Mike Schultz (politician)

Mike Schultz (born August 19, 1950) is an American politician from Utah. He is a Republican member of the Utah State House, representing the state's 12th house district.[1] He currently serves as the Majority leader in the House, a position he has held since November 9, 2021 when his predecessor in that office, Francis Gibson abruptly resigned from the legislature.[2]

Mike Schultz
Majority Leader of the Utah House of Representatives
Assumed office
November 9, 2021
Preceded byFrancis Gibson
Member of the Utah House of Representatives
from the 12th district
Assumed office
January 1, 2015
Preceded byRichard A. Greenwood
Personal details
Born (1950-08-19) August 19, 1950
Hooper, Utah, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMelissa
Children5

Early life and career

A lifelong resident of Hooper, Roy and West Haven, Schultz grew up working on his grandfather's cattle farm. An entrepreneur, he went on to obtain his general contractor's license and started building homes at age 20. He now is a real estate developer and president of Castle Creek Homes. He worked with his good friend Michael Hall.[3]

Political career

Schultz was first elected to the Utah House of Representatives in 2014 and began serving January 1, 2015. He is currently serving as House Majority Leader.[4]

Rep. Schultz currently serves on the Business, Economic Development, and Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, Executive Appropriations Committee, House Education Committee, House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee, House Legislative Expense Oversight Committee, House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee, Legislative Audit Subcommittee, Legislative Audit Subcommittee, Subcommittee on Oversight.[5]

Current legislation
2022 legislation
BillStatus
HB0151 Retail Facility Incentive Payments Amendmentssigned by the Governor 3/24/22
HB0155 Veteran Access to State Parkssigned by the Governor 3/22/22
HB0181 Railroad Crossing Maintenance Amendmentssigned by the Governor 3/24/22
HB0405 Switcher Amendmentssent to House filing for bills not passed
HB0443 Utah Inland Port Authority Amendmentssigned by the Governor 3/21/22

Controversial legislation

In 2018 Schultz co-sponsored SB136 with Wayne Harper which was signed into law. Among other provisions, SB136 includes an additional annual registration fee of up to $120 on clean air vehicles.[6] The additional fees were opposed by air quality advocates such as the nonprofits Breathe Utah, and Utah Clean Energy which has stated the fees are misguided.[7][8][9] Clean air advocates have voiced concerns that the additional fees will slow electric vehicle adoption and promote poorer air quality in Utah. There are an estimated 1,000–2,000 deaths in Utah annually due to poor air quality,[10] and emissions from gasoline and diesel powered vehicles, are the primary cause of pollution.[11]

Elections
  • 2014: Schultz challenged incumbent Richard Greenwood for the Republican nomination, eventually winning when Greenwood dropped out.[12] He faced Democrat Joseph Marrero in the general election, winning with 4,118 votes (75.9%) to Marrero's 1,308 votes (24.1%).[13]

References
  1. "Mike Schultz". Utah House of Representatives. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  2. "Legislature shakeup elevates Moss, elects Whyte". heraldextra.com. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  3. "About - Mike Schultz - for Utah House". voteforschultz.com. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  4. "Mike Schultz Legislative Profile". Utah House of Representatives. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  5. "Committees". le.utah.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  6. Harper, Wayne A. "S.B. 136 Transportation Governance Amendments".
  7. "SB 136 Transportation Governance Amendments". Breathe Utah. Retrieved Nov 30, 2019.
  8. O'Donoghue, Amy Joi (Mar 1, 2018). "Clean energy advocates decry proposed electric, hybrid vehicle fees". KSL. Retrieved Nov 30, 2019.
  9. Craft, Josh; Emerson, Kevin (Mar 17, 2018). "Commentary: The 2018 Utah legislative session brought us a win for clean energy and climate". Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved Nov 30, 2019. When Utahns are taking personal steps to improve air quality by purchasing a clean vehicle, tacking on another fee is misguided.
  10. "Heart and Blood Vessels". uphe.org. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. Sep 7, 2019. Retrieved Dec 7, 2019.
  11. "Pollution Sources". kued.org. KUED. Retrieved Nov 24, 2019.
  12. Tribune, Lee Davidson The Salt Lake. "Representative Greenwood drops out of House race". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 2016-03-31.
  13. "2014 General Election Results". Lieutenant Governor of Utah. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
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