Week 3 of the Legislative Session
I can’t believe the legislative session is almost halfway done! The third week was very busy with several good bills progressing through the process. One of my bills (HB35) passed the senate and is now ready to be signed by the governor. This bill repeals a section of state law called the Unfair Acts Practices. This was flagged as out of date, duplicative and confusing and after review it was decided that it could be repealed with no harm to Utahns. While it’s not the flashiest bill, I was pleased that this passed and look forward to more opportunities to cut unnecessary and outdated language from the state law books.
Big Issues at the Capitol
As usual, there have been several controversial bills introduced and discussed. One in particular that seemed to get a lot of attention is HB171. This bill would end the municipal election voting pilot early, effectively taking away the opportunity for city councils to use Ranked Choice Voting. I probably received close to 1,000 emails on this question which were split about evenly in favor and against this bill. People made very valid points on both sides of the issue. We had a public hearing on Friday, which also generated a lot of discussion and analysis. Ultimately the committee decided to hold the bill, which means that while it is not dead, it is not advancing to the next step just yet. It is possible that the sponsor will come up with a new version of the bill that can get support of the committee.
Representing You
As I have mentioned before, it’s always fun to to have constituents visit the Capitol. Some come just to see the process and others come to advocate on a specific issue.
This week I had several such visitors. Mrs. Springville, Toni Allman and a group of students from BYU who all live in my district came to discuss the importance of affordable cancer care. Toni was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ in 2021 which was treated by surgery. She continues to take an expensive drug to help prevent the cancer from returning. This journey with cancer has inspired her platform as part of Mrs. Springville to “inspect what you expect with early detection.” Toni will represent Springville and Utah at the 2023 Mrs. Utah America pageant.
It was also fun to have Brent Kamba, a student in BYU’s Nurse Practitioner program sit with me for a session on the house floor. If you are interested in visiting me at the capitol, please let me know.
Upcoming Town Halls
I will be participating in virtual town halls for the next four weeks, hosted by the District 62 leaders of the Utah County Republican Party. Residents of District 62 are encouraged to join these interactive sessions. Here is the schedule:
- Wednesday, February 8, 7-8 p.m.
- Wednesday, February 15, 7-8 p.m.
- Tuesday, February 21, 7-8 p.m.
All times are subject to change. To receive joining information, register here.
My Bills – A Status Update
HB 26 – License Plate Amendments – Simplifies the processes for requesting and implementing changes to our license plate programs.
Passed the House, awaiting a hearing in the Senate committee
✅HB 35 Unfair Practices Act Amendments – Repeals this antiquated and duplicative section of the code so businesses will have a better idea of what the law requires.
Passed the Senate. Awaiting the signature of the govenor.
HB 75 State Commemorative Periods Amendments – Clarifies what a commemorative period is and how they should be declared.
Awaiting a full vote in the Senate
HB 116- Intergenerational Poverty Solutions – Provides an incentive program to encourage parents of low income children to save for their post-high school training and education.
Status: House Rules Committee
HB 135 – State Holiday Amendments – Modernizes how state government treats state holidays to provide increased access to the public for needed services and provide a more valuable benefit for state employees at no extra cost.
Passed the House, awaiting a hearing in the Senate committee
HB 159 – Health Care Professional Licensing Requirements – Allows Utahns more access to telehealth providers by reducing the barriers that prevent them from being available
Passed the House, awaiting a hearing in a Senate Committee
HB 213– Social Security Tax Credit Amendments – Would repeal the unfair double-taxation of Social Security benefits.
Status: House Rules Committee
HB 292 – Poverty Mitigation Program Amendments – Would allocate some of Utah’s share of federal block grant funds to counties to implement innovative models for help people be financially self-sustaining.
Waiting for funding and a full vote of the House.
HB 295 – Educator License Amendments – Would create a pathway to teacher licensure based on an intensive apprenticeship program that is focused on competencies instead of course completions.
Status: House Rules Committee
HB 303 – Elections Record Amendments – Creates more transparency with respect to voter registrations.
Should get a House committee hearing this week.
HB 359 – Animal Breeding Amendments – Would create statewide standard for dog breeders, shelters, sanctuaries and rescues.
Status: House Rules Committee
My presentation of the funding request for HB 292 in the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.
I am planning to attend the Bills and Bagels in Springville this Saturday… hope to see you there.
You can add me to the list of those opposed to ranked choice voting.
I am also against ranked choice voting.
We need to start moving RCV to the state level at this point.
Thanks for these updates. Glad you are proactive, including on cleaning up unnecessary laws/bureaucracy. School vouchers will need close oversight to prevent abuse or expansion to the detriment of public schools–more choices for parents may be good, but the greater good is fair and excellent education for all children, regardless of socio-economic background, location, etc. Glad for teacher raises–giving more funding for resources would also be good (my wife, a pre-K teacher, spends many personal hours and dollars to prepare to teach), also reducing class sizes will likely improve learning.