This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Once again, Utah has shown how a citizen legislature should function. In 45 days, members of the state House and Senate were again able to address a wide variety of issues — and complete a balanced annual budget. What is becoming increasingly exceptional among states and in the nation's capital is business as usual in Utah.
In the course of the recent general session, legislators considered and addressed multiple dozens of topics in the form of legislative bills. Lots of them. Why so many? Because of the many necessary functions of state government – and because we, their constituents, ask them to. This year, not unlike most other general sessions, the topics covered a wide range of issues: state budget, tax policy, public safety, public education, higher education, transportation, public lands, health care, intergenerational poverty, social services, the homeless, alcohol policy, functional federalism (balance of power between the states and the national government), election law, economic development — and many more.
With the annual legislative session now concluded, let us thank those we have elected to serve as our representatives in the legislative branch — and their families and associates whose sacrifice makes possible their service on our behalf. And while we're at it, let's also remember how fortunate we are to have a part-time, lay Legislature comprising citizens who live in our neighborhoods, go to work each day and thus know and are accountable to their constituents — unlike states with full-time, professional legislatures, many of which are burdened not only by serious budgetary challenges but also by deficits.
From our personal and thus limited vantage point, it's as easy as it is common for us to read the headlines and listen to the sound bites about the day's happenings on the Hill and conclude, "Gosh, how [insert your preferred adjective here] is that?! If I were there, I'd _____!" But we're not. Our elected representatives and senators are. And because they are there, they see and must acknowledge and balance the numerous factors — preferences that reflect the large and expanding number and diversity of Utahns, on the one hand, and the finite resources of time and public funds on the other.
So what is it about the Beehive State that makes this possible? A citizenry that elects civic leaders committed to producing sound public policy based on principles and principle-based processes that include personal responsibility, a free market of ideas and solutions, and civil society and the functional communities it fosters. In other words, the healthy balance among a self-reliant people in their natural communities of interest and support, and the necessary and necessarily limited frameworks, processes and resources of government — local, state and national.
We recognize that we stand on the shoulders and reap the harvests of generations who have gone before. We thus seek to preserve and strengthen the cultural frameworks they established for us, that those who follow may similarly be so blessed. And we expect our civic and community leaders to keep this view of past, present and future in mind as they perform their important public service.
This is neither a simple nor an easy task. Representatives in and leaders of our cultural institutions must attend to and navigate the challenges that naturally accompany an increasingly pluralistic society … a state tapestry that reflects significant contrasts among its people: urban and rural, younger and older, economically prospering and struggling, etc. And as we all continue to a future both wondrous and daunting, our public servants and leaders attend to what must be preserved in our foundations, on the one hand, while assuring opportunities for proactive innovation on the other. Stability and growth.
Clearly, the burden is significant for those we have elected as stewards of our civic frameworks and of the public policy that enables our society to work.
It's remarkable what can be done, as our Legislature does, when operating within a defined and limited time frame. Actual decisions need to be made and actually are made. It helps to have, as Utah does, an executive branch with that shared commitment. Washington should take notice.
Stan Rasmussen is director of public affairs for Sutherland Institute.