Newly elected Utah Senate President Wayne Neiderhauser opened the 2013 Legislative session by urging senators to be fiscally responsible.
In his opening remarks Senate President Wayne Neiderhauser warned his fellow senators to be careful not to believe they can create money out of thin air as they go about tackling some of Utah’s tough budget issues. He says he hopes to see legislators pass laws that work in the long term, especially when it comes to education funding.
“I think we need to start looking at what we want it to look like and what it should look like and then passing legislation that steps us towards those policies,” Neiderhauser says.
Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis also points to education funding as a key issue for him and his fellow Democrats this session. He says properly funding education means using any and all tools available to get more money into the classrooms.
“We have to make sure that that is adequately funded," Davis says. "If that means that we need to change our tax structure or any issues than we need to tackle those issues.”
Davis also listed the expansion of Medicaid as a top priority. Neiderhauser on the other hand says he is against the expansion.