Gov. Cox touts tax cuts and explains calendar bill during town hall

Gov. Spencer Cox hosted a virtual town hall Tuesday where he spoke about why he signed a bill that made Utah public officials’ calendars private records and how the state plans to prepare for the potential of a MLB team, NHL team and the Olympic Games.

Cox kicked off the town hall by reflecting on the legislative session and talking about his bill signing process.

During the legislative session, lawmakers passed 591 bills — a record amount. “I don’t love these records,” Cox said. “We passed 575 last year, which was a record.” He added that he was grateful for the sacrifices and work of lawmakers.

Cox said he’s working hard with his cabinet and staff to look over all the bills. Without specifying which ones, he said he plans to veto some bills.

From calendars to Utah highways to the MLB, here’s a look at what else Cox discussed during his town hall.

Will the MLB and NHL come out to Utah?

The MLB is considering Salt Lake City or Nashville to house a team, Cox said. He called it a once “in 100 years opportunity” for the state.

Cox said if the MLB or NHL does come to Utah, it’ll require new infrastructure. “I’m not crazy about giving taxpayer money to billionaires to just build a stadium,” Cox said. He explained that the taxes associated with the expansion will come from stadium visits themselves or from renting cars in Utah. “Very, very few Utahns ever rent in Utah.”

It’s not just the stadiums that gets Cox excited, it’s the possibility for redevelopment.

There’s a plan for redeveloping and improving Utah’s west side on the horizon as well as the opportunity to create the Utah Fair Park Area Investment and Restoration District. This would allow “the state to collect the sales and property tax just in that area to invest in this new development and invest in a ballpark,” Cox said.

If the NHL came to Utah, Cox said there could be opportunities to revitalize and improve the downtown area. It gives Utah a chance to get people more opportunities for shopping, recreation and dining as well as walkability around downtown.

On calendars

During the legislative session, the Utah Legislature passed a bill that would make public officials’ calendars not subject to GRAMA; in other words, they would not be considered public records. The legislation passed and was signed by Cox amid a Utah judge ruling that Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes had to release his work calendar to KSL and the public.

Cox said the law would not change any policy. He said there was a “long-standing interpretation of statute” that officials’ work calendars were private, not public records.

Explaining his decision to sign the bill, Cox said legislators are part-time officials “and their daily calendar is filled with lots of other things that are not public duties.”

Cox stated he and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson would continue to share their calendars with the public.

Keeping Utah highways clean

Cox said on Earth Day, he’ll announce an initiative to do a one-time clean-up of a section of highway.

Giving a shout-out to the Clyde Companies, he said they bought a sweeper truck on their own that will sweep part of I-15 from Spanish Fork to North Salt Lake. While the government has these trucks, Cox said Clyde Companies’ buying one to give back to the state showed “the best of Utah.”

“Please help us in keeping Utah clean. Don’t litter,” Cox said.

The border

The Beehive State governor also referenced his trip down to the Texas-Mexico border and his conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He added that he spoke directly with President Joe Biden about his concerns around the border last week. “We need the president to do more to secure the border,” Cox said.

Utah’s Olympic bid

Ahead of the Olympics, Cox spoke about considerations to increase ease of transportation around the state.

After Cox has finished signing and vetoing bills, he said he plans to sit down with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall; Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper; and Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, to come up with a decade-long vision of how to plan for the Olympics.

“We really want to dream big and envision how we can make some of these generational investments so that our kids and grandkids have the high quality of life that we enjoy here,” Cox said.

Cox said he’s looking at the Rio Grande Plan and that he’d also love to get a passenger rail to Park City, although he’s unsure if that’s attainable over the next decade.

The campaign

When asked what Cox plans to focus on most during the election year, he said his top priority is housing affordability.

“We need our children and grandchildren to be able to afford to live in our beautiful state. I want them to be able to have their own homes,” Cox said, adding that he was proud of the work legislators did during the session.

Cox touted tax cuts as one of his achievements in office. He said the most recent tax cut amounted to around $1.3 billion in tax decreases. In addition to those priorities, Cox said he wanted to focus on education and social media.