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SALT LAKE CITY — Business leaders in Utah are asking lawmakers to focus on affordable housing, water and efforts to bolster the workforce, among other things, as the 2024 legislative session looms.
The Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce announced its annual policy priorities during the 2024 Economic Outlook and Public Policy Summit at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City Friday. The chamber's priorities mostly reflect many of the major issues facing the state, which House and Senate leaders have said are among their goals for the next 45 days, as well.
Housing affordability
It's hard to talk about issues facing Utah and not discuss the need for more affordable housing. Ginger Chinn, the chamber's vice president of public policy and government affairs, told the gathered group of several hundred business leaders and policymakers that Utah's growing economy and changing demographics necessitate policy to support future residents.
"As the demand for housing continues to outpace supply, families find themselves struggling," she said.
A major hurdle to more affordable housing is restrictive zoning laws in several cities, which prevent higher density housing. The chamber suggests lawmakers provide "financial tools to aid local governments in developing the necessary infrastructure and incentivizing zoning for diverse housing options," according to the group's policy booklet.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said earlier this week he wants to "work to create opportunities and incentives to work with the cities" when it comes to zoning and similar issues.
The chamber also said it supports funding for housing grants, as well as access to essential services for those struggling with homelessness.
Gov. Spencer Cox kicked off the summit with a speech, in which he also argued the importance of more housing, calling high prices the "single greatest threat to our future prosperity."
The governor was optimistic that policymakers can achieve meaningful progress on the issue, saying, "I refuse to believe, in Utah, that our kids and grandkids are going to be worse off" when it comes to housing.
Water conservation
Another perennial issue is water, which Chinn said "isn't just a quality of life issue; it's actually life itself."
She urged lawmakers to consider water conservation initiatives to help protect the Great Salt Lake.
"We take this for granted and we can no longer take this for granted," she said.
Child care and the workforce
Finally, with many businesses still struggling to find workers in the state, the chamber is pushing the Legislature to boost the state's workforce, at least in part by promoting child care opportunities.
"Most people need two incomes to buy a house," Chinn said, which means child care is "absolutely a workforce issue."
The chamber calls for "private-public partnerships" to provide more high-quality child care for working people in the state.
Utah's economic outlook for 2024
In a report to Cox during the summit, Phil Dean, chief economist and public finance senior research fellow at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, described the economic outlook for the next year as a period of "unsettled normalcy," following the "remarkable resiliency" seen last year.
Many economic indicators appear to have stabilized following the COVID-19 pandemic, but things have not returned fully to normal, he said. Among those is inflation, which Dean said is trending in the right direction, though he's "personally not convinced that inflation is completely under control."
"Many key questions remain as economic policymakers chart a course to the storied soft landing on solid ground," the 2024 Economic Report to the Governor states. "Among these are whether inflation will continue downward, interest rate declines will follow suit and labor markets remain tight."
