SALT LAKE CITY—Lawmakers cleaned up some bills and considered others during a Special Session last week called by Gov. Spencer Cox to address, among other things, a presidential mandate by Biden on Title IX, federal government limiting access to Utah’s public lands and energy.

“The session was primarily called to make sure intermountain power was done right,” said Senate President J. Stuart Adams. “For some state agencies the due dates were too soon so we needed to do some cleanup. When the governor signed (Energy Security Adjustments) SB161 he committed to hold a Special Session to adjust a few dates.”

The demand for power in Utah, America and the world is a critical issue and will be for years to come, he said. “We don’t want to find ourselves unable to meet the demand. We want to avoid rolling blackouts and energy issues that other states have.”

Utah has the second lowest electricity prices in the nation, said Adams. “We want to continue to make sure Utah can lead on.”

Another issue they tackled had to do with Title IX & Constitutional Sovereignty (H.C.R. 301 & H.J. R. 301). “President Biden decided to make a presidential mandate changing Title IX,” Adams said. “When he did that the effect of his effort would have wiped out everything we’ve done in Utah. No one has done more for a balanced and equitable effort in women’s sports than Utah.”

When a transgender athlete wants to participate in a sport they apply to a commission, he said. “Making sure it’s done with fairness they will look at the athlete's abilities to determine whether they (abilities) fit in the sports they want to play in.”

It’s done on a nondiscriminatory basis, said Adams. “It’s worked well for the last two years. Utah has done it better than Washington, D.C. has.”

It’s a broad brush mandate, he said. “I believe it’s wrong. I believe states have the right to govern themselves according to the 10th Amendment. It should not go into place until it can be proved legally that it’s the right thing to do.”

Litigation is going on in other states and it’s either been stayed or held, said Adams. “Utah is ahead of the game legislatively, not judicially. The Special Session gives directions to school districts. They’re expected to follow state law. We had a request by the State School Board for clarity.”

There were some groups that gathered at the Capitol in protest of the resolutions. “Some people were frustrated as those were passed,” said Adams. “But in general Utah has been extremely balanced in finding a way to protect women and women’s sports. Utah has done it in a more balanced way than any other state.”

Adams said another significant thing they did during the Special Session was to free up funds from the Appropriations Federal Commission Budget for a PR campaign to get citizen input about access to public lands. “The federal government has been closing access to our public lands,” he said. “We’d like to have public input on what’s going on, especially in rural lands. We want to get the word out and start right away, probably in the next month or two.”

Lawmakers also addressed some cleanup bills, Sunset and Repeal Date Code Corrections (HB 3005), Exchange Student Guardianship Amendments (HB 3001) and School District Adjustments (HB 3003).

Utah was ranked as the No. 1 best state overall by U.S. News and World Report for the second year in a row. “It also remains No. 1 for the last 17 years in a row for economic outlook,”  said Adams. “We manage our affairs well. Utah is a great state because of the great people. We’re fortunate to live in the greatest spot in America and the world.”