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Committee advances higher‑education research funding, rural jobs credits and multiple AI bills
Summary
On Feb. 12, the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee advanced a package of measures, including a university research pilot funded from unearned performance dollars, an extension of a rural‑investment tax‑credit program, and three artificial‑intelligence bills focused on intimate image deepfakes and child‑safety protections for companion chatbots. Several measures received one or more dissenting committee votes.
The House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee met Feb. 12 and advanced several bills aimed at boosting university research, supporting rural business growth and setting statewide guardrails for artificial‑intelligence products.
Representative Thomas W. Peterson told the committee HB 373 would create a pilot competitive grant program for Utah’s eight universities to leverage state funds as matching support for federal and private research grants. "We don't talk enough about the research that's happening at our institutions," the sponsor said, arguing the program would prioritize topics the committee approves — for example, critical minerals, water, AI, energy and life sciences — and use leftover performance‑funding dollars rather than new recurring state money.
Supporters including Jeff Moss (Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity and Nucleus Institute) and Kelvin Cullimore (BioUtah) told the committee universities are a major economic engine for the state. Moss urged approval; Cullimore said, "R and D is really the fuel that drives innovation," citing life‑sciences job growth as an example. The committee adopted an amendment allowing administration costs to come from the same transferred account, and then favorably recommended HB 373 as amended; Representative Hansen recorded a dissenting vote on the recommendation.
The committee also moved forward HB 466, a…
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