Governor Cox announces special legislative session to address DSU name change

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced today the Utah legislature will hold a special session on November 9 to address nine issues which according to Cox “require immediate legislative attention.”

One of the issues on the list is the final vote to change the name of Dixie State University. Just a week ago, the Utah Board of Higher Education voted unanimously to recommend the name Utah Tech University as the new name for DSU, the second to last step for the name change to be made official.

On November 1, the Washington County Commission passed a resolution opposing the name change and approved a letter to be sent to the legislature asking lawmakers to vote against the name change. However, the resolution has no legal weight and the final decision rests with the state legislature.

Rep. Kelly Miles (R-South Ogden), the sponsor of the original bill to change DSU’s name, said there are enough votes to pass the name change through. Governor Cox is also expected to sign off on the name change if it passes through the legislature, according to a report from FOX 13 news.

The session will be held Tuesday, November 9 at 10:30 am.

The other items on the agenda for the special legislative session are redistricting, the statutes of the State Flag Task Force, modifying deadlines for several administrative and campaigning processes, changes to the pretrial process, modifying the Unemployment Insurance tax rate, provisions related to COVID-19 and the workplace (Biden administration’s vaccine mandate), the Interlocal Cooperation Act, and expressing the legislature’s opinion on certain financial reporting requirements.

The announcement can be read in its entirety here.