Utah lawmakers to consider hundreds of bills as 2022 legislative session begins

SALT LAKE CITY — This year’s legislative session is officially underway. Over the next 45 days, Utah lawmakers will consider more than 1,000 bills touching on COVID-19, taxes, water, transportation, affordable housing and more.

In the House of Representatives, Speaker Brad Wilson welcomed representatives to the 64^th legislature.

Wilson laid out what he called real and persistent challenges facing Utahns and told lawmakers they need to get to work.

And so it begins in the House. #utleg #utpol #ksltv pic.twitter.com/hN5mcl1uHV

— Tamara Vaifanua (@TamaraVaifanua) January 18, 2022

“Representatives, we have depleted hospital capacity across the state, and exhausted health care workers, there are supply chain interruptions and across the state there are workforce shortages. We live in a time when there’s widespread disagreement over government mandates; we live near a shrinking Great Salt Lake.”

A group called Save Our Great Salt Lake planned to protest outside the Utah Capitol Tuesday morning, but they held a ghost rally due to COVID-19.

They posted signs on the lawn calling on lawmakers to protect 2 million acre-feet annually.

Some Utahns voicing their concerns about the Great Salt Lake with this “ghost rally.” A group called, Save Our Great Salt Lake, says lawmakers aren’t doing enough to protect 2 million acre feet annually. #utleg #utpol #GreatSaltLake #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/3ZUXObcFCe

— Tamara Vaifanua (@TamaraVaifanua) January 18, 2022

“As a mom of two little kids, I want them to be able to have quality of life and to be able to enjoy what we all love about Utah and that’s not going to happen if we don’t have the Great Salt Lake,” said Krista Parry with Save Our Great Salt Lake.

Wilson said conservation efforts alone won’t be enough. He says now is the right time to optimize our resources to farmers and ranchers can get the most out of every drop.