Mike Schultz (born August 19) is an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

from

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the Utah State House, representing the state's 12th house district. 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.

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.

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. 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.

Current legislation

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. 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. Clean air advocates have voiced concerns that the additional fees will slow electric vehicle adoption and promote poorer

air quality in Utah Air quality in Utah is often some of the worst in the United States. Poor air quality in Utah is due to the mountainous topography which can cause pollutants to build up near the surface (especially during inversions) combined with the prevalenc ...

. There are an estimated 1,000–2,000 deaths in Utah annually due to poor air quality, and

emissions Emission may refer to: Chemical products * Emission of air pollutants, notably: **Flue gas, gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue ** Exhaust gas, flue gas generated by fuel combustion ** Emission of greenhouse gases, which absorb and emit rad ...

from gasoline and diesel powered vehicles, are the primary cause of pollution.

Elections

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

References

Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives University of Phoenix alumni Weber State University alumni American Latter Day Saints 1950 births Living people 21st-century American politicians {{Utah-politician-stub