Utah – Government, Society, Politics

Constitutional framework

Utah’s constitution dates from statehood (1895). It guarantees basic personal freedoms consistent with the federal Bill of Rights, prohibits sectarian control of public schools, forbids “polygamous or plural marriages”—although the mainstream Mormon church has officially disavowed polygamy since 1890, a number of sects still practice it in Utah and elsewhere—and grants equal civil, political, and religious rights, including suffrage, to all citizens. Voting requirements follow national patterns, though for elections affecting tax levies, a voter must have paid a property tax the previous year.

The governor is aided by a jointly elected lieutenant governor (who also performs the duties of a secretary of state), as well as an auditor, treasurer, and attorney general. Much of the administration of routine state affairs is done through more than 50 state agencies. Each of these officials is elected to a four-year term. The governor has the right to veto any bill, but that decision may be overruled through repassage of the bill by a two-thirds majority of each house of the legislature. Any bill passed by the legislature and not acted upon by the governor within 10 days while the legislature is in session automatically becomes law. The governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general together form the State Board of Examiners, which reviews all official state transactions.

Legislative power is vested in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The legislature consists of 29 senators who serve four-year terms and 75 representatives who serve two-year terms. In addition, the voters have the power to initiate legislation and to hold a referendum on all laws not passed by a two-thirds majority of both houses.

The legislature meets annually in 45-day sessions. Special sessions may be called by the governor. More than two dozen legislative committees consider budgetary matters, appropriation requests, and other legislative matters.

The highest judicial authority is the state Supreme Court, composed of five justices elected to 10-year terms, one every two years. Judges of the seven district courts are elected to 6-year terms. The state also has circuit courts and justices of the peace. A juvenile court system has its own districts and judges.

All of Utah’s 29 counties are political subdivisions of the state and carry out administrative, judicial, law-enforcement, financial, health, educational, and welfare functions assigned by the state and federal governments. All but one of the counties are governed by the traditional three-member commission form of government. The other, Cache county, has an elected executive with part-time council members who perform judicial and policy-making functions. Counties perform municipal-type services in unincorporated areas as citizens demand, and they perform other services demanded or requested by citizens and permitted or not prohibited by state statutes.

Forms of municipal government vary according to population. Salt Lake City, Provo, and other cities with populations of more than 90,000, elect a mayor and a city council. Cities between 15,000 and 90,000 elect a mayor and two commissioners. Smaller cities elect a mayor and five council members. Incorporated towns are governed by a president and four trustees. Any city commission or town council has the power to appoint a city manager.

Utah has long been a heavily Republican state, owing in large part to the strong presence of conservative Mormons. Still, Republicans and Democrats work well together and show a reasonable degree of harmony. This has been true since the early 1890s, when the normally homogeneous Mormon populace was divided into political parties by church leaders to comply with federal requirements for statehood. Despite the overwhelming advantage Republicans have enjoyed in state and federal politics—Republican presidential candidates have won the state in all but one election since 1952, and Republicans have held the governorship for much of the period since statehood—Democrats have been competitive in Salt Lake City, where they have held the mayorship for most of the period since World War II. Still, Democratic candidates are at a demographic disadvantage in elections and tend to do well only if they reflect the prevailing conservative principles. At the federal level, Republican Orrin G. Hatch has been particularly notable; he was first elected to represent Utah in 1976 and has been one of the U.S. Senate’s most influential members during his long tenure.

Education

More than half of Utah’s tax-derived governmental expenditure is for education. School is mandatory for all children between ages 6 and 18. The school districts levy taxes that pay for almost half of educational expenses, the remainder being paid by the state. General public school regulations are administered by the state Board of Education; elected local boards exercise more specific control. There are a growing number of private elementary and secondary schools.

The largest of Utah’s state universities is the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City. It was founded in 1850 as the University of Deseret and has a reputation for outstanding graduate and professional schools of medicine, law, and pharmacology. Utah State University, in Logan, founded in 1888 as a land-grant school, has achieved national status in the fields of agriculture, forestry, education, engineering science, upper-atmosphere research, and the fine arts. Weber State University (1889), in Ogden, and Southern Utah University (1897), in Cedar City, are schools with rapidly expanding programs and facilities. Utah’s university system has been a pioneer in online learning, bringing educational opportunities to residents of rural communities. State colleges include Dixie State College (1911), in St. George, which grants bachelor’s degrees, associate’s degrees, and certificates in a range of disciplines; the College of Eastern Utah (1937), in Price, which grants associate’s degrees; and Snow College, in Ephraim, which grants associate’s degrees and has a partnership with the Juilliard School in New York City. Community colleges offering technical and other courses are located in Salt Lake City and Provo.

Brigham Young University, in Provo, is operated by the Mormon church. It is the largest church-related university in the country. Westminster College, in Salt Lake City (1875), is a nondenominational private institution.