Opinion: Balancing the state budget like Utah families do

By Rep. Val Peterson and Sen. Jerry Stevenson

Guest Opinion, Deseret News
Published March 6, 2026

At a time when the cost of everyday essentials is rising, Utah families are carefully evaluating their budgets and making difficult choices about where to spend. In this guest opinion, Rep. Val Peterson and Sen. Jerry Stevenson discuss how the Utah Legislature is applying a similar approach to managing the state budget and taxpayer dollars.

Peterson and Stevenson highlight the Legislature’s focus on fiscal responsibility and government efficiency, noting that lawmakers asked every state agency and appropriations committee to review their budgets for programs that are underperforming, duplicative or no longer serving their intended purpose. The goal is to identify opportunities to reduce spending and focus resources on programs that provide the greatest benefit to Utahns.

The authors also highlight Utah’s inclusive appropriations process, where every legislator serves on an appropriations committee. They explain that this structure brings perspectives from across the state into decisions about how taxpayer dollars are spent.

The article points to higher education as an example of this approach in action. Through HB 265, Higher Education Strategic Reinvestment, Utah’s colleges and universities reviewed their spending and identified $23 million in administrative costs that could be redirected toward high-impact programs in fields including engineering, health care, business and technology.

Peterson and Stevenson argue that fiscal responsibility means distinguishing between essential services and spending that no longer provides sufficient value, while protecting core programs and services.

“At a time when life is getting more expensive for Utahns, we have a responsibility to cut costs that don’t deliver real value — and either reinvest those dollars in programs that do or return them to the people who earned them.”

The authors conclude by emphasizing that the Legislature’s goal is to ensure taxpayer dollars are used responsibly while allowing more money to remain with Utah families.

Read the full opinion at Deseret News:
Opinion: Balancing the state budget like Utah families do

Originally published by Deseret News on March 6, 2026. Written by Rep. Val Peterson, who represents House District 56 in Utah County and serves as House co-chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee, and Sen. Jerry Stevenson, who represents Senate District 6 in Davis County and serves as Senate co-chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee.