STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
Brice Wallace
Business Journal
Utah’s governor is encouraging every resident of the state to “build.”
In his State of the State address, Gov. Spencer Cox lauded Utah’s legacy of building and urged Utahns to keep it going.
“We must build,” he told the audience. “Today, we can renew our forebears’ tradition of true grit. Generations of Utah entrepreneurs and leaders have fought through unfavorable conditions, and built in the face of cynicism.”
Those efforts, he said, have resulted in Utah becoming the best state in the country to start a business, the top state for social mobility, a state where young people can still out-earn the prior generation, and the top state overall.
“And yet, we are not satisfied,” Cox said.
Using the theme “Built Here,” the governor stressed building in five core areas, three of which have business elements: housing affordability, energy abundance, and reforms in infrastructure and permitting.
As for housing, Cox reiterated his goal that Utah have 35,000 starter homes built within five years. “The ‘greatest generation’ did this after WWII,” he said. “We can do it again.”
Another goal is to double Utah’s power production over the next decade, a policy dubbed “Operation Gigawatt.”
“We’re laying groundwork for advanced nuclear reactors while protecting national security by building capacity to be a net energy exporter through Operation Gigawatt,” the governor said. “Together, we will unleash Utah’s immense energy resources and drive prices down, all while making our grid more secure and reliable.”
As for infrastructure and permitting reform, the governor has expressed frustration that the federal government took 15 years to approve a new power transmission line in the state.
“Fortunately, we finally have a federal administration willing to work with us to fix this national embarrassment,” Cox said. “In the meantime, we will continue to lead the nation by streamlining Utah’s processes while maintaining environmental stewardship.”
The other core elements of “Built Here” are community safety, which includes homeless initiatives and getting phones out of Utah schools; and boosting strong families by eliminating Utah’s tax on Social Security benefits and empowering parents.
“From thousands of conversations that I have had with Utahns across the state, I know this: Utah is not done dreaming,” he said. “We’re not done doing big things. And we’re not done building.”
A community of builders, he said, transformed an “arid, untamed and unforgiving” Salt Lake Valley 180 years ago into “the envy of the Earth, and a worldwide destination.”
“Our ancestors irrigated farms, excavated minerals, built homes and neighborhoods, powered cities, and connected this continent by rail,” the governor said. “In the face of adversity, they built. They built here. And, my friends and fellow citizens, if there is one thing you take away from my remarks tonight, please let it be this simple refrain: We must build.”
“‘Built Here’ means remembering that every bridge, building and breakthrough started with someone who refused to accept impossibility. Built Here means rejecting false choices … like building thousands of new homes and maintaining our quality of life. Built Here means being unrelentingly impatient in our pursuit to make this a happier place to live, because we know that success is not inevitable; it is earned,” Cox said.
The nation’s culture of building has been replaced by negativity and inertia, he said. “We stopped building technology — ceding far too much of our manufacturing, industry, critical minerals and energy production to our adversaries. And, worst of all, we stopped building resilient people.” But he described Utah as an “outlier.”
Among those responding to Cox’s address were Senate President J. Stuart Adams and Kevin Greene, state director of Americans for Prosperity-Utah.
“Gov. Cox and I share a common vision for our great state. Utah’s success isn’t by chance — it is the result of foresight and determination to shape it,” Adams said. “We know that Utahns are truly the backbone of our state. By embracing innovation and working together, we will chart a path forward to ensure enduring prosperity for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Building a future to secure affordable energy, ample water and abundant housing is essential to keeping Utah as the best state in the nation and the ‘Utah Dream’ alive.”
“Gov. Cox laid out a promising vision for Utah, invoking our pioneering past in a call to continue growing, building and innovating,” Greene said. “AFP-UT applauds the governor’s emphasis on removing barriers to building the housing that Utah needs, so that the next generation can afford to live here and achieve their ‘American Dream.’
“Additionally, we were excited to hear his determination to unleash energy abundance in our state by drawing on our vast natural resources to ensure affordability and reliability. We look forward to working with Gov. Cox and the new state Legislature in making Utah into the best it can be.”