- Utah lawmakers discussed priorities for the 2026 legislative general session.
- Lawmakers mostly agreed on the role of renewable energy for Utah's grid but differ on nuclear and coal inclusion.
- Housing affordability and Great Salt Lake health are also key legislative concerns.
SALT LAKE CITY — Some of Utah's top lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle discussed their priorities for the upcoming legislative session in front of hundreds of people during the Utah Economic Outlook and Public Policy Summit on Friday.
The group — consisting of Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, House Speaker Mike Schultz, Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla and House Minority Leader Angela Romero — touched on some of the most prevalent topics facing the state, including energy, housing and artificial intelligence.
Here's what they had to say ahead of the start of the general session next week.
Energy and its role in AI build-out
Despite other policy disagreements, the lawmakers — who described themselves as good friends despite political differences — all agreed, to differing extents, on renewable energy being a part of the state's energy portfolio in the future.
"We really have to look at our power grid. I think a lot of times, talking about the grid isn't sexy or anything like that, but we have to really think about how we're going to transfer power," Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said, adding that she believes the state has "done an injustice on the regulation we've put on renewable energy."
Schultz, R-Hooper, said it can't just be renewables that make up Utah's grid, though they play a "very important role."
"It has to be nuclear, it has to be coal, it has to be natural gas, it has to be solar," Schultz said. "Geothermal — Utah's one of the best positioned states in the nation for geothermal. These are all things that we need to be looking at (and) investing into."
Romero, jokingly praising Shultz's recognition of renewables, was still quick to caution energy production for the sake of it, without weighing potential consequences.
"We also have to think about the air we breathe. As you know, the air we were breathing just two days ago was the dirtiest in the world. When we're talking about energy, we have to think about, 'How does that impact our public lands, and how does that impact our own health?'" Romero said.
Speaking of energy, Adams reflected on his time growing up while the U.S. was in a nuclear arms race with Russia, likening it to the current rush associated with artificial intelligence dominance.
"There's no question about it. It's said over and over again: The country that controls AI will control the world, both economically and militarily," Adams, R-Layton, said. "And AI needs what? It needs power."
Adams specifically pointed to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's announcement in November that Utah is partnering with two out-of-state companies to build "a complete civil nuclear energy ecosystem from start to finish" in Brigham City.
Utah also appears poised to become a future location of a California-based energy company's underground nuclear reactor, with Deep Fission in September announcing Utah, Texas and Kansas as the first three planned sites for the company's testing of its small modular pressurized water reactors.
"We need to develop power because if we don't have power, we're not going to have AI," Adams said.
Housing
When it comes to housing affordability, Escamilla said there isn't a single solution to completely address what's been a "problem for years."
"What we need is creating stronger partnerships with local governments," said Escamilla, the Senate's Democratic minority leader.
She also said that while homeownership is an important and prioritized part of the discussion around housing, the state must first help people meet their basic housing needs.
"How do (we) people keep people sheltered?" Escamilla asked. "Some people are living paycheck by paycheck, so one flat tire means homelessness. It's a trajectory. It's a spectrum."
Schultz said it boils down to "simple economics," the concept of supply and demand.
"If you look at what happened with apartments over the last three-plus years, rents have actually dropped. Why have rents dropped? Because supply increased significantly," Schultz said.
"We need starter homes for our kids and for our grandkids, and we need our local partners, our local governments, to step up to the plate, just like they did with apartments and approve so many apartment projects all across the Wasatch Front, we need them to do the same thing for first-time homebuyers ... all across the Wasatch Front," he continued.
Great Salt Lake health
When it comes to the health of the Great Salt Lake, despite the conversation being rather brief, lawmakers sounded optimistic.
"We will save the Great Salt Lake," Schultz said. "We are in much better shape today than we were three years ago. Three years from now, we're going to be in much better shape. We have significantly shifted the policy in the state of Utah and how we look at the Great Salt Lake."
Adams said the regulatory process put forth by lawmakers has propelled Utah to a "booming economy" that will help save the lake.
"Billions of dollars going into the Great Salt Lake because we have such a good economy," Adams said.
