Stuart Adams
Adams in 2022
President of the Utah Senate
Assumed office
January 28, 2019
Preceded byWayne L. Niederhauser
Member of the Utah Senate
Assumed office
September 16, 2009
Preceded byGreg Bell
Constituency22nd district (2009–2023)
7th district (2023–present)
Member of the Utah House of Representatives
from the 16th district
In office
June 19, 2002 – December 31, 2006
Preceded byKevin Garn
Succeeded byKevin Garn
Personal details
Born1954 or 1955 (age 68–69)[1]
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Utah (BS)

J. Stuart Adams (born 1954 or 1955) is the Senator for the Utah State Senate's 7th District. Prior to redistricting he represented the 22nd District. Adams was appointed to the Utah House of Representatives in 2002, and then to the Senate in 2009. In 2012, he was chosen to be Senate Majority Whip.[2] In 2018, he was chosen as the Senate President.

Personal life, education, and career

Adams graduated from Layton High in 1972,[3] and earned his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Utah in business finance.[4] He is a business man by profession.[4] Adams is married to his wife, Susan and they have four children together.[5] In 2002, he was awarded the Business Person of the Year by the Utah State Chamber of Commerce, and as the Builder of the Year by the Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association.[6] Adams previously served as the President of the Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association.[6]

Political career

Adams is a former chairman of the Utah State Transportation Commission. He served as chairman of the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA).[6] Prior to his legislative service, Adams served 9 years on the Layton City Council.[6]

Adams served 4½ years in the Utah State House of Representatives (June 19, 2002 – December 31, 2006). He commenced his service in the Senate on September 16, 2009.[7] He was appointed to both of these positions.[4] In 2004, [then Representative] Adams was named the 2004 Legislator of the Year by the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce, the 2004 Legislator of the Year by the International Code Council, and 2004 Representative of the Year by the Davis County Republican Women.[6]

In 2016, Adams served as the Majority Whip.[4] He also served on the following committees:[8]

  • Executive Appropriations Committee
  • Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee
  • Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee
  • Senate Business and Labor Committee
  • Senate Transportation and Public Utilities and Technology Committee

During the 2016 legislative session, Adams sponsored high-profile legislation that deals with energy and the environment. His bill SB 246 will take public money from certain counties within the state and put it towards building a port in Oakland. The port will be used to ship coal and other products, which the state of Utah currently exports.[9] The bill has drawn criticism from lawmakers in Oakland and environmentalists.

In September 2018 Adams was instrumental in obtaining a $1.4 million appropriation to overpay for software from the Utah company Qualtrics. No wrongdoing is alleged, but the appropriation was costly to the state's taxpayers.[10]

COVID Response

During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, Adams supported legislation to stockpile the experimental medication hydroxychloroquine.[11] Soon it emerged that Utah had purchased $800,000 worth of the drug, at vastly inflated prices, from a local pharmacy with personal connections to Adams.[12][13][14]

In 2022, Adams, serving as the Utah Senate president, opened the 2022 general session of the 64th legislature in person, without a mask. Having recently contracted COVID-19 the week before, Adams proclaimed recovery while speaking to the Senate at the start of the session. It was later revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 twice that very morning. In violation of CDC recommendations, Adams continued his legislative duties unmasked, conversing in close contact with fellow senators, staff and dignitaries, only wearing the required protection when meeting with members of the media.[15]

CDC guidelines at the time stated that someone with COVID-19 should isolate for five days and then wear a mask for an additional five days to prevent the spread of the virus.[16] His disregard for health and safety practices quickly became the subject of social media discussions, national news commentary and political cartoons.[17]

2021 Congressional Redistricting

In 2018 an independent redistricting commission was formed to better represent the public's voice when it came to redrawing Utah's congressional maps. A bipartisan group was formed to recommend congressional, state senate, state house, and state school board district boundaries based on public feedback and a strong focus on representation of "communities of interest."[18] November 1, 2021, the commission delivered their 12 recommendations that were vetted through 16 public hearings across the state to the legislature. The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave favorable reviews to the maps the council drew.[19] The state legislature, under the leadership of Senate President Stuart, ignored the commission's recommendations and drew and approved their own maps. They divided Salt Lake County, the largest and most diverse county in the state, into the four congressional districts.[20]

Election

2014

2014 Utah State Senate election District 22
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Stuart Adams 16,605 73.3%
Democratic Kip Sayre 4,417 19.5%

