ST. GEORGE — Southern Utah’s Sunshine Caucus came together at Dixie State University on Tuesday to share highlights of the recent legislative session and discuss certain policies and bills that came out of it.
State Reps. Brad Last, Lowry Snow, Travis Seegmiller and Walt Brooks and Sens. Don Ipson and Evan Vickers visited the university as a part of its “pizza and politics” forum. The caucus members hail from Washington County with the exception of Vickers who resides in Cedar City. His senate district covers parts of Washington, Iron and Beaver counties.
Both Last and Snow will be retiring from the Legislature at the end of the year.
Hosted by the school’s Institute of Politics, university students and members of the public got to hear the local legislators discuss what the passed legislation means for Dixie State and Southern Utah at large.
The 2022 legislative session ran from Jan. 18 to March 4. The Legislature passed over 500 bills with some providing funding for Dixie State building projects.
Legislative significance for Dixie State
“That’s a very exciting thing,” Last said as he referred to the school’s future general classroom building that the Legislature has committed $56 million toward. The building will feature 50 classrooms and accommodate over 2,150 students. It will also host nearly 100 faculty offices and study rooms. The new building will be erected in the middle of the Dixie State campus where the pavilion and volleyball courts are located.
In addition, university employees are likely to see raises thanks to the Legislature enacting a 5.7% wage increase for state employees, which includes those working for Dixie State. While not everyone is likely to see that much of an increase, it will still be “pretty significant,” Last said.
The Legislature has also enabled the university to bond for a new 500-bed, on-campus housing complex, Last added. Called Campus View Suites III, it will be built where the Nisson Towers currently stands. This is estimated to be a $62.5 million project.
Approximately $3 million was also allocated to the university to cover rebranding costs as the school transitions from Dixie State to Utah Tech.
Water
Water conservation turned out to be a prime topic of discussion as the Sunshine Caucus was asked about what the Legislature had done, and if it was enough.
Brooks answered first, saying Washington County was among one of the more water-conscious counties in the state. Water is a topic residents take very seriously, he said.
The Legislature is providing an estimated $500 million in funding to various water-related projects. This includes $40 million toward the shrinking Great Salt Lake. Closer to home, however, $10 million has been allocated to match the amount committed by local municipalities for a new reservoir to be constructed in the Graveyard Wash area of Santa Clara.
This reservoir will have a 21,000 acre-foot capacity and serve as a place where water reuse (also known as recycled water) can be stored. Anticipated to become a part of a regional water reuse system, water from the reservoir is intended to replace the drinking-quality water used to irrigate outdoor landscaping.
“It takes the burden off 6,100 homes that currently use culinary water for irrigation,” Brooks said.
Ipson added that he believed the new reservoir is “a big deal,” while Vickers called it “critical” to the region.
The Landscaping Requirement Amendments bill, designated HB 95 in the 2022 Legislature and aimed to restrict municipalities and homeowner associations from requiring residents to maintain a specific amount of lawn or turf, was also brought up during the discussion. While the bill failed to survive beyond its initial committee hearing, Seegmiller said he did not support the bill’s concept due to questions related to property rights.
Though the bill was intended to allow people the option to swap out current landscaping with something more water-friendly as a way to conserve water, Seegmiller said he felt the bill was too heavy-handed and didn’t find it appropriate for the government to have that type of control over a private entity like an HOA.
“It’s a coercive act of government,” he said. “I don’t feel comfortable with it.”
Snow said people need to remember that Utah is both the second driest state in the country and one of the fastest-growing. Because of this, having the right people in office who can help guide Utah into a sustainable, viable future will be critical, he said.
Year of the tax cut
This was has been called the “year of the tax cut” by Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton. During the legislative session, a $193 million tax cut was passed that was swiftly signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox.
The overall package dropped the income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.85%, which equates to a savings of some $100 a year for a family of four making $72,000. Elements of the bill also included an earned income tax credit and a Social Security tax credit.
Like this year, substantial tax cuts were made last year, and could be made again next year, Vickers said.
The tax cuts were made possible this year through the state having a large surplus of money available, which made it “the right time” for cutting taxes, Seegmiller said.
While some in opposition to the tax cuts said the money would be better spent on state social programs, others have said the cuts don’t go far enough.
Last said the state needs to be careful with the money it has gotten from the federal government.
Some $12 billion in federal funding has been pumped into the state economy via COVID-related measures, Last said. Because of this, it is hard for legislators and related parties to have a true idea of what the state’s base budget is, at least not until 2024 when the funds are set to run out.
At that point, if the Legislature has been prudent enough with that money, then any budget shortfalls will be minimal and not to the point taxes would have to be raised to make up for it, he said.
“We’ve tried to be very measured in what we did,” Last said.
Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2022 Utah Legislature here.
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