Gov. Cox signs executive order to establish new council focused on Utah's future and ‘quality of life'
BUILD is an acronym for 'Blueprint for Utah's Infrastructure, Land, and Development,' according to Cox's executive order. According to the governor's office, the council will 'bring state agencies together' to help the Beehive State work toward meeting demands for housing, energy, air quality, and more.
'This council will help us combine efforts and make better decisions to maintain the quality of life that makes Utah exceptional,' Cox said.
6 Utah cities ranked among the best 250 places to live in the U.S. — and Salt Lake didn't make the cut
The executive order establishes the council and describes some of its duties. It describes Utah as 'one of the fastest growing states in the nation' and says that means there is an increasing demand for resources in the state.
The council will work to 'advance shared statewide goals' and 'facilitate greater coordination' in the state, as well as work to improve or maintain the quality of life for current and future Utahns.
The members of the BUILD council will meet quarterly to establish goals, review changes occurring in the state, review and draft long-range plans, endorse final plans, and produce annual reports for the governor and lieutenant governor, among other duties.
'Chaired by the State Planning Coordinator, the council will include senior advisors and executive directors from key state agencies such as transportation, natural resources, environmental quality, health and human services, agriculture and food and others,' the governor's office said.
Representatives from various other entities will also be invited to participate. The executive order does not apply to the legislative and judicial branches of the government, higher education institutions, independent entities, and a handful of other offices.
The governor's office said the establishment of the BUILD Coordinating Council 'builds on the intent' of a 2024 concurrent resolution to recognize the 'importance of cross-issue growth impacts.'
The executive order went into effect on May 28.
Syracuse police seeking assault suspect that left victim in critical condition
19-year-old worker killed in accident at Eagle Mountain construction site
Gov. Cox signs executive order to establish new council focused on Utah's future and 'quality of life'
Trump punts on Musk criticism of 'big beautiful bill'
White House to send DOGE cuts package to Congress as Speaker promises quick action
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Slave descendants still fighting for Georgia court to hear discrimination claims from 2023
Gullah-Geechee-Land Protections DARIEN, Ga. (AP) — Black landowners from a tiny island community returned to a Georgia courtroom Friday urging a judge to let them move forward with a lawsuit that accuses local officials of illegally weakening protections for one of the South's last Gullah-Geechee communities founded by freed slaves. Residents and landowners of Hogg Hummock on Sapelo Island have yet to see a judge weigh the merits of their discrimination case nearly two years after they first sued McIntosh County. They say county commissioners targeted a mostly poor, Black population with 2023 zoning changes that benefit wealthy white land buyers and developers. So far, the case has been bogged down by technicalities. A judge last year dismissed the original lawsuit, citing legal errors unrelated to its alleged rights violations. On Friday, a lawyer for McIntosh County asked a judge to also throw out an amended version of the suit, saying it failed to state a legal conflict within the court's jurisdiction and missed critical deadlines set by state law. Residents fear unaffordable tax increases The zoning rules being challenged doubled the size of homes allowed in Hogg Hummock, one of a dwindling number of small communities started by emancipated island slaves — known collectively as Gullah, or Geechee in Georgia — scattered from North Carolina to Florida. Scholars say these peoples' separation from the mainland caused them to retain much of their African heritage, from their unique dialect to skills and crafts such as cast-net fishing and weaving baskets. Hogg Hummock's few dozen remaining residents and their advocates say the changes will bring unaffordable tax increases, threatening one of America's most historically and culturally unique Black communities. 'We're in limbo,' said Richard Banks, who owns the Sapelo Island home of his late father, built on land passed down in his family for generations. 'You don't know what decisions you have to make in regard to your property.' The lawsuit by the Southern Poverty Law Center asks a judge to declare the zoning changes violate the landowners' constitutional rights to due process and equal protection by discriminating against them 'on the basis of race.' It also accuses the county of violating Georgia laws governing zoning procedures and public meetings. County lawyers say the lawsuit was filed too late McIntosh County's lawyers deny commissioners violated anyone's rights. But they argue the lawsuit should be dismissed without getting into those claims. They say fears of hypothetical tax increases don't present a valid legal conflict for a judge to decide. 'There's no allegation that existing businesses must close,' attorney Patrick Jaugstetter said in court Friday. 