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Wasatch Back senator says Utahns will see energy, immigration bills this legislative session

Parker Malatesta
/
KPCW

Utah’s 45-day General Session begins Tuesday, Jan. 21. KPCW’s Kristine Weller reports the key issues lawmakers will discuss include energy and illegal immigration.

Sen. Ron Winterton, R-Duchesne, represents District 20, which covers Wasatch County and most of Summit County.

He says lawmakers will likely pass legislation focusing on energy. Last year energy was generated solely in the private sector, Winterton said, which means it dictates how much energy infrastructure Utah has.

“Last year for the first time, Utah had to import electricity,” he said. “We've always been a net exporter, and so it was a wake-up call that we have not done enough for infrastructure.”

Winterton said part of the problem is artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers as they take up a lot of energy to operate. He said residents shouldn’t be competing for electricity to power AI. Instead, Winterton said the Senate will likely give AI and data center developers project areas where they can generate their own electricity.

Immigration legislation will also be a focus during the session. In line with President-elect Donald Trump, Gov. Spencer Cox has expressed his commitment to deporting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes and addressing other immigration and detention problems in Utah.

However, Winterton said this process must be thought out.

“I'm not one to just round everybody up and kick them out, because it will hurt us as a state,” he said.

For example, immigrants make up much of Summit and Wasatch County’s workforce and Winterton said it would be difficult to replace them.

“Is there a way that we can help them get work visas or get them legal to the point that we can continue to see and receive productivity from these individuals,” he said.

Winterton will sponsor a few bills of his own. One is related to his concern over chemtrails, the white streaks of condensed water vapor aircraft leave in the sky. Some believe the cloud formations consist of chemical or biological material dispersed by governments to harm humans. A 2016 study by atmospheric scientists from the University of California, Irvine, reported no evidence to support the theory and labeled it a conspiracy.

“Some people think we're crazy, but when you look at the jet streams up there, the ones that dissipate are just vapor from the airliners and then there's others that linger for sometimes up to an hour,” Winterton said.

He will also introduce a bill clarifying Utah’s eminent domain law, which allows the government to take private property for public use, with payment of compensation. The bill would allow private property owners to retain mineral rights in cases of eminent domain.

The 2025 legislative session begins Jan. 21 and ends March 7.