Alliance for a Better Utah
@betterutah.bsky.social
Government watchdog | Progressive policy advocates | Occasional connoisseurs of snark | Holding politicians accountable
https://linktr.ee/betterutah
https://linktr.ee/betterutah
As policymakers consider AI rules, Utahns deserve a process grounded in transparency, community input, and an honest look at how emerging technologies could impact workers, families, and kids. Innovation shouldn’t come at the expense of safeguards.
Cox announces 'pro-human' AI initiative for Utah
Governor Spencer Cox announced a "pro-human AI initiative" in Utah, setting up the potential for more guardrails around the use of artificial intelligence in the state.
buff.ly
December 9, 2025 at 4:11 AM
As policymakers consider AI rules, Utahns deserve a process grounded in transparency, community input, and an honest look at how emerging technologies could impact workers, families, and kids. Innovation shouldn’t come at the expense of safeguards.
Water is life in Utah. The longer these federal dollars are frozen, the harder it becomes for rural communities to keep up with real-world needs. This isn’t a partisan issue—it’s about protecting health, livelihoods, and local economies.
🔗 KUER:
🔗 KUER:
Federal money is still in Trump limbo. Rural Utah is antsy about its water projects
Projects across Utah’s Colorado River Basin meant to protect water supplies and restore rivers are in a holding pattern — including a $200 million reservoir near Price, Utah.
buff.ly
December 9, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Water is life in Utah. The longer these federal dollars are frozen, the harder it becomes for rural communities to keep up with real-world needs. This isn’t a partisan issue—it’s about protecting health, livelihoods, and local economies.
🔗 KUER:
🔗 KUER:
There's a special session tomorrow with some important topics on the agenda related to redistricting (voting maps).
December 8, 2025 at 11:30 PM
There's a special session tomorrow with some important topics on the agenda related to redistricting (voting maps).
When the signature-gathering system is built on high-pressure tactics and financial incentives that reward speed over accuracy, it warps a process that should belong to the public.
🔗 Elevate PAC: buff.ly/CRq0XbI
🔗 Elevate PAC: buff.ly/CRq0XbI
The Dark Side of Utah’s Signature Gathering Industry
Where Million-Dollar Political Campaigns Meet Workers Sleeping in Their Cars and How Utah’s Initiative System Demonstrates Who Democracy Really Belongs To
elevatepac.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:11 PM
When the signature-gathering system is built on high-pressure tactics and financial incentives that reward speed over accuracy, it warps a process that should belong to the public.
🔗 Elevate PAC: buff.ly/CRq0XbI
🔗 Elevate PAC: buff.ly/CRq0XbI
When a single out-of-state PAC can pour $4 million into dismantling a voter-approved reform, it reveals a deep imbalance in who gets heard and who gets drowned out.
🔗 ABC 4:
🔗 ABC 4:
Utah GOP raises over $4 million from a sole donor to repeal Utah's anti-gerrymandering law
The Utah GOP has a boatload of cash on hand in its effort to repeal Utah’s anti-gerrymandering law, Proposition 4. All of it is coming from one out-of-state organization.
buff.ly
December 8, 2025 at 7:11 PM
When a single out-of-state PAC can pour $4 million into dismantling a voter-approved reform, it reveals a deep imbalance in who gets heard and who gets drowned out.
🔗 ABC 4:
🔗 ABC 4:
Bipartisan interest is promising—so long as “cutting red tape” doesn’t become an excuse to cut communities out of the process.
🔗 Deseret News:
🔗 Deseret News:
Here's how Sen. Mike Lee wants to keep the federal government from holding up your commute
The Streamline Transit Projects Act would give state governments more power to expedite local transit projects without federal oversight to shorten construction timelines and reduce traffic.
buff.ly
December 8, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Bipartisan interest is promising—so long as “cutting red tape” doesn’t become an excuse to cut communities out of the process.
🔗 Deseret News:
🔗 Deseret News:
Wildfires are a real risk, but so is the steady drumbeat of higher bills for Utah families who have no choice about their power provider. A safer future requires accountability, planning, and a recognition that families bear the cost of every delay.
