Tribune editorial: Utah lawmakers would have an easier time by focusing on the most important issues

Members of the Utah Legislature will gather to open their 2026 Regular Session Tuesday in Salt Lake City.

It will be a 45-day flurry of activity that is likely to sap the mental and physical energy of each of the 104 legislators. It’s a difficult job, exposing members of every political stripe to scrutiny and criticism, deserved and otherwise.

From those of us on the sideline, a little advice to make the session less of a drain on lawmakers, and more of a set of accomplishments to be proud of.

First, a little humility.

It is not up to our elected officials to solve every problem and answer every sometimes wild-eyed concern they may have heard of. They need not sort through the 500 or more proposed bills that are likely to present themselves.

Legislators could give themselves a useful break by resisting any temptation to waive the bloody shirt of the latest culture war skirmish, or to reach out to take more authority from the executive branch, the judiciary, our educators, or the people.

It’s not that there isn’t important work to be done. But making a collective decision to focus on the most important issues, the things that really matter to all the people of Utah, would help a lot.

Concentrate on real needs, even if the solutions won’t be reached in one session. Or ten.

Protect the Great Salt Lake and other bodies of water with redoubled efforts at conservation.

Recognize that the Wasatch Front recently, again, experienced the worst air quality measured in the United States, and that there is every indication that, at least under the current administration, the federal government will not be doing anything to help.

Admit that if solving Utah’s housing shortage and growing homelessness problems were easy or cheap, it would have happened already.

Lawmakers should be transparent and accountable in everything they do, and insist that the rest of our government is as well.

Even when we disagree, sometimes forcefully, with the positions and votes of individual lawmakers, we should never forget that it is hard work for minuscule pay.

So good luck, ladies and gentlemen of the Utah Legislature.

And, remember: Focus.

Editorials represent the opinions of The Salt Lake Tribune editorial board, which operates independently from the newsroom.