June 16, 2022

"The Safe Utah app that every child should have on their smartphone, every parent should have it on their phone, it's first and foremost, a mental health app. It allows you to connect if you're in crisis with a mental health professional, and you can do it anonymously if you prefer." Governor Cox

ANNOUNCER: PBS Utah presents "The Governor's Monthly News Conference," an exchange between Utah reporters and governor Spencer Cox.

GOVERNOR COX: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's great to be with you again. Thank you for joining us for our monthly news conference. We appreciate PBS Utah hosting us again today.

I want to just start, if I might take a little prerogative to shine a light on a couple of major ways that we're working to improve government. Without mentioning that today, they usually get zero notice. 

So, last month, the Department of Government Operations team, particularly the Division of Technology Services and the Division of Facilities Construction Management successfully moved the state's data center. This is a really big deal for all of us in state government. And again, something that, that hopefully, when it goes right, no one ever notices. It means that the state phone system, call centers, the print center, the automated firewall, database servers, all moved to the cloud and to the state office building in Taylorsville. 

This is about security, and it was an immense task that require detailed planning, coordination, dedication, creativity, and teamwork. In fact, more than 350 state employees were involved in this move to ensure that the safety and integrity of the state's data remained intact. Remarkably, all of this happened on time and on budget without anyone noticing at all. There weren't any service disruptions, which means the mission was accomplished. Really proud of our team for doing that. 

The second unsung achievement involves revamping Utah's occupational licensing. A little bit of a boring subject unless you're trying to find a job and you're subject to those occupational licenses. Utah's a leader in licensing reform, and we have one of the most robust and open processes for qualified professionals to work that serves as a model for the country, but we're not satisfied yet.

The first executive order that I issued on my first day after my inauguration was around occupational licensing. That order asked for a complete review of barriers to work in order to make sure the state isn't getting in the way of people's livelihoods without a solid health or safety justification. Following that executive order, we took action by working with the chairs of the business and labor committee, Senators Curt Bramble and Representative Joel Ferry, to create two landmark pieces of legislative licensing reform. First, SB 43, which creates a pathway for people trained in other countries, including refugees, to obtain a license and help fill in-demand jobs in our state.

And second, a new process for ongoing license reform that became with SB 16, a new office of licensing review, which will begin operations on July 1st. This office will have the broadest application of any office of its kind in the country, touching on all state licensing and will lead to meaningful change through thoughtful discussion and collaboration. 

These are just a part of our efforts to make state government smaller and more efficient. And they rarely make headlines, but I want to assure Utahans that we are making real progress in improving government and making it more responsive. Improving state government is a strong priority for my administration. I'm proud of our team for finding solutions that will increase access to government and empower the public. 

And now I got to have my soap box for just a moment. The time is yours for questions. 

KATIE MCKELLAR, DESERET NEWS: Governor your thoughts on the latest Fed rate hike. How well positioned do you think Utah is for a possible recession? 

GOVERNOR COX: So, we've talked a lot about this over the last few weeks. It was the largest rate hike in some time. Sadly, the rate hikes previous have not done enough to slow inflation. We saw, I think, a little bit of a surprise that inflation continued to tick up this past month. And so, we're very hopeful that this will happen. 

Look, as you talk to the Fed, as we've had those conversations, they're trying to thread the tiniest of needles. And that is how do you, how do you destroy demand without going into a recession? And the truth is they haven't been very good at it in the past. And so, we're deeply concerned about that. Obviously, concerned about inflation and what's happening.

We are seeing signs, at least in the housing market, that it is having the intended impact. Sadly, the intended impact hurts Utahans, and especially those that are trying to get into housing. Hopefully, over time that will help to drive down the cost of housing, make it more affordable, but in the short term, we're making it more expensive in that as interest rates rise, it's going to be harder for families to, you know, a $300,000 mortgage now, you're going see four to 500 just back in the napkin dollar increase in your monthly, in your monthly mortgage payments because of those significant rate increases from where we were just a few months ago. So, that's bad news 

Ultimately, that will drive down the cost of housing as there is less demand for housing. There may also, be another interesting note though. People may be less willing to sell their houses, not just because of price coming down, but if you have a mortgage right now of 2% and you're looking to maybe move and buy another house somewhere else, you're not really excited to get rid of your 2% mortgage to get a 6% mortgage. And so, I don't think anybody's sure exactly how that piece is going to shake out. Sadly, though, we do know from history that it is a move that has to be done, probably should have happened earlier. 