'There's no evidence that any current use of a property must cease.' Jaugstetter also said the refiled lawsuit came too late, well beyond Georgia's 30-day deadline for challenging zoning decisions and its six-month deadline for alleging violations of the open meetings law. Malissa Williams, a lawyer for the Black landowners, said those deadlines were met by the original lawsuit filed in 2023. 'They should be allowed to challenge the (zoning) amendments because they will have a ripple effect on every aspect of their lives,' Williams said. Discrimination case is one of two pending lawsuits by Black residents Senior Judge F. Gates Peed did not rule from the bench Friday. He asked both sides to submit proposed orders by the end of August. A second legal battle between Sapelo Island residents and county officials is pending before the Georgia Supreme Court. A decision is expected by mid-November on whether residents can attempt to repeal the 2023 zoning changes by forcing a special election. A scheduled referendum last fall was halted by a lower court judge, who ruled the vote was illegal. Solve the daily Crossword
The Hill
10 hours ago
- The Hill
Here are the Republicans who voted against Trump's funding claw backs
House Republicans greenlighted the first series of funding cuts recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with the $9 billion batch of rescissions heading to President Trump's desk for signing. The lower chamber approved the cuts, which claw back the federal funding for both public broadcasting and foreign aid, in a 216-213 late Thursday night vote. Nearly all House Republicans voted for the package, with the exception of two. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Mike Turner (Ohio) joined with all Democrats to oppose the DOGE cuts. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) took a victory lap following its passage — after controversy around the Trump administration's handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein held up the vote. 'The Republican Party and President Trump and everybody that works on our side have promised fiscal responsibility and fiscal discipline and we're delivering on those promises again tonight,' Johnson told reporters following the vote. 'I'm delighted to send that over to the president's desk for signature and he'll sign that quickly,' he added. The Senate passed the recissions package early Thursday morning in a 51-48 vote, handing another legislative victory to Trump, who has vowed the shrink the scope of the federal government. Two Republican senators also joined Democrats in opposing the measure: Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska). Collins, a moderate Republican, has previously expressed concerns on how the cuts would be implemented, worries she related to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought during a Tuesday lunch meeting. Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, prior to the House's final vote, called the Senate-passed package 'a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.' The first recissions package — as Vought indicated Thursday that more are in the works —contains cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which the Trump administration has heavily targeted. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the formal end of its operations earlier this month. The measure also features claw backs aimed at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR — two news outlets that conservatives, including the president, have argued are biased in their coverage and should not be funded by the federal government.
Business Insider
12 hours ago
- Business Insider
Federal workers say they're exhausted, anxious, and left in the dark after 6 months of DOGE
Jill Hornick feels like she's at a funeral. She has been a Social Security field office employee for 34 years, and serves as the administrative director of a Chicago-based union representing her colleagues. Since President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency began large-scale cuts of the federal workforce, Hornick said her emotions have moved from denial to acute pain, "like a death in the family." Some days, she's numb. Others, she finds everything funny, laughing until her ribs hurt. She knows she's not alone: Thousands of federal workers have lost their jobs, and thousands more who remain continue to grapple with the fallout. To mark the six-month anniversary of DOGE's cost-cutting initiatives, Business Insider spoke with 22 current federal workers about the impact on their daily routines, work responsibilities, and office moods. Some said they're struggling to shoulder heavy workloads with shrinking numbers, while others are worried they'll be next to receive a pink slip. A few supported the Trump administration's efficiency goals, but now worry they may have gone too far. A report found that 216,670 jobs were cut in March due to DOGE actions, and thousands more have left their government posts this summer through retirement, buyouts, quits, and deferred resignations. A July 8 Supreme Court ruling, which gives the Trump administration the green light to continue mass firings, puts tens of thousands of additional federal jobs at risk. One thing is clear: The initial shock of mass firings has worn off, and federal workers are settling into a new stage of processing — grief. 