UTAH'S MORNING NEWS

‘Utah is the hope of America:’ What will be discussed during the 2026 legislative session

Jan 20, 2026, 1:57 PM | Updated: 2:27 pm

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams spoke with Utah's Morning News on what will be prioritized durin...

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams spoke with Utah's Morning News on what will be prioritized during the state's 2026 legislative session. (Adam Small, KSL)

(Adam Small, KSL)

SALT LAKE CITY — From social media to energy developments, Utah Senate President Stuart Adams spoke with Utah’s Morning News hosts Amanda Dickson and Andy Farnsworth about what will be prioritized during the state’s 2026 legislative session.

KSL NewsRadio edited the following transcript for brevity. 


Day one of Utah’s 2026 legislative session

ADAMS: “We are celebrating this year, 250 years of America. I mean, isn’t that cool? I mean, all year long we’re going to be talking about what our founding fathers did, what allows us to be here to at the State Capitol, to make laws, to have the freedoms we have, I think we need to celebrate a little bit of that. There’s so many great things happening. We talk about all the challenges of the world, about America. It’s still the hope of the world. You can see as we meet for 45 days. Utah is the hope of America.”

FARNSWORTH: “Well that’s a great way to look at it and to start things off, and a good reminder. So, what are the things that you want to focus on as you begin this session?”

ADAMS: “We’re looking at AI, we’re looking at all kinds of things that’s changing our lives. We’ve seen what’s happened in the past with social media, but, you know what AI needs? It needs energy. We haven’t developed a lot of energy in the United States. We’re going to look at energy development. We’ve got geothermal down in Cedar City. We’re going to look at nuclear, we just approved a nuclear plant to be able to build small nuclear reactors in Brigham City. Energy is going to be a big focus.”

Watch the full interview below to hear more on what else is being covered during the legislative session 👇

 


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Utah Legislature addresses Utah housing growth and challenges

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‘Utah is the hope of America:’ What will be discussed during the 2026 legislative session