SALT LAKE CITY—With the unprecedented snowfall followed by widespread flooding, Gov. Spencer Cox recently declared a state of emergency. By legislation passed during COVID, funding cannot continue beyond a month without the legislature's approval. The Governor called the legislature into a special session last week to address this and two other items.

“We had a really great special session,” said Senate President Stuart Adams. “There was almost no debate. There wasn't any in the Senate.”

According to statute, emergency power must be approved by the legislature, said Adams. “The Governor can still call a state of emergency as he did with the flooding but it can’t move past a month or two.”

The legislature voted to continue the governor’s emergency power through August interim, he said. “That gives plenty of time to deal with the flood issue. We appropriated an additional $40 million, $20 million for snow removal costs and $20 million for flooding. If we need additional funding we can come back in August and do that.”

Utah has been extremely blessed, said Adams. “We were given the water we need and the moisture during the winter. It was an answer to prayer. Other things did happen, like the flooding in Kaysville and the Sandy area but compared to 1983-84 we were fortunate that both were moderate.”

The second issue the legislature considered was to make a technical correction to HB1002 Restricted Persons Amendments. “It’s regarding citizens in the country legally who are working for different companies,” Adams said. “The law inadvertently prohibited them from carrying a gun. It stripped them of the ability to hunt, etc. We needed to fix our mistake.”

Rep. Wilcox’s bill took away the right to carry any type of gun, he said. “There was a clause in the bill that was misunderstood. No one intended it for citizens who are working here on a temporary visa. They should be able to enjoy the outdoors here. We didn’t intend to take away that right.”

The other bill addressed was 1003 Firefighter Death Benefit Amendments, said Adams. “This makes it so their retirement benefits move on to the spouse. The legislature inadvertently passed a bill that modified that. We made the correction that had some urgency.”

Utah is the best managed, has the best economy and the lowest unemployment, Adams said. “We have the capacity and more to manage the budget. We’ve chosen to put money away and not spend it.”

There are no challenges such as floods or earthquakes that can’t be handled at the state level, by the counties or cities, he said. “We are resilient. No matter what happens we’ll meet it head on. I have the confidence that we have the capacity to handle it.”