'A lot of it is red tape that leads to nothing' The employees left behind told BI that their responsibilities continue to grow. Many feel "exhausted" and "burnt out" with little time during the day to take breaks, eat lunch, or catch up on work between meetings. A few employees said their agencies still require them to write the weekly "five things" email, though it's unclear whether managers are looking at them. "Mine doesn't even read mine, since she knows I'm doing my job," one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee said. Some employees said that DOGE has also made it harder to get approval to buy computer monitors and chairs, book necessary travel, or move forward with research. As one National Weather Service employee put it, "We're still having to go through four or five different layers just to get basic office supplies." Some said that their project funding was sometimes cut so far into the process that they had already bought materials, booked contractors, or purchased plane tickets, making that money and effort feel wasted. "A lot of it is red tape that leads to nothing," another NOAA employee said. DOGE's agenda appears to have slowed following Musk's May exit, but a Department of Defense worker feels the initiative "severely damaged the functionality of the federal government." Federal workers emphasized that their agencies play an important role in public safety: They help mitigate damage from climate change and natural disasters, further scientific research, process taxes and court cases, ensure people enrolled in government aid get their monthly checks, and more. "We want to do our jobs, and do it well, and we're hoping the rest of the country and the lawmakers see that and they realize how life-saving we really are," the NWS employee added. At some agencies, the pressure of staff cuts has been coupled with limited communication from leadership. Federal workers told BI they often hear about layoffs or policy changes from news outlets or coworker group chats, not their bosses. Some agencies — like the Social Security Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — have recently changed leadership or have interim heads. A NASA employee said the whole agency is in "limbo," with no clarity on what will happen next with staff cuts or future projects. It's a feeling they've carried for months, they said. Edwin Osorio, a Social Security field office employee in New York City, said he agrees with the mission of DOGE and reducing wasteful spending, but he wishes the office had more checks and balances. He said it would be better if DOGE was part of Congress, not the White House. "Being out of the Executive Branch, it's the same as having the umpire for a Yankee game wearing a Yankee cap," Osorio said. "It makes no sense at all." Have a tip? Contact these reporters via Signal at alliekelly.10, alicetecotzky.05, julianakaplan.33, asheffey.97, and neinbinder.70. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. 'We're all in it together' Some employees try to keep in touch with former coworkers; others feel like the people they've known for years suddenly vanished. They wonder who will be next to leave. "We've already lost so many talented, hardworking people who just didn't want to stick around and found better opportunities outside the federal government," the Department of Defense employee said. "Can't really blame 'em." Still, there's a sense of camaraderie among some who remain. "We're all in it together," one federal worker said. "That solidarity helped get me through this period." Government workers are also increasingly feeling the mental toll of unpredictability. The NWS employee said they feel a "yo-yo of emotions" and recently visited a therapist to help treat their anxiety. Others said staff cuts and schedule changes have made it difficult for them to make financial decisions and coordinate childcare. They do their best to cope — some have turned to creative hobbies like art or music, others try to exercise and find a few minutes of quiet every day. Almost all told BI that morale within their offices has tanked: "Laugh at work in 2025?" an Office of Personnel Management employee said. "That's a stretch." No federal agencies have announced further plans for staff cuts under the new SCOTUS ruling, and the initial reduction-in-force deadline was moved from August to October. BI asked the Trump administration about federal employees' specific concerns, including mentions of growing workloads, anxiety over being fired, and disruptions to their agency function. White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields responded that "the previous administration artificially bloated the public sector," and "President Trump was elected to reduce the size of government, make it more efficient, and generate an economic boom the likes of which we've never seen." Many of the federal workers BI spoke with are weighing whether they will stay. Some said it's too challenging to land a comparable job in the private sector, while others are actively looking for non-government work. A few, like Hornick and Osorio, feel committed to their public service mission and can't imagine working anywhere else. "Employees walking around on eggshells, thinking, 'How much longer until I break? How much longer until I can't handle it anymore?'" Osorio said. "Only problem is: It's not easy to get a job, and it's not easy to replace a federal job where you do have reasonable benefits." He wishes that more people understood the real-life impact of DOGE on federal workers. "These are human beings who love the country, the same as the rest of the public. They love their family the same as the rest of the public. They have favorite baseball teams and favorite movies," he said. "And yes, if you cut them, they bleed too."