Are electricity rates getting another hike in Utah?
Clean air advocates insist Rocky Mountain Power is trying to fix a problem it created on its own, focusing on climate change risks and catastrophic wildfires due to the burning of fossil fuels.
buff.ly
December 8, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Wildfires are a real risk, but so is the steady drumbeat of higher bills for Utah families who have no choice about their power provider. A safer future requires accountability, planning, and a recognition that families bear the cost of every delay.
Ten young Utahns filed a new lawsuit against the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, arguing the state is violating their constitutional rights by enabling fossil-fuel pollution that harms their health and future.
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/lGSCqTp
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/lGSCqTp
‘Protect us before it’s too late’: Utah youth take fossil fuel fight back to court
Ten youth from Utah filed a lawsuit against the Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, arguing fossil fuel development is violating their constitutional right to health and safety.
www.sltrib.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Ten young Utahns filed a new lawsuit against the Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, arguing the state is violating their constitutional rights by enabling fossil-fuel pollution that harms their health and future.
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/lGSCqTp
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/lGSCqTp
Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ statewide holiday giving drive coordinates donations for Utahns who often have no one else to rely on: patients at the Utah State Hospital, adults living under state guardianship, and youth in the juvenile justice system.
In the giving spirit? Here’s how to donate to some of Utah’s most vulnerable • Utah News Dispatch
Utah state officials are holding a holiday gift drive to help some of Utah's most vulnerable, including patients at the Utah State Hospital.
utahnewsdispatch.com
December 8, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ statewide holiday giving drive coordinates donations for Utahns who often have no one else to rely on: patients at the Utah State Hospital, adults living under state guardianship, and youth in the juvenile justice system.
Measles is a dangerous, highly contagious disease. It is entirely preventable, and every child deserves the protection vaccines provide. Public health shouldn’t be politicized.
🔗 Utah News Dispatch: buff.ly/qr2g5Vn
🔗 Utah News Dispatch: buff.ly/qr2g5Vn
Utah's measles outbreak, among the largest in the country, is likely to get worse • Utah News Dispatch
The measles outbreaks in Utah and Arizona are currently among the largest and more recent in the U.S., and likely to grow.
utahnewsdispatch.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Measles is a dangerous, highly contagious disease. It is entirely preventable, and every child deserves the protection vaccines provide. Public health shouldn’t be politicized.
🔗 Utah News Dispatch: buff.ly/qr2g5Vn
🔗 Utah News Dispatch: buff.ly/qr2g5Vn
Utahns deserve real solutions, not talking points. Addressing costs means confronting powerful interests and acknowledging that when families thrive, the whole state thrives.
🔗 Deseret News:
🔗 Deseret News:
Utahns prefer Republicans’ approach to cost of living, bucking national trends
Utahns tend to trust Republicans more than Democrats to address cost-of-living issues, while men and women differ in economic priorities
buff.ly
December 3, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Utahns deserve real solutions, not talking points. Addressing costs means confronting powerful interests and acknowledging that when families thrive, the whole state thrives.
🔗 Deseret News:
🔗 Deseret News:
Utah families rely on the Colorado River more than most people realize, and the basin simply doesn’t have the water it once did. Responsible stewardship means planning for scarcity, not assuming that old agreements will hold in a hotter, drier future.
buff.ly/gdkXveC
buff.ly/gdkXveC
How Colorado River talks will affect Utahns and millions more across the Southwest
With less water flowing through the Colorado River, Utah may have to cut back its consumption. That could affect farmers, tribes and cities across the state.
www.sltrib.com
December 3, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Utah families rely on the Colorado River more than most people realize, and the basin simply doesn’t have the water it once did. Responsible stewardship means planning for scarcity, not assuming that old agreements will hold in a hotter, drier future.
buff.ly/gdkXveC
buff.ly/gdkXveC
The Legislature should avoid using opioid funds as a backdoor way to justify a project that still lacks community support and clear evidence it will actually help people stabilize and recover.
