SALT LAKE CITY — Silicon Slopes is a force to be reckoned with in Utah.

It’s what Utahns and techies call the Beehive State’s buzzing tech sector, but it’s also an actual organization — not just some abstract brand name to describe whatever’s going on along the Wasatch Front.

Silicon Slopes is a nonprofit organization, or 501(c)(3), that works to empower Utah’s startup and tech community. It’s also the driver behind the increasingly popular Silicon Slopes Tech Summit and has quickly become a megaphone for Utah tech.

But so far, Silicon Slopes has not had much of a voice in the legislature.

That’s all going to change now as Silicon Slopes merges with the Utah Tech Council — another nonprofit organization, this time a 501(c)(6), that also works as a resource for the Utah tech community.

While 501(c)(3)s cannot attempt to influence legislation as a “substantial part of their activities,” 501(c)(6)s can — lobbying included. While Silicon Slopes and the Utah Tech Council will remain separate entities, they’ll be under the same leadership, essentially allowing Silicon Slopes to bring their megaphone to Capitol Hill.

“The goal here is to unite Utah’s tech community under the same banner so that we can go forward with one voice and lock arms as the community continues to grow,” Silicon Slopes executive director Clint Betts said.

Silicon Slopes has never had a vehicle that allows the organization to advocate its position in the legislature, and the Utah Tech Council has never had a megaphone quite as large as Silicon Slopes. Housing both under the same roof will let the organizations accomplish more, said Betts, who now also heads up the Utah Tech Council.

Betts has always been concerned that Silicon Slopes will start to cause the socioeconomic disparity of Silicon Valley as the Utah tech community continues to grow (“If you don’t work in Silicon Valley, you don’t live in Silicon Valley,” he says).

“I know we’re nothing like Silicon Valley in terms of number of companies and all that stuff, and we shouldn’t compare ourselves, but we should look at some of the pitfalls, right? And some of those are coming here,” Betts said.

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Silicon Slopes is not Silicon Valley — and it’s not trying to be

Silicon Slopes' focus should be more about serving the world than changing the world, said Clint Betts, the organization's executive director .

Utah is already starting to experience a housing affordability crisis, and Betts wants to make sure Silicon Slopes doesn’t price out the rest of Utah. There’s also the issue of air quality, transportation, diversity, tax reform and education, he added.

With the Utah Tech Council under its wing, Betts believes Silicon Slopes has more of an avenue to address those issues from a public policy standpoint.

In January, the five founders of Silicon Slopes pledged $5 million to get computer science education in every school in Utah by 2022 — if the legislature matched that amount in-session. On Friday, HB227 passed through the legislature with millions in funding for computer science education.

The Utah Tech Council’s new chair, Banyan CEO Carine Clark, believes the founders of Silicon Slopes are often misunderstood, and legislators “don’t see these guys on the hill, because they’re not their people." The Utah Tech Council creates a bridge between the kookiness of Silicon Slopes and the seriousness that government needs, she said.

“I think there’s a lot of work that we still need to do to make sure that our local government understands what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to use technology to raise all the boats, not just technology. Because if technology does well but the state doesn’t, then we failed," Clark said.

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