Things are good in Utah, but they could be better, according to its governor.
“The state of the state is strong, and I think most of us would even say the state of our state is outstanding,” said Gov. Gary Herbert during his 30-minute State of the State address Wednesday evening in the state House chamber.
Herbert highlighted the state’s economic recovery in the last six years.
The state’s economy has added 219,000 jobs since 2010. The unemployment rate in Utah fell from eight percent to three and a half percent, he said.
“Our economy is now the third most diverse. Income inequality is low. Our wage growth is up,” Herbert said.
But we can do even better, he added.
Herbert touched on jobs for rural Utah, education, air quality, water resources, health care, public lands, and reducing the size of government, during his address.
“A high quality of life should mean parents don’t have to watch their children leave and go to another town or another state because there are no jobs available where they live,” said Herbert. “Unfortunately, this is not the case in some of the rural areas of our state.”
He called on the Legislature to focus on these communities.
Herbert thanked the Legislature for its role in investing more than $1.3 billion of new money in education over the last four years.
“Education is the most important investment we can make in Utah’s future,” he said.
Air quality in Utah has improved, with a 35-percent reduction in emissions over the last 10 years, but Herbert wants more improvement.
“The data means very little when the inversion sets in and those emissions hang in the valleys,” he said.
The governor’s proposed budget also includes funds to find long-term solutions to water supply problems for Utah communities, he said.
In 2015, the state Legislature rejected Herbert’s proposal to spend $254 million of state money to capture $960 million in federal funds to provide health care coverage to people in a gap between assistance under the Affordable Care Act and being able to afford private insurance premiums.
Post-legislative discussions did not produce a compromise.
During his address, Herbert said he isn’t ready to give up on heath care for needy Utahns.
“On this issue of health care, let this be the session when Utah leads the way in finding the right state solution,” he said.
The federal government’s role in managing public lands in Utah concerns Herbert.
“The federal government still controls and mismanages too much of our backyard, and we live with the daily threat of a presidential monument declaration,” he said.
Herbert said he supports the Public Lands Initiative proposed by Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Mike Lee.
However, Herbert did not mention a lawsuit for control of federal land in Utah recommend by a Legislative-created public lands commission.
The lawsuit carries a potential $14 million price, according to the commission.
Herbert also highlighted his efforts to shrink state government.
Over the last five years the number of state employees has decreased by 11 percent, he said.
In addition, exhaustive review of administrative regulations has led to the modification or elimination of 368 state regulations, according to Herbert.
He announced that after reviewing every executive order signed by a Utah governor, he will repeal 52 executive orders.
He challenged the Legislature to work with his cabinet to find areas of state code that can be not just modified, but deleted altogether.
“We must streamline government today to allow the 21st century economy to continue growing uninhibited by outdated laws, rules and regulations,” Herbert said.
Herbert closed his annual address with an observation he said was based on the response of the people of Utah to Officer Doug Barney’s tragic death.
“As I watched Utahns mourn together, I realized something more important,” he said. “I realized the state of our state is strong because the state of our people has never been stronger.”