I think if anything, there's legislation from the Democrats that are looking around what renting.

Giving you more notice if your rent's going up, as a good example.

But those ports of legislation have never passed.

They always get curtailed.

- To your question, I think both sides are compatible in terms of what the direction is they're trying to go.

What's interesting to me is just how interconnected these issues are.

So we talk about the housing piece right there, and it's true the local municipalities have a lot to say about that.

But I think part of the speech, and I think where our legislature is going is trying to say in order to accomplish even that there have to be these, you know, there's what the governor's talking about, these pro-business policies, deregulation, the ability to try to get some of this done.

You might be tempted to sort of compartmentalize this just a little bit, but the truth is the system itself has to be a little bit unique or be thought of in a new way, which is I think what the governor was trying to say with some of these.

But I know for sure, legislative leadership is looking at it.

If you wanna impact this, this is kinda how the economy works, you wanna impact this one particular area, sometimes there's these things on the other side that either help it or herd it.

It's gotta be a fairly unique approach.

- I think Jason is absolutely right.

Housing in particular pulls on so many of these threads we heard tonight.

I'm just thinking the most obvious ones to me are energy and infrastructure.

Saige, you were talking about all the places to build these homes.

According to the governor, there are lots to build these, but they're not very near much many other things.

You have to get power out there, you have to get water out there.

Those are infrastructure problems.

How do we power these places?

How are we gonna build the infrastructure to power all of these new homes?

You start pulling on these strings, all of a sudden ripple effects go throughout the system.

And if your ducks aren't in a row, there's gonna be some rocky road ahead.

- Just one more comment.

People don't really realize this, but session after session, the amount of times that the Democrats and the Republicans are voting sort of unanimously is over 80% of the time.

There are these very distinct differences in how we get there, but that's just an important point right there, is the interests are for the good of the state of Utah, and mostly they're together.

- One area where there seems to be a bit of difference potentially is in energy.

The governor and Speaker Schultz seem very interested in an all of the above approach.

Looking at new technologies like nuclear, these small reactors that Jason you mentioned earlier, but also not abandoning coal, kind of doubling down on it.

And that seems to be in opposition to what Representative Romero said in the video, calling for investing in more renewable sources, saying it may be a mistake to double down on coal.

Are Democrats going to have a voice when this issue is talked about if they're coming at it from those polarizing ways?

- I think they do definitely have a voice.

But the dynamics of a super majority and a super minority working together are very interesting.

You'll see Democrats not necessarily obstructing bills.

Maybe trying to get an amendment here or there in a bill to maybe get some of their interests taken care of, but as it pertains to this conversation about energy, yes, Utah says it's an all of the above approach.

We had a lot of bills last year that dealt specifically with the coal industry.

You talk with anyone who knows anything about energy markets, the market is moving toward renewables, and there will be a point where coal is just not feasible anymore.

Coal and natural gas, maybe not so much natural gas, but coal definitely will be just not feasible anymore.

So Utah, it behooves Utah to invest early into these emerging technologies, whether it's geothermal in Delta, or, we don't have a nuclear reactor yet, but there's a proof of concept project in Kemmerer, Wyoming which could prove out, and maybe some of that similar technology could come down here to Utah.

But the nuclear discussion, it is incredibly expensive to build and it is a little bit of an unproven technology, at least in the United States.

- I was gonna say, we do have a nuclear reactor here on campus at the University of Utah.

(Sean laughs) So the one place where there's sort of a test bed right there where I think some of this is going to come.

And to your question, I think the Democrats are gonna have a say.

But I think the winner this time will be the all of the above approach is what we're gonna see from our legislature.

'Cause they're not just tying it to our growth, they're tying it to our interest in AI and our ability to kinda stay competitive across the country.

- I will say kind of with the energy as well, as I think the Democrats recognize that they're gonna have to compromise a lot.

They don't have a lot of room to wiggle and they're not gonna get some of their grandiose, more progressive bills passed by the super majority.

But I do wonder, especially when it comes to energy, and burning coal specifically, we heard Senate President Stuart Adams talk about yesterday how they do have an appetite to want to make coal more clean.

And that is something that I think the Democrats can absolutely get on board with.

If they're not going to stop doing coal altogether, what can we do at least to make the air a little bit better?

We know air quality is a big issue and that's a big topic of discussion for the Democrats as well.

Is there something that they can sneak in one way or another that, if we're gonna keep this one thing, can we at least make it a little bit healthier for our communities surrounding us?

I do think that's one of the things that they're gonna bring up as well, is kind of finding these little areas to compromise, similar to what Sean said, where they're still sticking to their base, they're helping their constituents, but recognize that they're not gonna win it all.

- The speech tonight is the governor's first public address since President Donald Trump took office for his second term.

In what ways is the new administration in Washington do you think, Jason, influencing the legislature and Cox's administration here at home?