There's a lot of talk about, of course, coming out of the last recession in 2007, 2008, '09, that timeframe, that all the quantitative easing that happened never really peeled back. And so, the economy was burning very, very hot coming out of the pandemic.

Your question was how is Utah positioned to handle in any type of a backslide? And I believe that the data would prove this out, that Utah situated better than really any other state to handle any type of a recession, both from the way that we manage our public finances, as well as just the diversification of the economy being one of the most diverse economies in the country with very low unemployment. That's working in our favor as well. And having just returned, I spent two days in the San Francisco area talking with entrepreneurs and tech leaders, business leaders there, they agree with that assessment that Utah's very well positioned to weather any type of a downturn in the economy. 

KATIE MCKELLAR, DESERET NEWS: Any updates on talk to give Utahans relief at the gas pump? 

GOVERNOR COX: So, we continue to have these discussions. There’re some important things that happened yesterday that I would point out. And one of those is a hearing around the free fare, reduced fare for transit. That's something that I've certainly been pushing for the legislature to help alleviate. 

Obviously, not everybody has access to transit, but a lot of people have, a significant majority of Utahans have access to transit. To make that a significant alternative to paying $5 at the pump. And I thought the hearing went well. I thought, UTA and UDOT both were at the hearing. I felt that the legislators came out of that optimistic that there's an opportunity to do something there. But we haven't had the follow up conversation since that hearing, so, those will be happening.

BRIAN MULLAHY, KUTV2: What about a gas tax holiday? Have you changed your position on a gas tax holiday?

GOVERNOR COX: Look, we continue to talk about that. I would love to have a gas tax holiday. The problems that we've mentioned are kind of unique to the way that Utah funds our roads and the way our gas tax works, because it's, we tax at the rack instead of at the pump. It could actually be a windfall for petroleum companies and I don't think anybody's really excited about that piece. There's no guarantee that it would be passed on directly to the consumer. So, those are some of the issues that we're working for. I will say I did have a couple legislators this week who reached out and said, hey, we may be, you know, more open to looking at that, but I haven't seen a major change there. It's just, again, I'm looking for relief any way we can get it. The way we do it, though, is different than other states, and so, a gas tax holiday isn't the best way necessarily to provide that relief, but were certainly open to.

BRIAN MULLAHY, KUTV2: Were any of those legislators leaders in the legislature? 

GOVERNOR COX: No.

BRIAN MULLAHY, KUTV2: No, what about on the supply side? Last time, a month ago, you said you decried the lack of sales of oil and gas leases on federal land in the state. And I checked with the Office of Energy Production just this morning, and it said just one sale has occurred. At least one parcel was up for sale, whether or not anybody bid on it is unknown. Is the Biden Administration being obstructionist, worse than obstructionist in these oil and gas lease sales?

GOVERNOR COX: Yeah, and this isn't a secret. Like, I mean, he ran on this. This was, you know, I mean, he's very vocal that this is what he wanted to do. That he wanted to raise the price of gas to destroy demand and for environmental purposes. I mean, that's very, it was a clear pillar. I don't, I don't know why this seems to be some sort of debate. Well, no, he doesn't really believe that. Like you can go back and check the receipts and the tapes. 

This is what he and some in the environmental movement wanted to accomplish. Now, there have been other factors, and I'm willing to admit that. You know, that was obviously before there was a war between Russia and Ukraine. And so, that has certainly added to the issues out there, but it's very concerning, I think, to a lot of us when the message at home and the message to those that are, that invest in this area, is that you should not invest in this area. That we are not interested in future production. And yet at the same time, the president is planning to go over and beg the Saudis to increase production. And so, there's, there's a cognitive dissonance there, I think, that is very strange and very difficult to understand.

