On the Hill - News Dispatch

Gov. Spencer Cox speaks during his monthly news conference broadcast by PBS Utah from the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 16, 2025. (Pool photo by Laura Seitz/Deseret News)

Remote work for state employees in Utah could be changing

Details
Fentanyl pills seized by Utah law enforcement and handed over to the Utah Department of Public Safety. (Photo courtesy of the Utah Department of Public Safety)

Fentanyl is the most common drug found in overdose deaths in Utah

Details
The Capitol rotunda is pictured on the first day of the legislative session in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

How to navigate the 2025 Utah Legislature

Details
People rally in support of transgender rights at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

As transgender restriction bills pile up, LGBTQ+ supporters stage cheerful protest

Details
Meagan Bertelsen and Shannon march hand-in-hand as people rally in support of transgender rights at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Privacy expectations or discrimination? Bill could change housing policies for transgender students

Details
Since 2019, Utah’s Division of Consumer Protection has pursued allegations that Purdue knew its prescription opioid OxyContin had a high risk of addiction and concealed that fact from consumers, while marketing it as less addictive than other painkillers. (Getty Images)

Utah expected to join at least a dozen states in Purdue Pharma settlement

Details
People rally in support of transgender rights at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah House passes bill changing university housing policies for transgender students

Details
McKinsey Robertson hugs her daughter, Marcie Robertson, who testified against HB269, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (Photo by Vanessa Hudson for Utah News Dispatch)

‘It’s about segregation’: Opponents of transgender housing bill make their case again

Details
The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah’s human composting bill may not be dead yet

Details
People rally in support of transgender rights at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on the first day of the legislative session, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah poised to pass transgender rule on dorms, marking 4th year of LGBTQ+ restrictions

Details
The Willard Bay portion of the Great Salt Lake is pictured on Monday, March 18, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah’s youth are back on the hill to learn and lobby to save Great Salt Lake

Details
Students eat lunch at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in South Salt Lake on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah won’t have a universal school meal program, yet

Details
Teachers silently protest in front of Gov. Spencer Cox’s office and call on him to veto HB267 on Feb. 14, 2025. (Photo by Vanessa Hudson/Utah News Dispatch)

‘It’s not over until it’s over’: Teachers ask Cox to veto union bill in silent protest

Details
Students work in a class at Wasatch Junior High School in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah appears ready to spend millions on free meals for eligible students

Details
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall names Brian Redd the new chief of the Salt Lake City Police Department at a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Vanessa Hudson/Utah News Dispatch)

Corrections director Brian Redd recommended as Salt Lake City’s new police chief

Details
A bill from Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, would identify obsolete state-owned buildings and state-owned property that could be turned into child care facilities. (Getty Images)

Utah lawmaker renews push for expanded child care access

Details
A bill before the Utah Legislature would seek a waiver from the federal government in order to prohibit the purchase of candy and soda with the use of SNAP benefits. (Getty Images)

A ‘MAHA’ bill is making its way through the Utah Legislature

Details
A classroom at Woodrow Wilson Elementary School in South Salt Lake is pictured on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

School board decisions could become subject to voter referendums, bill says

Details
A man shops for groceries at a Chicago supermarket. Inspired by now confirmed federal Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s views, several states are considering bills to prevent food stamps from being used to purchase candy and soda. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

How can Utah facilitate DOGE efforts? No soda for SNAP recipients, lawmaker says

Details
Utah is closer to banning the display of pride flags in K-12 classrooms and government buildings after a Senate Education Committee hearing. (Getty Images)

As critics decry ‘gross government overreach,’ bill to ban pride flags from schools advances

Details
Children work with a staff member at Stepping Stones Tooele, a day care that shares a campus with Harris Housing and Switchpoint Tooele Community Resource Center in Tooele on Friday, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

Utah won’t expand child care access this year

Details
A crowd gathers during a LBGTQ+ rights protest at the Utah State Capitol on the last day of the legislative session, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Photo by Alex Goodlett for Utah News Dispatch)

Utahns made repeated trips to the state’s Capitol to make their voices heard this session

Details
Legislators work in the House Chamber on the last day of the legislative session at the Utah State Capitol, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Photo by Alex Goodlett for Utah News Dispatch)

Deportations, transgender restrictions, MAHA: National issues that came to Utah

Details
  • By Kyle Dunphey, Vanessa Hudson, Alixel Cabrera and Katie McKella
  • Published In: Utah News Dispatch
The Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured at dusk on the last night of the legislative session, Friday, March 7, 2025. (Photo by Alex Goodlett for Utah News Dispatch)

‘Control’ center stage as 2025 Utah Legislature comes to a close

Details
  • By Katie McKellar, Kyle Dunphey, Alixel Cabrera and Vanessa Hudson
  • Published In: Utah News Dispatch

Thanks to Our Partners

The On the Hill internship is an Amplify Utah project in partnership with Utah News Dispatch and KUER.


 

UT News Dispatch logo

kuer

Stay in the know

AmplifyUtahLogo