- Yeah, well, we've already seen a few pieces of legislation emerge that seem to be aligned with some of the executive orders that came out of Washington, D.C. You had things dealing with gender, things dealing with DEI, even some issues dealing with immigration, just to name a couple of those things.

Some of those changes that are happening in Washington, D.C. are already showing up here in the state of Utah.

Governor Cox is closely associated with that transition.

So even there during the inauguration time.

And I think we're gonna see bills come forward that are aligned with what's happening in Washington, D.C.

I think it'll be its own Utah twist on some of these things, but some consistent themes.

- It was interesting to hear the governor say in his speech, "I want Utah to be inclusive for every lawful newcomer."

And then the Democrats in their response to say, you know, warning about conflating public safety with the immigration issue.

And that's certainly a talking point that has been all over the national news, certainly within the Trump campaign as he was running for the White House.

Sean, how do you see those dynamics playing out here in the beehive state?

- I see that conversation around immigration and what the Republicans are calling their public safety bills as the biggest pain point of this session, at least right now.

I spoke with Representative Romero when the Republicans first laid these out, and she was very clear and didn't miss words and didn't miss words tonight that you cannot conflate immigration and public safety because it casts a shadow over an entire community.

And they are fearing going back to the days where they felt hunted, for lack of a better term, in their words because of where they came from and maybe perhaps how they got here.

You hear the Democrats talk a lot about how mixed-status families are feeling right now.

We had the effort by President Trump, we'll see where it it it goes, but to end birthright citizenship in the 14th Amendment.

- Currently on a stay- - Currently on a stay, yes.

And talking with some of the Republicans, Governor Cox said in one of his news conferences that at least he personally has no interest in going after people whose only crime is coming here illegally.

They would have to do something on top of that.

I spoke with a House Republican who was a big crafter of some of these public safety bills.

And they said they haven't had any formal conversations about what their caucus stands on any of that.

But I think when it comes down to it, the big most stark differences we'll see this session will be between Republicans and Democrats on the issue of immigration.

- And it really does kind of seem to be a campaign talking point on this idea of immigration as well.

During interim committee hearings, we had the Department of Public Safety come in and kind of give us some crime statistics.

And they said the vast majority, over 90% of the crime committed in Utah is home born.

It's not people coming here from out of the country and committing crimes.

And so I think a little part of the concern that you see from the Democrats is focusing on one community when the vast majority of the problem is from within the inside.

And I think that's where they get a little uneasy about maybe the finger-pointing or the isolation of certain groups when we see the majority of drug trafficking happening with Utah born citizens, it's not from individuals who came out of the country or here illegally.

I think there's gonna be some interesting conversations in the legislature.

There are some pretty pointed bills related to people who have migrated here, whether that be taxing a pretty high tax on wire transfers, or e-verification for jobs, or increasing penalties, or people who are not here legally being deported the moment they get out of a Utah state penitentiary.

Those haven't really come to fruition yet.

We've only been in session for three days.

(laughs) Those will be some of the most robust debates once we finally get those bills in front of committee.

- You mentioned three days into the session.

The session runs a total of 45 business days.

In our final couple of minutes, I'd like to hear from each of you what are some of the big issues that we maybe haven't talked about yet, but that you're looking to come up in the session?

- Well, we've talked a lot about what I think we're gonna see legislative-wise.

Since I'm at University of Utah, I'll say a lot of emphasis continuing to go on higher education, from how we teach to how we're funded, to degree programs that sort of benefit the economy.

Just today, that was the topic of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee.

That is gonna continue to be the case going forward.

Pay a lot of attention to what happens to education, higher education in particular.

- I'm always looking at two things.

I'm looking at LGBTQ issues, a lot of social issues.

We already had one go through committee today that specifically dealt with, what did it deal with?

Oh, my gosh, I just forgot.

- [Jason] Dorm rooms.

- Yeah, it dealt with transgender students living in specific dorm rooms.

But additionally I think a big topic of conversation that is gonna get a lot of waves when the bills come to fruition, start going into committee, is elections.

The leadership is looking at a lot of election reforms and specifically one that Speaker Mike Schultz talked about today during media availability is voter ID laws.

A bill that you have to show your ID before you drop off your ballot to make sure that you are a voter.

I think that's gonna get a lot of attention.

And then also perhaps changing who oversees elections has been a big topic of conversation as well.

- Sean, in our final 10 or so seconds, anything you're watching?

- I would say ditto to everything that was said here.

The one thing that we didn't really touch on tonight was homelessness.

We had that big announcement from Salt Lake City on their homelessness plan, how the legislature plans to support that, or maybe alter that, maybe some bills coming down on some statewide resources there.

- All right, thank you all for joining us tonight.

And thank you for watching PBS Utah and KUER for live coverage and analysis of the 2025 State of the State Address.

Be sure to join both our stations for ongoing coverage and analysis of the legislative session on the Hinckley Report, State Street podcast, and KUER News.

I'm Kelton Wells, and have a good night.

(jubilant music)