Now, I also, recognize that there's a difference between short-term production, which the Saudis can do immediately, and kind of longer-term production, which is what we're talking here. I understand all of those arguments. But I will tell you, one of the things that we desperately need is more refining capacity. And we've known that for some time, and yet smart capital and people who run those markets, aren't going to be interested in investing in new refining capacity. 

There's been very little new refining capacity in the United States over the past few years. because those are long-term investments. And when the message is very clear that we're not going to support that and we're not going to give out any more leases, and, you know, I've said this here before. The Obama Administration was doing about 80 leases a year in the state of Utah, The Trump Administration was doing about a hundred leases a year. There is a difference between President Trump and President Obama, but the difference of 20 leases is fairly small, you know, in the grand scheme of things. 

The difference between 80 leases and zero leases or one lease is very significant and sends a message that I think is the wrong message. Again, I think we should be smart about this and instead of exporting the production of oil and gas to people like Vladimir Putin and the Saudis, that we should be doing that. I think the world is a safer place and the environment is better across the globe if the United States is a leader in this space.

BRIAN MULLAHY, KUTV2: What could they do to-- 

GOVERNOR COX: Send terrible letters to the-- 

BRIAN MULLAHY, KUTV2: That's happened already though, right? 

GOVERNOR COX: I mean, I say, you know, that's what we can do. We don't have control over the almost 70% of Utah that is owned by the federal government. 

BRIAN MULLAHY, KUTV2:  And what do you think of the administration's argument, well, we already have all these leases that that they haven't drilled on, they haven't explored. What about that? 

GOVERNOR COX: Well, again, as you drill down, no pun intended, into those statements, you'll find a couple things. So, first of all, there are leases where they know there isn't production and those leases have been offered. And that's why a lot, many of those leases have not been utilized. They have also, significantly slowed down the permitting. It's not enough to have a lease. You actually have to have a permit as well. And the permitting process is another area where the extreme environmental movement with the help of the administration have made it more and more difficult to actually get the permits that you need for the drilling rigs and others to, the things that need to be done on those lands. 

So, it's more than just that, but I have to say this as well. It's also, about the atmosphere that you're creating around here. And the message that you're sending, capital is a coward. Capital is always a coward. It's going to go where it's wanted. And if it's wanted somewhere else in a global society where oil and gas exploration is easier, it's going to go to those places. And again, that's the message that is being sent. Even more than just the leases themselves, the message is we're not going to do this anymore here. We don't want any of this. And it's just crazy to me at a time when now, again, energy is getting more expensive, but it's also, getting less reliable. 

You know, I was just in California where they're talking about rolling blackouts this year because they don't have enough energy, enough reliable energy to accomplish what they want to accomplish. And we're going to get there. We are going to get there as a society. It's happening with renewables. There is significant, a significant willingness to invest in renewables. That is not the question. The question is what happens when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing? 

That's why I've been a huge advocate for nuclear fuels as well. I think if you're really serious about climate change, you have to be talking about nuclear. If you're serious about reducing carbon emissions. And we are having those discussions here. We're trying to invest in those technologies, but again, the federal government controls so, much of this space on the permitting side when it comes to nuclear as well that it's just so, difficult. 

The technology's not quite there on the other renewable pieces when it comes to battery storage, and we're working on that as well. A huge hydrogen project that has been announced, the Department of Energy. Utah's leading in the renewable space. So, again, it's a false choice. It's not just about whether we're going to have fossil fuels forever and never, never get better, never reduce carbon emissions. It's really about doing it in a smart way that doesn't destroy our economy, doesn't hurt the most vulnerable, and allows us to transition to these cleaner fuels.

SAMUEL METZ, ASSOCIATED PRESS: What do you think about that Delta, Utah hydrogen facility. Excuse me, in the 500 million loan the Biden Administration said it's part of their clean grid and net zero goals. Is that a way to move towards a clean grid and net zero? 