[21]

Legislation

2016 sponsored bills

Bill NumberBill TitleBill Status
S.B. 80Infrastructure Funding AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/25/2016
S.B. 115Sustainable Transportation and Energy Plan ActGovernor Signed 3/29/2016
S.B. 130Tattoo RemovalGovernor Signed 3/29/2016
S.B. 154Medicaid Accountable Care OrganizationsGovernor Signed 3/29/2016
S.B. 161Highway Signage AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/25/2016
S.B. 203Immunity AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/22/2016
S.B. 222Professional Licensing AmendmentsSenate/Filed for bills not passed 3/10/2016
S.B. 231Waste Management AmendmentsSenate/Filed for bills not passed 3/10/2016
S.B. 246Funding for Infrastructure RevisionsGovernor Signed 3/22/2016
S.B. 251Water Infrastructure Funding AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/25/2016
S.C.R. 12Concurrent Resolution Recognizing the Importance of Utah Sport and Olympic Legacy EffortsSenate/Filed for bills not passed 3/10/2016
S.C.R. 19Concurrent Resolution on EducationGovernor Signed 3/22/2016

[22]

2017 sponsored bills

Bill NumberBill TitleBill Status
S.B. 79Waste Management AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/24/2017
S.B. 167Bail AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/15/2017
S.B. 179Animal Care and Control Appreciation WeekGovernor Signed 3/14/2017
S.B. 196Health Education AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/20/2017
S.B. 197Refinery Sales and Use Tax Exemption AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/25/2017
S.B. 202Parent-time AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/17/2017
S.B. 228Water Infrastructure RevisionsSenate/Filed for bills not passed 3/9/2017
S.B. 262Upstart AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/28/2017
S.B. 270Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention ActSenate/Filed for bills not passed 3/9/2017
S.B. 273Energy Development AmendmentsGovernor Signed 3/28/2017
S.J.R. 13Joint Resolution Supporting Creation of Citizens Equity FundsGovernor Signed 3/16/2017

[23]

References

  1. ↑ "'I just want to be positive,' incoming Utah Senate President Stuart Adams says". January 27, 2019.
  2. ↑ Romero, McKenzie. "Utah GOP chooses legislative leadership". Deseret News, November 8, 2012. Retrieved on May 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ "About Stuart". J. Stuart Adams. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Adams, J. Stuart". Salt Lake City: Utah State Senate. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  5. ↑ "J. Stuart Adams' Political Summary". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stuart Adams: Proven Results. Clear Choice". Retrieved April 15, 2014.
  7. ↑ Utah.gov. "Governor Appoints Stuart Adams to Utah State Senate". September 16, 2009. Retrieved on May 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ "District 22 Senator - Utah State Senate". senate.utah.gov. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Utah Governor Signs Bill to Advance Oakland Coal Plan". KQED News. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  10. ↑ Gehrke, Robert. "Gehrke: How a Provo tech company appears to be gouging taxpayers, with help from the Utah Legislature". The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  11. ↑ Gifford, Bill (December 29, 2020). "Red State Rebellion". Mother Jones. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  12. ↑ McKellar, Katie (April 23, 2020). "Utah bought $800K in controversial drugs weeks ago but health officials didn't know". Deseret News. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. ↑ Harrison, Suzanne (April 24, 2020). "from:@votesuz "1253812950499901440"". Twitter. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  14. ↑ Rodgers, Bethany (April 13, 2020). "Pharmacist who's amassed malaria drugs has ear of Utah leaders about COVID-19 treatment". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Senate President Stuart Adams tested positive for COVID twice Tuesday before publicly announcing he was negative". sltrib.com/. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Quarantine and Isolation Updated Jan. 9, 2022". cdc.gov/. Retrieved January 19, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Bagley Cartoon: News From the Circus". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  18. ↑ "UIRC 2021: About the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission". Utah Independent Redistricting Commission. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Comment on the Utah Legislature's Proposed Maps". gerrymander.princeton.edu. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  20. ↑ McKellar, Katie (November 10, 2021). "Utah redistricting: Congressional map splitting Salt Lake County 4 ways heads to Gov. Spencer Cox". Deseret News. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Stuart Adams - Ballotpedia". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved April 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ "2016 -- Legislation(Senate)". le.utah.gov. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  23. ↑ "2017 -- Legislation(Senate)". le.utah.gov. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
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