Government of Utah

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Utah is a state in the United States of America. Its government consists of a state executive, legislative, and judicial branch, laid forth by the Constitution and law of the State of Utah.

Contents

Executive Branch

The executive powers of government are vested in the Governor. The current governor is Spencer Cox, a Republican. Gary Herbert, the previous governor, assumed the governorship on August 11, 2009, following the resignation of Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., who was appointed United States Ambassador to China by President Barack Obama. Herbert was elected for a further four-year term in 2012 and 2016. In 2019, Herbert announced he would not seek a third full term in 2020, and endorsed then-Lieutenant Governor Cox for governor. [1] In the 2020 Utah gubernatorial election, Cox was elected governor, after first defeating former Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr., former Utah GOP chair Thomas Wright, and former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes in the Republican primary, then defeating Democratic nominee Chris Peterson in the general election.

Officers

OfficeOffice-holder
Governor Spencer Cox
Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson
Attorney General Sean Reyes
State Treasurer Marlo Oaks
State Auditor John Dougall

The Governor's Cabinet consists of the following appointees, who are the heads of the agencies listed: [2]

Legislative Branch

The legislative powers of government are vested in the Senate, House of Representatives and the people. Both the Utah Senate and the Utah House of Representatives have a Republican majority.

Utah State Senate

Leadership

Majority (Republican) Leadership

Minority (Democratic) Leadership

Utah State House of Representatives

Leadership

Majority (Republican) Leadership

Minority (Democratic) Leadership

Judicial Branch

The judicial powers of government are vested in a Supreme Court, district courts, and other courts of record.

Supreme Court

OfficeOffice-holder [3]
Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant
Associate Chief Justice Thomas R. Lee
Associate Justice Constandinos Himonas
Associate Justice John A. Pearce
Associate Justice Paige Petersen

District Courts

DistrictCounties
1 Box Elder, Cache, and Rich
2 Davis, Morgan, and Weber
3 Salt Lake, Summit, and Tooele
4 Juab, Millard, Utah, and Wasatch
5 Beaver, Iron, and Washington
6 Garfield, Kane, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne
7 Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan
8 Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah

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References

  1. Roche, Lisa Riley (May 21, 2020). "Gov. Herbert formally endorses Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox in governor's race". Deseret News. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  2. Governor Jon M. Huntsman Jr Archived 2008-06-30 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Judges' Biographies - Utah Courts".