Home  |  The Capitol Quiz  |  The State Seal  |  The Legislature Capitol Virtual Tour  |  How a Bill Becomes a Law
	THE CAPITOL QUIZ Student Journal for Utah Government a workbook on the structure of Utah's government, important state symbols, and the functions of the State Capitol Building   THREE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT Legislative: Two Main jobs: 1 Legislate Laws 2 Allocate the budget Group One: The House of Representatives There are 75 representatives altogether. Each representative is elected from a district of about 30,000 people. Representatives are elected to serve for 2 years Group Two: The Senate There are 29 state senators altogether. Each state senator is elected from a district of about 85,000 people. State senators are elected to serve for 4 years. The Legislature meets every year for 45 days during the months of January, February, and March.   The House of Representative Room This room is on the West end of the third floor of the Capitol building. It had 75 desks, one for each member of the House of Representatives. The State Senate had a smaller room like this one. On the north side of the third floor. It has 29 desks.   Executive: The highest position is the office of Governor The Governor has three main jobs: 1 Represent Utah at the federal level 2 Oversee the budget 3 Meet the needs of the constituents The Governor is elected to serve for 4 years. Our Governor is Michael Okerlund Leavitt. Other offices in the executive branch of Utah's government are: lieutenant governor, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general.   Judicial: The highest court in Utah is the Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court has 5 judges. Two Main jobs: 1 Decide if Utah laws are constitutional 2 Make decisions on appeals from other courts A Supreme Court judge is appointed to serve for 10 years when retention vote is taken. Other courts in the judicial branch of Utah's government are: district courts, city courts, justice courts, and juvenile courts.   The Rotunda The rotunda reaches 165 feet at its highest point. A 95-foot chain hangs from the ceiling. The chain weighs 7,000 pounds and holds a chandelier which weighs another 6,000 pounds. The beautiful grey and white marble comes from the state of Georgia. The seagulls painted on the ceiling may look small, but they actually have a 6-foot wingspan.   HOW NEW LAWS ARE CREATED: Working with our State Senators and Representatives, people with ideas that will help Utah be even better write down their ideas and give them to the Legislature. A bill is prepared and introduced. Groups from the House and the Senate study the bill. When the groups come back together they discuss the bills. Finally the Senators and Representatives vote on whether they think the bill is a good idea. If both groups vote in favor of the bill, it goes to the governor. If the governor agrees, he signs the bill and it becomes a new law. If the governor disagrees, he vetoes the bill and it does not become law.   UTAH'S STATE SEAL: Utah's State Seal appears on a blue background on the Utah State Flag. The symbols have special meaning: American Eagle: with wings outspread, grasping 6 arrows in its talons, symbolizes protection in peace and war Beehive: symbol of industry Sego Lily: symbol of peace American Flag: symbol of our support to the nation 1847: the year Mormon Pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley 1896: the year Utah was made a state Utah became the 45th State on January 4, 1896.   FACTS ABOUT THE CAPITOL: The length of the building is 404 feet. The width of the building is 240 feet. The height of the building is 283 feet. The grey and white marble inside the Capitol building came from Tate, Georgia. The marble columns in the Capitol are the longest solid marble columns in the United States. When the marble was being shipped to Utah, only 2 marble columns could fit on one train car. The brown marble used in parts of the Capitol building came from Birdseye, Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah. The grey stone used for the outside of the building is called granite. This stone came from Little Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City. The Capitol building is open 365 days of the year, from 8 am until 8 pm. The Utah State Capitol took nearly three years to build, and was dedicated on October 9, 1916. In this year 2001 the Utah State Capitol building is 86 years old. (the capitol was finished July 1915)