SALT LAKE CITY — Your elected lawmakers have a lot of thoughts about a lot of issues facing Utah.
The legislature has broken a record for number of bills filed in a legislative session.
It's not uncommon to see as many as 1,300 bill requests in a session. But as of Tuesday, the legislature had introduced 1,019 bills and resolutions into the House and Senate chambers.
Not all of those bills will even get a hearing, nor will they pass. But they have been drafted for consideration by lawmakers and the public. However, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, insisted there have been less bills making it out of the powerful Rules Committee, which determines what bills get heard.
"We want to make sure we're taking the time on every individual bill," he told reporters. "I think you’ll see us pass less bills this year. We are behind, trying to do a really good job of vetting those bills. That's what we’re focused on. Regardless of how many bills are introduced, let’s look at how many bills are passed at the end of the day."
Governor Spencer Cox has complained in the past that lawmakers pass too many bills. He has to sign or veto bills. In his State of the State address, the governor seemed to bless a bill that would limit how many bills a lawmaker can run.
That bill, sponsored by Rep. Clint Okerlund, R-Sandy, has not gotten a hearing.
