Utah Legislature and the Aftermath

The 2009 General Session of the Utah Legislature ended last March 12. It was one of the most successful sessions personally I have ever been a part of. We at the Salt Lake Chamber were successful in getting almost everything passed we wanted, most of which was focused on getting construction jobs restored through increased highway and building construction funding, an incentive to get people to buy new homes, and restoring funding to two great projects, USTAR and the World Trade Center Utah. We were also successful at amending some troublesome bills regarding guns in the workplace, excessive damage rewards for trial lawyers, and slowing down the so-called "Card Check" initiative.

Overall, the Utah Legislature did a great job. First and foremost, it balanced Utah's budget. The Utah Constitution requires the state to balance, so the Legislature and the Governor can NOT deficit spend, unlike our friends at the federal level (who simply print more money when it suits them). In order to accomplish this, the Utah Legislature reduced anticipated state agency budgets by an average of 8% WITHOUT dipping into its savings account (known as the "Rainy Day Fund"). It also did so without raising any taxes, although it did raise the motor vehicle registration fee by $20 per vehicle. Through all of this, it restored key construction projects and the 16,000 plus jobs that go with them, it passed reasonable liquor law reform (including eliminating private clubs, which have always been stupid, in my view), and it did NOT pass more stupid immigration laws. All in all, I was very proud to be part of that process.

At the same time I was able to land a brand new client, renew another one, and place myself in a good position to pick up two or three more in the next few months.

The day after the session ended Trish and I attended Carl Paulsen's birthday party at his and Carol Jean's home. We had a nice dinner, great conversation, and Stewart paid a very moving tribute to his Dad. It was great to see all of them. They are such a wonderful family. I am proud and honored to be part of them.

The next morning Trish and I went to Las Vegas where we stayed in our Westgate timeshare. On the way down we spent the night at the home of my cousins Kenneth and Becky Gull in St. George. We are not, of course, gamblers, so one could ask why did we go to Las Vegas? Well, it was cheap. It was also warm (70 degrees every day we were there). And we got to sit by a pool each day.

For Family Home Evening :) we saw the show "Love" with Cirque du Soleil and featuring Beatles music. We loved it! What a great soundtrack. And those acrobats of Cirque are simply amazing! The next day we toured the new Westgate Towers on the Strip and upgraded our timeshare, buying more space and shifting from Park City to Orlando. Then they gave us a ride back to our resort in a stretch limo (a first for both of us).

The best part, though, was getting away to spend quality time together. It was a great getaway!