Sonja Hutson
ReporterSonja Hutson is a politics and government reporter at KUER. She’s been reporting on politics ever since the 10th grade, when she went to so many school board meetings the district set up a press table for her. Before coming to Utah, Sonja spent four years at KQED in San Francisco where she covered everything from wildfires to the tech industry. When she’s not working, you can find her skiing, camping, or deeply invested in a 1000 piece puzzle.
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The session started off with an intense focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. But after that, the focus shifted to tax cuts, culture wars and water conservation.
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In the final hours of the Utah legislative session, the Legislature introduced and passed a proposal banning transgender girls’ participation in school sports. Gov. Spencer Cox said he would veto it and the bill did not pass with a veto-proof majority.
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Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson helped craft the legislation with county clerks. She said the bill does not mean there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
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HB 374 also requires the Board of Education and Attorney General to give schools training and guidance on identifying “sensitive materials.”
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The bill, HB 363, also expands who could be involuntarily committed.
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HB 331 would have given students a scholarship for private school tuition, private tutors or textbooks if they were opted out of public school.
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The fiscal year 2023 budget makes big investments in education, infrastructure, and water preservation.
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The legislative session is in its final stretch, with just one week left. This is the time when lawmakers vote on a ton of the session's most important and most controversial bills.
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As Free Fare February comes to a close, a bill to make public transit free forever in Utah died in committee.
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Under the agreement, Salt Lake City would lose a spot on the board overseeing the inland port. In return, it would get more tax revenue and more control over some port spending.
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During the height of the omicron surge, many teachers had to work overtime to fill in for their sick coworkers due to a shortage of substitute teachers.
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The legislation sets up a water trust to increase flow into the lake and restore the surrounding wetlands.