President’s Message: Utah Rising and the 2026 Legislative Session

The 2026 Legislative Session is underway, marking a critical moment to shape policies that will define Utah’s future. For those committed to Utah Rising, this session is more than routine; it’s an opportunity to turn a shared vision into meaningful action.

When we launched Utah Rising in April 2024, we did so with a clear understanding: a prosperous future for all Utahns requires more than good intentions. It requires showing up through collaboration between business and public leaders and sustained engagement in the policy decisions that shape our workforce, infrastructure and communities.

Utah Rising is anchored around six strategic focus areas: workforce and education, transportation, business environment, housing, livability and natural resources. With the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on the horizon, these priorities carry new urgency. They represent the essential building blocks of a strong economy and high quality of life, and a generational opportunity to get it right.

The Utah Chamber leads Utah Rising as a unified effort to strengthen our state’s economy and communities. But vision without action is just aspiration. That’s where advocacy comes in.

The Chamber’s 2026 Public Policy Guide serves as our roadmap for the session, outlining priorities that matter most to Utah’s 80,000-plus employers and the employees and communities they support. Throughout the guide, you’ll notice certain recommendations marked with the Utah Rising symbol. These are the priorities directly aligned with our statewide economic vision, and it is in these areas where focused investment and smart policy can make the greatest difference.

This session, Utah Rising policy recommendations span several key areas:

• Education and Workforce: advocating for investments in early literacy, first-credential opportunities for high school students and stronger support for post-secondary completion. A skilled, prepared workforce is the foundation of everything we hope to achieve, and these priorities ensure we’re building that pipeline from the earliest years through to employment.
• Housing Affordability: calling for continued infrastructure investment to unlock development, streamlined land use processes to bring homes to market faster, the creation of a statewide community land trust for permanently affordable housing and expanded opportunities for starter homeownership. Workers can’t contribute to our economy if they can’t afford to live here.
• Transportation and Infrastructure: strengthening private sector partnership opportunities and continuing investments in roads, bridges, transit and digital networks. These systems are the connective tissue of our economy, and their reliability directly impacts our competitiveness.
• Additional Priorities: energy and regulatory stability, mental and behavioral health priorities, workforce reentry programs for individuals experiencing homelessness and streamlined regulatory processes that allow businesses to focus on growth and innovation rather than compliance burdens.

These priorities reflect deliberate choices, not just about what’s good for business, but about what’s necessary to sustain Utah’s momentum. The 2034 Winter Games will place Utah on a global stage. The question is whether we’ll be ready to showcase a state that has invested wisely in its people, places and future.

I invite you to review the full 2026 Public Policy Guide, stay engaged throughout the session and follow the Chamber’s updates on priority legislation. Consider how your voice, and your business’s voice, can help shape the policies that will define Utah for the next decade and beyond.

This is what showing up looks like. This is Utah Rising in action.