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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This resolution requests a study and report on recommendations for more effective
12 deployment of state resources to better serve Utah's economically underperforming
13 communities.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This resolution:
16 ▸ recognizes the strength of Utah's economy;
17 ▸ recognizes that, despite Utah's strong economy, some communities are struggling;
18 ▸ recognizes the state's resources as a driver for greater prosperity;
19 ▸ expresses support for a study that will analyze how state resources are being used to
20 help communities with economic performance below the state average; and
21 ▸ expresses support for creating a framework to measure a community's economic
22 performance in relation to other communities in the state.
23 Special Clauses:
24 None
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26 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
27 WHEREAS, the state of Utah has one of the fastest growing economies in the country,
28 with a 3.3% annual growth rate since 2007 and a 4.2% growth rate over the past year;
29 WHEREAS, despite strong economic growth overall, some Utah communities are still
30 struggling;
31 WHEREAS, employment has increased by 31% overall since 2009, the largest change
32 in employment of any state, but about a third of Utah counties have not yet returned to their
33 pre-recession employment level;
34 WHEREAS, Utah's unemployment rate of 2.3% is the lowest in the nation, but there are
35 still counties within the state with unemployment rates more than double the statewide rate;
36 WHEREAS, Utah's designation of federal opportunity zones created vast rural areas
37 more notable for their exclusion from rather than their inclusion in the opportunity zone
38 program;
39 WHEREAS, regardless of the methods used to identify opportunity zones, many
40 communities, especially rural communities, that could have benefitted from designation were
41 overlooked, while other areas had thousands of square miles of public land or other
42 undevelopable parcels designated as opportunity zones;
43 WHEREAS, the opportunity zone program could have been used to help these
44 overlooked communities without diminishing the benefit to opportunity zones that were
45 designated with precision and care;
46 WHEREAS, based on the stated objectives of the opportunity zone program, it is a
47 disservice that the communities left out of the opportunity zone process are among the most
48 deserving;
49 WHEREAS, the missed opportunity represented by Utah's opportunity zones is one of
50 many indicators of a possible disconnect between key decision makers and smaller, more rural
51 communities that could make meaningful contributions to Utah's economy if those
52 communities were given genuine consideration;
53 WHEREAS, many small counties lack the staff and resources to effectively engage with
54 state agencies for the type of planning that drives the deployment of state resources;
55 WHEREAS, achieving economic prosperity for all of Utah's communities requires a
56 more targeted distribution of the state's resources, with an emphasis on underperforming
57 communities;
58 WHEREAS, a more focused use of state resources to aid underperforming communities
59 will lead to greater economic prosperity for all of Utah;
60 WHEREAS, good information drives better decisions;
61 WHEREAS, data related to population, voting, health care, K-12 education, higher
62 education, land use, construction, transportation, energy, tourism, the arts, jails, social services,
63 agriculture, natural resources, and economic development incentives, are critical for planning,
64 achieving, and maintaining strong economic growth; and
65 WHEREAS, the state does have the expertise, data, and desire to exercise governance
66 that is in the best interest of all Utahns:
67 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature, the Governor
68 concurring therein, supports the goal of bringing economic prosperity to all of Utah's
69 communities, especially communities with economic performance below the state average.
70 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor support studying
71 the current distribution of the state's resources in relation to underperforming communities.
72 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study described in this resolution focus on
73 analyzing the current distribution of all state resources, providing recommendations on the
74 development of a meaningful measure of a community's economic performance in relation to
75 other communities in the state, and assessing how to more effectively use state resources to
76 assist communities with economic performance below the state average.
77 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study described in this resolution be prepared
78 for additional discussion and review during the Legislature's 2020 Legislative Policy Summit.
79 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the findings and recommendations of the study
80 described in this resolution be reported to the Government Operations Interim Committee no
81 later than November 1, 2020.
82 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state will revisit opportunity zone designations
83 and work with Utah's federal delegation to amend the state's opportunity zone designations to
84 include overlooked communities.
85 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor, in an effort to
86 show care for communities and people with unmet needs and lack of representation in the
87 state's planning processes, will take a proactive approach to deploying the state's resources with
88 a strong emphasis on economically underperforming communities, including requiring the
89 additional allocation of resources to those communities.