Monthly Archives: January 2019

Keeping a clear head on sales tax reform in 2019

Written by: Dan Bammes

When Utah Foundation released a comprehensive study on Utah’s sales tax base last June, we had only a vague sense that expanding the base would become the biggest item on the agenda for the 2019 legislative session. But, depending on the scope of the change our Legislature is contemplating, sales tax modernization could be the most momentous tax reform Utah has seen in years. As reform efforts churn in the coming days and weeks, the … Continued

Utah Thrives: Drug Rehab — In Jail and Out

Written by: Dan Bammes

Going to jail for a drug-related crime might not seem like an opportunity for the person who’s incarcerated. But while they’re locked up in Utah’s prisons and jails, inmates addicted to drugs might find treatment programs that could help them escape the addiction. A research report from Utah Foundation shows those programs vary widely from state prisons to county jails, but for those who get help, the likelihood of going back to jail is reduced … Continued

Utah Foundation’s Top Research Findings of 2018

Written by: Dan Bammes

  Utah Foundation published research reports on a broad range of public policy issues in 2018, each with significant findings that will influence political discussion and decisions for years to come. At the end of the year, we asked our Board of Trustees, a diverse group representing a broad range of business and community leaders, to rank the findings they felt were most important. Here’s what they determined, along with links to each of the … Continued

Helping criminal offenders find freedom

Written by: Peter Reichard

Somewhere in our state right now, an inmate is struggling with the slavery of substance abuse. He has fallen into a downward spiral of addiction and criminality, and has landed behind bars. Drug use and crime are often entangled. Some offenders with substance use disorders are arrested on drug possession charges; others may be arrested for crimes committed to fund an addiction. In short, many criminal offenders are people caught in the downward spiral of … Continued