Introduction
J. Stuart Adams (born 1954 or 1955) is the Senator for the Utah State Senate's 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. In 2018, he was chosen as the Senate President.
Personal life, education, and career
Adams earned his Bachelor of Arts at the University of Utah in business finance. He is a business man by profession. Adams is married to his wife, Susan and they have four children together. 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.Adams previously served as the President of the Northern Wasatch Home Builders Association.
Political career
Adams is a former chairman of the Utah State Transportation Commission.He served as chairman of the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA). Prior to his legislative service, Adams served 9 years on the Layton City Council.
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. He was appointed to both of these positions. 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.
In 2016, Adams served as the Majority Whip. He also served on the following committees:
- 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
Election
2014
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Stuart Adams | 16,605 | 73.3% | |
| Democratic | Kip Sayre | 4,417 | 19.5% | |
Legislation
2016 sponsored bills
| Bill Number | Bill Title | Bill Status |
|---|---|---|
| S.B. 80 | Infrastructure Funding Amendments | Governor Signed 3/25/2016 |
| S.B. 115 | Sustainable Transportation and Energy Plan Act | Governor Signed 3/29/2016 |
| S.B. 130 | Tattoo Removal | Governor Signed 3/29/2016 |
| S.B. 154 | Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations | Governor Signed 3/29/2016 |
| S.B. 161 | Highway Signage Amendments | Governor Signed 3/25/2016 |
| S.B. 203 | Immunity Amendments | Governor Signed 3/22/2016 |
| S.B. 222 | Professional Licensing Amendments | Senate/Filed for bills not passed 3/10/2016 |
| S.B. 231 | Waste Management Amendments | Senate/Filed for bills not passed 3/10/2016 |
| S.B. 246 | Funding for Infrastructure Revisions | Governor Signed 3/22/2016 |
| S.B. 251 | Water Infrastructure Funding Amendments | Governor Signed 3/25/2016 |
| S.C.R. 12 | Concurrent Resolution Recognizing the Importance of Utah Sport and Olympic Legacy Efforts | Senate/Filed for bills not passed 3/10/2016 |
| S.C.R. 19 | Concurrent Resolution on Education | Governor Signed 3/22/2016 |
2017 sponsored bills
| Bill Number | Bill Title | Bill Status |
|---|---|---|
| S.B. 79 | Waste Management Amendments | Governor Signed 3/24/2017 |
| S.B. 167 | Bail Amendments | Governor Signed 3/15/2017 |
| S.B. 179 | Animal Care and Control Appreciation Week | Governor Signed 3/14/2017 |
| S.B. 196 | Health Education Amendments | Governor Signed 3/20/2017 |
| S.B. 197 | Refinery Sales and Use Tax Exemption Amendments | Governor Signed 3/25/2017 |
| S.B. 202 | Parent-time Amendments | Governor Signed 3/17/2017 |
| S.B. 228 | Water Infrastructure Revisions | Senate/Filed for bills not passed 3/9/2017 |
| S.B. 262 | Upstart Amendments | Governor Signed 3/28/2017 |
| S.B. 270 | Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act | Senate/Filed for bills not passed 3/9/2017 |
| S.B. 273 | Energy Development Amendments | Governor Signed 3/28/2017 |
| S.J.R. 13 | Joint Resolution Supporting Creation of Citizens Equity Funds | Governor Signed 3/16/2017 |
Notable legislation
During the 2016 legislative session Senator 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. The bill has drawn criticism from lawmakers in Oakland and environmentalist.
As described by Salt Lake Tribune journalist Robert Gehrke, Senator 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. Reference: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/09/10/gehrke-how-provo-tech/ . [Recommend that a real Wikipedia editor put this information in the proper format. Have not yet created a Wikipedia account or learned the details of the editing process - Martin L. Buchanan]