Utah’s 45-day legislative session came to a close on Friday, leaving Gov. Spencer Cox 20 days to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature.
Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson spoke to the press Friday night in the final hours of the 2025 legislative session.
Henderson pointed out that this session may have been particularly challenging because the legislature was working with a smaller budget increase than in previous years. She also noted that there were many new legislators this time around.
“So there were a lot of people on Capitol Hill who were trying to find their way around ... and figure things out, and [who] were really excited to do good for their constituents," she said. "And so that was just a unique challenge this year that, you know, we didn't have last year.”
Cox agreed saying there has never been — nor will there ever be — an easy session where everyone gets what they want.
“The House is mad at the Senate," he said, "the Senate's mad at the House, the Senate's mad at the auditor, the auditor is mad at the senator. We're mad at everybody — no, we're not mad at everybody. We love everybody. But that's the challenge.”
The pair spent the bulk of the press conference discussing House Bill 300, which proposes changes to the state’s election laws.
“I’m very happy to say that we saved vote by mail. That's a big deal,” Henderson said.
She also emphasized that she and her staff had worked hard with the Legislature to strike a balance with HB 300. Cox added that the bill gives Utahns the “best of both worlds.”
“We still have vote by mail for those who want to vote by mail," he said. "We have more security for those who are using vote by mail. And for those who don't, they get to go have an incredible experience voting in person.”
When asked about House Bill 77 — the controversial bill that would ban pride flags from classrooms and other government buildings — the governor took the opportunity to say he would not answer questions about whether or not he was planning to veto a bill.
“No, I won't. I won't veto that bill," he began. "At least I don't think I will. I don't know, maybe I will. So look, listen, I'm not going to talk about vetoing any bills tonight. I don't know if I'm going to sign that one. I'll probably sign that one. I need to look at it. This is what I do. We have 20 days to go over all of these bills, okay?”
Cox said he wanted to be fair to the process, and make sure he took the time to review each bill before making a decision. Although he did follow up on the question about vetoing HB 77 by asking why these battles were taking place in offices and classrooms.
“Let's just save that for our homes and our advocacy," he said. "I think that's kind of where my mind is right now, but I'm obviously open to other discourse and other discussion.”
The governor now has until Thursday, March 27 to sign or veto bills passed by the Legislature.