GOVERNOR COX: Absolutely, yes, and we're very supportive of that. And it's a great project, and one we're very excited about. I will also, mention that we are partnering with three other states on a hydrogen hub project that will take advantage of, hopefully, if we get selected some, some of the money that the Biden Administration has put forward the recent infrastructure bill that was passed. A bipartisan bill that was passed by Congress. So, it's Colorado, Utah, and we're working with New Mexico and Wyoming as well. So, this is red states and blue states working together on a large hydrogen project. I'm taking advantage of the Delta project that was already mentioned. And hydrogen has has great opportunities. We believe strongly in those and that we should be investing in those technologies side by side with, again, smart production of oil and gas as a bridge to get us there.

REPORTER: Governor your thoughts about the gun safety debate and if more should be done to protect schools here in Utah? And can you also, give your thoughts about red flag laws?

GOVERNOR COX: Sure, yeah, so, this is, this is obviously a very contentious debate and has been for some time. Let me just say that what happened in Uvalde is just unthinkable, unspeakable. It's horrendous. I can't get those images out of my head, like many of you. And the devastating thing is it's happened before and we know it's going to happen again. I will say that this is the, the hardest part for me is that while we have not had anything like that in the state of Utah, and I'm incredibly grateful that we have not had anything like that in the state of Utah. And I think we've done some things to help prevent that from happening in the state of Utah, and I'd like to share those in a second. I also, know that the odds are that it will happen here in the state of Utah someday. And I'm probably going to have to be the one to stand in front of those parents and look them in the eye and it's going to be devastating if I can't in good faith say we tried to do something.

And so, I've, as I've talked to legislative leadership and individual legislators that I've had the chance to discuss this with, what I've asked them is to please keep an open mind. Just kind of elimiate any prior biases and let's have a conversation and see if there are some things that we can come together on. I've said this before to some of you, that it, you know, I have a hard time listening to anybody who says it's only about guns, but I also, have a hard time listening to anybody who says it's never about guns at all and access to firearms. We are watching very closely the federal piece of this. 

So, what I can say is we, until they actually put something down on paper, we don't really know. We have kind of the broad outlines of that, but we're waiting to see what it is that they're actually proposing. I think... So, let me share just some of the things that we've done that are maybe different than other states that I think have made a difference. It's not like we haven't talked about this or worked on this or actually passed legislation on this in the past. 

We have had significant funding for security measures around schools and planning processes and improving infrastructure in schools to harden schools, as has been mentioned. Most schools in the state of Utah have different security procedures now than they had even five or six years ago. So, we have made significant progress. We have more resource officers in the schools than ever before. So, that's an added security measure that is helpful. We have the Safe Utah app, which I, that should have been part of the federal legislation. I think there is a piece proposed to help states with things like the Safe Utah app. But if I was a senator or if I was in Congress, I would be pushing to make this nationwide. I believe it is done more to prevent something like this from happening than anything else we've done in this state. And I know that because I get to see the data.

The Safe Utah app that every child should have on their smartphone, every parent should have it on their phone, it's first and foremost, a mental health app. It allows you to connect if you're in crisis with a mental health professional, and you can do it anonymously if you prefer. But it also, has the ability to share tips anonymously if there is bullying happening, if there are weapons that are being brought to school, if there are any threats to the safety of students.

We average about one tip per day, over 300 tips in the past year. And those tips are, you know, so, and so, just posted on social media that they want to do something terrible, and we've intervened. Law enforcement has intervened. We've had tips about people bringing weapons to school and we've intervened and caught those weapons at the front door. So, we do have something that other states don't have.

The last thing I want to mention there is we have significantly invested in mental health over the past few years, especially youth mental health. More so, in the past couple years than our state's, our entire state's history. We're not one of these states that says, you know, we want all the guns and none of the mental health. That's not true here. We truly believe in getting new mental health resources. I'm going to be proposing additional resources in that vein because they've been so, successful.

