| It has been a very busy week up here! If you are interested in listening to any legislative committees or Floor debates, want to give public comment, want to find a bill, see our budget, read audits, etc. go to le.utah.gov and click on the links. You can also contact my intern, Alexa, and she can help you navigate the site to find what you are looking for. She can also schedule a time for you during the session to come visit with me at the Capitol and/or sit on the House Floor as my guest. FYI: Utah Policy is a great source for local, state, and national political news; you can check out the latest edition and sign up to receive their emails here. They do editorialize a bit, but also provide links to current and trending political news articles. |
| My Bills HB 192 Former Offender Employment Amendments is my bill that removes some of the barriers that ex-offenders face in becoming mental health professionals. It passed in the House and is now on the Senate side. Senator and Dr. Mike Kennedy is my Senate sponsor. HB 359 Eviction Records Amendments was recently numbered and introduced in House Rules Committee. This bill will help create housing stability for many individuals and families who have evictions in their past. Evictions that are filed for any reason stay on a person’s record forever, even if the evictions are dismissed, which makes it more difficult for the renter to find housing. HB 359 creates a process for evictions to be expunged. I have worked closely with housing advocates, the Utah Apartment Association, and landlord advocates to get to a bill we can all support. There is a substitute that will be coming out very soon that is much simpler than the current bill. HB 113 Funding For Students With Disabilities and HB 138 Juvenile Justice Modifications both passed in the House and have moved to the Senate. (I wrote about these bills last week.) |
| Tax Cut The House passed SB 59, Tax Amendments, which will provide tax relief for most Utah taxpayers. This $190 Million tax cut includes three parts: A reduction of the income tax rate from 4.95% to 4.85% (a total of $158 Million) A $16 Million non-refundable earned income tax credit for families with children A $15 Million Social Security tax cut, which raises the income cap to qualify for the credit we passed last year as follows: Married filing separately: $25,000 $31,000 Married filing joint: $50,000 $62,000 Single: $30,000 $37,000 Qualified widow(er) or head of household: $50,000 $62,000 |
| Restrictions of Federal Funds The federal stimulus money did not come without strings attached. Watch this short video to learn about some of the restrictions the legislature is navigating in the state budget this year. |
| #1 Economy in the Country Just this week, U.S. News and World Report issued its economic rankings, measuring each state’s economic stability and potential. Utah secured the top spot overall with a population of about 3,206,000 people and a GDP of $193 Billion. Click here to learn more. |
| Tune Into Facebook Fridays! This Friday, I will talk about some big bills that I voted on this week, including the death penalty repeal and girls’ sports. How is that for a teaser? 🙂 Join me each Friday afternoon to hear what I’ve been working on each week or if you have any questions. The broadcasts are posted on my Facebook page in case you miss them. |