Though the Utah Legislature gave a record-breaking $70 million this year to fighting affordable housing shortages and homelessness, advocates said the sum fell short of what they hoped for.
Lawmakers tackled a wide range of issues, starting out by once again flexing control over local COVID-19 restrictions in the early days of the session even as Utah’s cases were peaking from the omicron surge. From there, lawmakers wrestled with a $24 billion budget, tax cuts, spending on water, education and more. Here’s what happened
Despite rumblings of a possible early adjournment, the Utah Legislature s sprint through its 45-day general session came to an end right at midnight Friday night after a dramatic surprise on the Senate floor that spurred furious and emotional debate.
Homeless advocates called on the Utah Legislature to fully fund a pair of bills that would provide over $100 million to address housing affordability and homelessness. Lawmakers seem poised to fund only half of what was initially requested for a homeless services grant program.
With more than $2 billion in budget surplus, Utah homeless advocates urged the Legislature on Tuesday to invest significantly in deeply affordable housing.