🔗 KUER: buff.ly/Sqhpz4w
🔗 KUER: buff.ly/Sqhpz4w
Could Utah opioid settlement cash help with Salt Lake City’s new homeless campus?
A proposal from the Cicero Institute suggests using a portion of Utah's opioid settlement funds to invest in the homeless campus. Organisations that work in harm reduction are skeptical and say this…
www.kuer.org
December 3, 2025 at 5:58 PM
The Legislature should avoid using opioid funds as a backdoor way to justify a project that still lacks community support and clear evidence it will actually help people stabilize and recover.
🔗 KUER: buff.ly/Sqhpz4w
🔗 KUER: buff.ly/Sqhpz4w
Rep. Hollins’ decade of service changed the Legislature for the better. She brought compassion, lived experience, and a steady insistence that every child and every family deserves dignity.
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/0SsNFVg
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/0SsNFVg
Why Utah’s first Black woman in the Legislature isn’t running for reelection
Rep. Sandra Hollins, the first Black woman to serve in the Utah Legislature, announced she will not seek reelection next year.
www.deseret.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Rep. Hollins’ decade of service changed the Legislature for the better. She brought compassion, lived experience, and a steady insistence that every child and every family deserves dignity.
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/0SsNFVg
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/0SsNFVg
Utahns deserve open hearings, nonpartisan analysis, and a commitment that any change protects judicial independence—which is essential to fairness and equal justice for every community in our state.
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune:
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune:
Gov. Cox says it’s ‘a good idea’ to add justices to the Utah Supreme Court — and it’s not court packing
Gov. Spencer Cox supports expanding the Utah Supreme Court from five to seven justices and does not consider it to be “packing” the court.
buff.ly
December 3, 2025 at 4:11 AM
Utahns deserve open hearings, nonpartisan analysis, and a commitment that any change protects judicial independence—which is essential to fairness and equal justice for every community in our state.
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune:
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune:
Take Action: Contact your state representative and state senator before the December 9 special session and tell them to oppose any constitutional amendment that weakens Utahns’ initiative power.
December 3, 2025 at 1:11 AM
Take Action: Contact your state representative and state senator before the December 9 special session and tell them to oppose any constitutional amendment that weakens Utahns’ initiative power.
Salt Lake City has been the backbone of both the bid and the Games’ infrastructure, and Utahns understand that recognition matters—especially when major events rely on local taxpayers, local workers, and local neighborhoods.
🔗 Axios:
🔗 Axios:
Salt Lake City booted from name of Utah 2034 Winter Games
Organizers say the name is more inclusive; SLC leaders say it's a snub.
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Salt Lake City has been the backbone of both the bid and the Games’ infrastructure, and Utahns understand that recognition matters—especially when major events rely on local taxpayers, local workers, and local neighborhoods.
🔗 Axios:
🔗 Axios:
Efforts to restrict safe, FDA-approved medication ignore medical evidence and undermine the ability of women and families to make their own health decisions.
🔗 Deseret News:
🔗 Deseret News:
Utah congressional delegation urges HHS to end Biden-era abortion policy
A letter from the House and Senate argues federal mail-order rules violate states’ rights and threaten women’s health.
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Efforts to restrict safe, FDA-approved medication ignore medical evidence and undermine the ability of women and families to make their own health decisions.
🔗 Deseret News:
🔗 Deseret News:
Utah has long prided itself on resisting political cults of personality, valuing institutions over individuals. But the partisan gap in this poll shows that national polarization is reshaping attitudes here too.
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/LCAr1pD
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/LCAr1pD
New poll: Americans — and Utahns — believe Trump exercises too much power
Survey comes as the president faces pushback over tariffs and National Guard deployment.
www.deseret.com
December 2, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Utah has long prided itself on resisting political cults of personality, valuing institutions over individuals. But the partisan gap in this poll shows that national polarization is reshaping attitudes here too.
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/LCAr1pD
🔗 Deseret News: buff.ly/LCAr1pD
This is a normal transition, but it’s a reminder of how much power political insiders have in filling mid-term legislative seats. Appointments happen quickly, with very little public input.
