Halfway through his 1st term, Gov. Cox shifts focus to education, housing

Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a press conference about the state’s effort to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements for state employees at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Cox outlined his priorities for the next two years in his Utah Home policy plan on Friday.

Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during a press conference about the state’s effort to eliminate bachelor’s degree requirements for state employees at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022. Cox outlined his priorities for the next two years in his Utah Home policy plan on Friday. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Just past the midpoint of his first term in office, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox laid out his priorities for the next two years, with a focus on education, housing and water.

On Friday, Cox released Utah Home, a plan of priorities to address "Utah's challenges with growth," along with "driving the best investments and use of state resources, and improving how our state government serves Utahns," a news release said.

"The future of our state is not written in the stars," Cox said during his 2023 State of the State address. "It is for us, the free men and women of Utah, to dictate our destiny. ... To anyone who believes that the next generation in Utah will be worse off than their parents, my message is simple: Not now, not on our watch."

Cox's priorities are focused on preserving Utah for future generations, with proposed increases in housing and education funding and support for Utahns experiencing homelessness. The governor's goals are sorted into three categories: people, growth and government.

Specific policy goals include limiting social media use and cellphone use during school hours, increasing teacher pay and supporting the Great Salt Lake.

A full list of priorities is posted on the governor's website, along with a dashboard to track the progress of each item over the next two years.

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Utah governmentUtah K-12 educationUtah homelessnessUtah housingUtah growth and populationGreat Salt LakeUtahPoliticsSalt Lake County
Bridger Beal-Cvetko is a reporter for KSL.com. He covers politics, Salt Lake County communities and breaking news. Bridger has worked for the Deseret News and graduated from Utah Valley University.

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