Representative Seelig opens Utah House, urges civility and cites steep job losses

Representative Seelig opened the Utah House of Representatives for the session and urged members to adopt a spirit of civic duty and civility as they tackle major policy challenges.

“We are here to do the people's work,” Representative Seelig said in opening remarks that also welcomed back Representatives Johnny Anderson and Bill Wright and noted Representatives Falk, Payne and Dougal as excused. He framed the session as a fresh start and invoked historical examples — including Abraham Lincoln — as a guide to steady leadership.

Seelig listed the legislature's immediate priorities as retirement, ethics, health care reform, education funding, taxes and balancing the budget. He presented eight suggested rules of conduct for members, including “consult with as many of your colleagues as possible,” “listen more often than you speak,” “no surprises,” and “be honest.”

On the state's economy, Seelig cited figures from Mark Noll, Chief Economist at the Department of Workforce Services, saying the recent downturn has been severe. According to the data Seelig cited, February 2009 marked one of Utah's worst periods for job loss, and on a year-over-year basis roughly 71,000 jobs were lost — far larger than prior downturns, when the previous high was about 14,900 jobs.

Seelig framed the recession as a defining challenge for the legislature to address: “Someday, Utah school children will encounter in their history books a chapter about the Great Recession,” he said, urging lawmakers to learn from the causes and craft solutions. He closed by urging colleagues to emulate traits of patience, honesty and civility as they begin their work.

The House moved on to its legislative business following the opening remarks; no formal motions or votes were recorded in the remarks transcribed here.