🔗 KSL:
🔗 KSL:
Utah legislator steps down following Cottonwood Heights mayoral victory
Utah Democrats announced their plan to replace a representative who resigned on Thursday, following her Cottonwood Heights mayoral election victory.
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 4:13 PM
This is a normal transition, but it’s a reminder of how much power political insiders have in filling mid-term legislative seats. Appointments happen quickly, with very little public input.
🔗 KSL:
🔗 KSL:
This isn’t just about one politician’s decision to bankroll harmful messaging. It’s about a political system that treats attacks on trans Utahns as acceptable collateral.
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/9xPg7z8
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/9xPg7z8
A top Utah politician quietly funded anti-trans ads, prompting complaints. A year later, nothing’s come of them.
After referring the case to the A.G.’s office, Lt. Gov. Henderson now says the anti-trans PAC funded by GOP House Speaker Rep. Schultz insists its records are accurate.
www.sltrib.com
December 2, 2025 at 4:11 AM
This isn’t just about one politician’s decision to bankroll harmful messaging. It’s about a political system that treats attacks on trans Utahns as acceptable collateral.
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/9xPg7z8
🔗 The Salt Lake Tribune: buff.ly/9xPg7z8
For the first time in a generation, voters have a district that wasn’t engineered to dilute their voice. A competitive Democratic field is exactly what a functioning democracy should look like!
🔗 Utah News Dispatch:
🔗 Utah News Dispatch:
Another Democrat joins the race to represent Utah’s new, left-leaning district • Utah News Dispatch
State Sen. Nate Blouin is jumping into the race for a newly drawn congressional district favoring Democrats.
buff.ly
December 2, 2025 at 1:11 AM
For the first time in a generation, voters have a district that wasn’t engineered to dilute their voice. A competitive Democratic field is exactly what a functioning democracy should look like!
🔗 Utah News Dispatch:
🔗 Utah News Dispatch:
The commission was designed precisely to offer voters a nonpartisan alternative to maps drawn for political advantage. When those maps reveal how extreme the Legislature’s gerrymanders truly are, suddenly the commission and courts are doing “too much.”
Rep. Blake Moore says Utah’s redistricting commission has gone against original intent
Before he was elected to Congress, Blake Moore helped lead the Better Boundaries movement. Now he says it’s violated its original goal.
buff.ly
December 1, 2025 at 10:11 PM
The commission was designed precisely to offer voters a nonpartisan alternative to maps drawn for political advantage. When those maps reveal how extreme the Legislature’s gerrymanders truly are, suddenly the commission and courts are doing “too much.”
The push to repeal it isn’t about “restoring legislative authority,” it’s about keeping voters from having a fair shot. Utahns across the political spectrum supported Prop 4 because they wanted fair maps—not the agenda of anonymous donors.
Trump-aligned dark money drives Utah Prop. 4 repeal effort
Securing American Greatness, a Trump‑aligned 501(c)(4), is the sole funder of the Utah GOP's bid to repeal Utah’s anti‑gerrymandering Prop 4—adding $2.175M and pushing the total near $3.3M.
buff.ly
December 1, 2025 at 7:11 PM
The push to repeal it isn’t about “restoring legislative authority,” it’s about keeping voters from having a fair shot. Utahns across the political spectrum supported Prop 4 because they wanted fair maps—not the agenda of anonymous donors.
This special session isn’t about “clarity.” It’s about power. After the courts ruled that Utahns have a constitutional right to reform their government, the supermajority is now trying to rewrite the constitution to take that right away.
🔗 ABC 4: buff.ly/34doPy8
🔗 ABC 4: buff.ly/34doPy8
www.abc4.com
December 1, 2025 at 5:58 PM
This special session isn’t about “clarity.” It’s about power. After the courts ruled that Utahns have a constitutional right to reform their government, the supermajority is now trying to rewrite the constitution to take that right away.
🔗 ABC 4: buff.ly/34doPy8
🔗 ABC 4: buff.ly/34doPy8