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SALT LAKE CITY — Though Gov. Gary Herbert boasted Utah’s successes at the annual State of the State address given Wednesday evening, he also acknowledged the tweaks that should be addressed for now and for future generations.

In a speech that lasted a little more than 20 minutes, Herbert covered nearly everything from education to tax reform to the future planning of Utah. He noted the state is currently in “exceptional” condition and said that the nation will look to Utah as an example of success in the future.

Holding a book of laws passed in 1917, he noted the laws passed in 2018 should carry the same weight as those laws passed 101 years ago.

While many topics were discussed during the speech, here are four topics that stood out the most during the address Wednesday.

1. Solving problems with ‘no playbook’

Citing the examples of Project Rio Grande, local businesses that have given time and money to impoverished schools and the many Utahns, including Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, who traveled to Puerto Rico to render aid after two hurricanes hit that island, Herbert said Utah was successful in providing help where there was “no playbook.”

Turning to Operation Rio Grande, he said state, city and community leaders have collaborated well in trying to find a solution to “lawlessness” in the area created by drug-related crime. Together they created the mantra, “shoulder-to-shoulder; no credit, no blame.”

He said the project is not considered a victory months after it began in August 2017 but has “broken up drug trafficking, reduced crime, cleaned up our streets and parks, increased treatment services and provided job opportunities” without disrupting social services for homeless people.

“There wasn’t a playbook for this exercise. It didn’t fit neatly into anyone’s job description,” he added. “It came with uncertainty, it came with risk but also with the potential to do some real good.”

2. Reversing Utah’s suicide problem

While Herbert boasted Utah’s accomplishments in creating solutions where no playbook has been written, he turned to Utah’s youth suicide crisis as an example of work that still needs to be accomplished.

The governor’s office announced last week it was creating the Teen Suicide Prevention Task Force to address the issue alongside the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition. The 14-member task force includes civic, health, education and ecclesiastical leaders.

“Far too many of our youth experience a sense of discouragement and hopelessness so severe that, unfortunately, they consider taking their own lives,” he said. “The fact that any of them actually do this is tragic beyond words. The fact that suicide has become the leading cause of death among our young people horrifies me.”

A clear plan for the task force’s future is expected to be given to the governor’s office by Feb. 15.

“This session, we will find solutions,” he added.

3. Updating the Tax Code

Taxes were already an issue heading into this year’s legislative session, and Herbert didn’t shy away from the topic Wednesday.

“You already know that we need to update our tax code so that it conforms to the realities of today’s dynamic marketplace while anticipating what tomorrow may bring,” he said. “You already know that we need to strive to keep tax rates low and revenue reliable by broadening the base.”

He later referenced a tax reform bill sponsored by Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, as an example of the state’s attempt to adjust taxes.

Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said a week before the session that the state is hoping for an economic windfall from the federal tax reform passed in December.

“Hopefully we’ll see a bit of a windfall from this federal tax reform, and then hopefully we’ll see some increases when we look at our final revenue numbers in February,” he said.

4. ‘Shining city on a hill’

Herbert held up a book of the laws passed during the 1917 Legislative Session and mentioned the great laws that held 101 years later before posing the question, “How will the decisions we make today shape Utah 100 years into the future?”

With more than 1,200 bills to be discussed during the 45-day session, the governor wanted to make sure the laws passed this year would have the same meaningful impact in 100 years as the ones he held up.

He then went into the story of his granddaughter currently serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abroad and the questions that will be asked when she returns and attempts to find work.

“Will she find a workplace that protects her from harassment and gives her equal opportunity for her equal potential?” he asked. “As she pursues that American dream, will our culture reflect the ideal of human dignity found in our Declaration of Independence? … This is why we are here: To ensure that the answer to these questions is a resounding and emphatic ‘yes.’”

He later referred to Utah as the “shining city on a hill” for other states to follow much like President Ronald Reagan said that the U.S. was the same for the entire world in his 1989 farewell address.

“I believe that Utah has become that shining city on a hill for our nation … If we do our job right, 100 years from now, our great-grandchildren will dust off the ‘Laws for 2018,’ and they will recognize that what we did together over these next few weeks laid the foundation for their extraordinary success in the Utah of the year 2118,” Herbert said. “If we do our job right today, Utah in the future will still be the greatest place to live, to love, to work and to serve.”