Governor Herbert believed strongly that we needed more counseling in our schools. And we, I think it was 29 million. It was more than 26. Somewhere between 26 and 29 million, three years ago maybe. I apologize, I'm just doing this off the top of my head, that we were able to get the legislature passed and allowed us to hire significantly more counselors in our schools, and specifically in our elementary schools where we had not had, and middle schools. We'd had them in high schools before, but not at those levels. We still don't have enough. Part of that is a pipeline issue. We need more people to get their degrees in counseling. And hopefully, we've added funding to expand that in some of our colleges and universities. But we have seen a huge difference.

As I talk to principals across the state, they're seeing improved behavior because of the counseling services that are available helping families and parents with kids that are struggling. One school in particular, I may have mentioned this before. I apologize if it's repeat, but one particular school in rural Utah where they were averaging 30 referrals a week to the principal's office, that's been cut down to three since they added a counselor in that school. So, these are making really big differences. 

On the gun side of things, this is one where there is not broad agreement and where we will continue to work. We've talked about red flag laws before. There was a red flag law that was proposed a couple years ago. It did not get out of committee, and the legislator who ran that lost at convention this year. So, certainly I think there's some concern about that around members of the legislatures. I have those concerns. Please.

REPORTER:  Would you support a red flag law?

GOVERNOR COX: So, what I've said before, and I will say again, in theory, I think most people support red flag laws. The idea that, is to not to impact someone's Second Amendment right to own a weapon. But if someone is a threat to themselves, to their families, the ability to remove those weapons for a short amount of time with a constitutional hearing of some sort so, that their constitutional rights are protected.

So, in theory, yes. But the details of that really matter, and the problem is, as we were starting to look at what those details are, no one could find a path to really protect those Second Amendment rights and have the type of hearing that is necessary to remove those weapons and to make sure that that process was not abused. And so, I haven't seen one yet that met those very high standards, but that doesn't mean there isn't one out there. And so, that's why we're having these conversations that I think are important. I would just add that there are a couple areas where I think we can find some common ground, at least I'm hopeful. And one of those is around gun ownership and responsible gun ownership. 

One of the things that concerns me, look, I grew up... The Christmas I remember most was when I got my first gun, and I was, I think I was 11 years old. It was a kind of like "A Christmas Story" moment. My dad hid the .22, after all the presents were opened, and I thought Christmas was over. And then the .22 was hidden back there, and it was just the best. And I couldn't wait to go out, and I did.

A few years later I got my first shotgun. And that was important to us. I carried a rifle to school my sophomore, junior, and senior years, in my truck, on the rack in my truck to hunt after school. Half the guys in my school had guns with them at school, but we also, had a deep and abiding respect for those weapons. We were taught from a very early age that they were dangerous, that we respected them. And that is an important piece of our culture that I think is being lost. We didn't celebrate them as a way to intimidate people.

This gun culture change that has happened over time, I don't think is healthy. I think that guns should be respected and I am hopeful and will be having these conversations with the gun advocacy community, that they can help us restore that respect for those weapons and the way that they're used and should not be abused. 

The second piece around this is locking up those weapons that I think is very important. We have made some strides on the suicide prevention piece. While we have not had, while we have not had a mass shooting like the ones that we saw in Texas and other places, we do have too many suicides and we do have far too many domestic violence incidents. And those are two areas where I do think we can make some headway. Enforcing laws, maybe adding some new laws around locking guns, making sure gun locks are available ubiquitously, and making sure that people who are not locking up their guns are held accountable.

So, I know we're running out of time. I need to wrap up here for the television segment of this, but I do believe that there are some things that we can do to come together to make a difference in this space.

EMILY MEANS, KUER: All right, thank you so, much, governor. That's all the time we do have for our television broadcast. Thank you for joining us for "The Governor's Monthly News Conference."

ANNOUNCER: This has been "The Governor's Monthly News Conference." For transcripts, full video, and more information, visit pbsutah.org/governor.

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