House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President Stuart Adams join the program.
(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) House Speaker Brad R. Wilson, R-Kaysville, cracks up when Rep. Scott Chew, R-Jensen, unaware of some technical changes to one of his bills, responds “motion to circle, I don’t know what the heck this is about!” Speaker Wilson responds “it’s your resolution, Rep. Chew!” cracking up. “Motion to concur?” Rep. Chew replies as the House bursts into laughter, showing signs of being punchy tired on the second to last day of the legislative session on Thursday, March 4, 2021.
| March 5, 2021, 1:09 p.m.
The 2021 Utah Legislature is winding down. During the last 45 days, lawmakers set the state’s $22 billion budget, which included more than $400 million in new education funding and more than $1 billion for transportation projects.
| Updated: 1:32 a.m.
Utah legislative leaders said the process of setting next year’s $21.7 billion budget was one of the easiest they’ve ever experienced. Having more than $1.5 billion in extra money to spend can help clear any roadblocks that pop up.
“This is probably the smoothest budgeting process I’ve seen in my nearly decade of doing budget negotiations with the Senate,” House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, told reporters Friday.
Last year, the unfolding coronavirus pandemic forced legislators to cut nearly $1 billion from the budget they had approved just a few months earlier. But, the economic damage from COVID-19 was not nearly as bad as they predicted.
The refusal by Utah Senate Republicans to sit on the Dixie State name change bill has led to an unexpected impasse in the final days of the 2021 Utah Legislature.