Legislative session 2025

Julie Fullmer
Jan 20
3 min read

The legislature will begin its session tomorrow, January 21 2025!

The Governor’s budget was released, and the House of Representatives and the Senate – put in place their priorities to set the session's tone and begin legislative business.

Once the opening ceremonies and formalities have concluded, the appropriation subcommittees will convene on Wednesday. Their primary focus will be to discuss the base budget bills, which consist of the ongoing state funding that forms a significant portion of the state budget. Additionally, they will deliberate on any potential budget cuts or reallocations pertaining to these bills.

The Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee has now split into two appropriations committees – the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) and the General Government Appropriations Subcommittee. -M. Cox

Sara Cameron is Vineyard's City Council member on the Utah League of Cities and Towns Legislative Policy Committee. We will be spending time at the Capitol together, tracking bills and advocating for Vineyard.

"The House and Senate also recently announced legislative committee assignments. Representative Kay Christofferson will be chairing the House Transportation Committee, with Representative Ariel Defay as Vice Chair, while Senator Wayne Harper will continue to Chair Senate Transportation."-M Cox.

Speaker Schultz has reiterated the importance of prudent fiscal management in light of the projected modest revenues for FY26. The Governor also prioritized state agencies cuts to ensure responsible financial practices. In the wake of the base budget deliberations, the appropriation subcommittees will lend an ear to the funding requests put forth by state agencies and community stakeholders. These requests may pertain to either one-time or ongoing appropriations. The subcommittees will meticulously assess and prioritize these requests before forwarding them to the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) for further consideration.

This occurs during the initial phase of the legislative session. In the latter half of the session, the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) finalized funding decisions. This entails carefully deliberating on the funding requests that have been vetted and recommended by the appropriation subcommittees. Additionally, the EAC will draft supplemental appropriation bills to address any new funding requirements that may arise during this phase of the legislative process.

Stay Informed IN Vineyard

Legislative affairs are already in motion. Tomorrow, more legislative bills will be introduced and numbered. These bills will be vetted, voted on, and forwarded to legislative standing committees.

The 45-day session moves fast, as is prepared throughout the whole year. Following along with these government affairs articles will give you a good overview of whats taking place.

Additionally, you can watch key legislation in the BILL TRACKER. There, you’ll find a brief bill summary and any positions taken on bills by the ULCT.

MIR C.- The Governor’s budget look-back highlights $4.6 billion in stable transportation investments over the past four years have put us in an excellent financial position to advance key projects today and in the years ahead. The ongoing funding provided through the state’s Transportation Investment Fund (TIF), Transit Transportation Investment Fund (TTIF), and Active Transportation Investment Fund (ATIF) provides stability in funding multimodal projects. Here are some of the key transportation funding highlights from the last several years that continue to keep Utah moving:

• (2021 GS) $1.1B in Transportation Infrastructure, including $333.6M to the double-tracking of FrontRunner and $35M for Active Transportation Projects.

• (2022 GS) $1.2B in Transportation Investment, including $721M to advance state road projects and $382M for transit projects like FrontRunner and Point of the Mountain.

• (2023 GS) Over $1B in Transportation Investment, including $800M in Transportation Debt Service to free up existing funds, and establishing the Active Transportation Investment Fund (ATIF) with $45M ongoing.

• (2024 GS) Over $1B in Transportation investment, including $330M ongoing to the Transit Transportation Investment Fund for Commuter Rail.

Reach out will any questions you may have. Mayor@vineyardutah.org