SALT LAKE CITY – In his opening day remarks to fellow Utah lawmakers at the Utah Capitol, House Speaker Mike Schultz (R-Hooper) urged them to follow the example of an early 20th Century lawmaker from Cache County, David Robert Roberts.
“He believed Utah’s future depended on something most people didn’t consider necessary, or just outright opposed – a real system of roads,” Schultz recalled.
“Not just paths between towns,” the speaker added, “but infrastructure that could connect communities, move goods and open up opportunity.”
Schultz aspirational pep talk to fellow lawmakers came as the Utah Legislature convened for its 45-day annual general session in Salt Lake.
Roberts’ devotion to his vision of a statewide road network earned him the nickname “Good Roads Roberts,” which Schultz said wasn’t meant as a compliment.
Roberts’ legislative proposals were always met with replies of “not now, too expensive, too disruptive, too far ahead of their time.”
Those stubborn replies continued until 1909, when the Legislature finally passed a comprehensive package of laws that laid the foundation for the state’s road system.
The lesson to be learned from Roberts’ dogged persistence, Schultz emphasized, is that “progress rarely looks popular when it’s happening.”
Public service, he said, is all about fighting for a future, even if the payoff belongs to someone else.
At present, Utah is thriving with a resilient economy and strong communities. But the future, Schultz said, demands far-reaching decisions on the Great Salt Lake, infrastructure, energy, education, housing, land management and critical materials.
“Every person in this room carries a responsibility that extends far beyond the walls of this Capitol,” he reminded the 75 representatives and 29 senators gathered in Salt Lake.
“The decisions we make here ripple outward – sometimes quietly, sometimes forcefully – into the lives of people we will never meet, in years we will never see,” Schultz concluded.
The 45-day general session of the Utah Legislature will meet from Jan. 20 to March 6 at the State Capitol in Salt Lake City.
Lawmakers are expected to debate more than 430 proposed laws, a significant decreased from the more than 900 bills proposed in 2025.
The Republicans in the Utah House recently announced their priorities for the 2026 legislative session, according to Rep. Casey Snider (R-Paradise), the House Majority Leader.
Those priorities include keeping Utah affordable by lower costs for Utah families and ensuring that taxpayers see real value of every dollar spent; ensuring that Utah families thrive; keeping government limited by safeguarding Utah’s economy, balancing the state’s budget and making wise investments; building infrastructure that lasts; restoring confidence in government through transparency, accountability and service to the people; promoting quality of life by making Utah’s communities among the safest in the nation; preparing the next generation to lead with quality public and higher education; and protecting the state’s vital water resources.