April 21, 2025
Hello Team Commerce,
Spring is here, with warmer weather, flowers in bloom (and those pesky allergies). As we embrace this season of renewal, it’s a good time for our annual spring cleaning. Studies show that an organized workspace is linked to better productivity and well-being. We encourage you all to make time to clean and possibly purge the clutter that is our workspaces.
Speaking of decluttering, we cleaned our office spaces last week and held our annual Declutter Day. On Friday, more than 950 cars stopped at Declutter Day as people cleared out anything they no longer needed. Congratulations to the Division of Consumer Protection on another successful event, and thank you to all the folks who planned and participated this year.
In that same spirit, I’m pleased to share some remarkable news about Utah’s standing in innovation. The Consumer Technology Association recently released its 2025 State Innovation Scorecard, ranking us among the top 12 states leading the nation in tech and policy-driven innovation. We received top marks for telehealth access, blockchain policy, and worker protections.
On my recent trade mission to Canada with Governor Cox, I witnessed the best of Utah innovation firsthand. Our trip to Montreal and Toronto focused on fostering relationships with our Canadian counterparts and sharing insights into AI innovations. We showcased our groundbreaking work on AI Policy, developed by Commerce’s Office of AI Policy, which encourages innovation while establishing appropriate safeguards. This trade mission underscores why Utah continues to be celebrated for its innovative spirit.
Additionally, Governor Cox recently signed the Digital Choice Act into law, a significant step toward modernizing the digital landscape. This new law empowers individuals with greater control over their social media data, facilitating easier data portability and the ability to manage their information across platforms more effectively.
In our ongoing commitment to innovation, we will offer further Gemini training for all employees. Recently, we sent out a survey to gather your feedback on the most beneficial training topics. If you haven’t yet had the chance, I encourage you to complete the survey here.
Looking ahead, we will be sharing our updated telework plan in mid-May. Starting July 1, all employees must be in the office at least twice weekly. We are carefully developing a plan to address assigned in-office days, parking, cubicle allocations, and other important details. Supervisors have completed a survey regarding team preferences, and we’ll be discussing telework during our upcoming roundtable meetings, so please be prepared to share any feedback you might have with your roundtable representative.
Thank you for your hard work and dedication as we navigate these changes together.
Warm regards,
Margaret Busse
