By Addy Baird | The Salt Lake Tribune

For the second year in a row — and again on the last day of the session — Utah lawmakers slashed funding to a group dedicated to empowering women and girls.

This year’s target was a $650,000 cut to the Utah Women and Leadership Project, a Utah State University-based research group focused on the health, safety and economic opportunities of women and girls in Utah. The group’s ongoing funding was reallocated to the university’s Utah Forest Restoration Institute after the Legislature passed HB376, a bill that expanded the institute’s staffing and research efforts.

The reallocation, which continues a recent trend of stripping funding from historically marginalized groups, came in a budget year lawmakers have described as a “socks and underwear” year and after legislators warned state agencies to look for possible budget cuts. Despite the tight budget, however, lawmakers prioritized an income tax cut for the sixth year in a row.

The news of the reallocation stunned UWLP staff, founding director Susan Madsen said in an interview, and represents an existential threat to their work.

“It’s been an absolute shock,” Madsen said Monday. “This will eliminate most of my staff and our efforts.”

Read more at SLTrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.