I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season and are looking forward with hope to the new year! In 2024, the legislative session starts on January 16th and will end on March 1st. Click on le.utah.gov and scroll down to find links to see our schedule, track bills, see bill requests, find out how to participate in a meeting, see live streams, and lots more.
I have one new committee assignment and kept two old ones. I am still on Social Services Appropriations and on Health and Human Services (these have been mine since 2019); my new committee is Political Subdivisions. I love all my assignments and am excited to learn more about this one.
Read on to find out about Utah’s 2024 Presidential Preference Poll (which is replacing the primary), your taxes and where they are spent, our new House leadership team, election security, and audit findings on important state issues.
Important 2024 election deadline Information
- March 5th, 2024–THE PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE POLL!!!There will be no presidential primary in Utah. Voting for the president in the primary will take place at your neighborhood caucus on March 5th through a presidential Preference Poll. YOU MUST ATTEND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CAUCUS MEETING ON THE EVENING OF TUESDAY, MARCH 5th, TO CAST A VOTE. If you are a registered Republican and cannot attend caucus meeting, there will be a ballot you can download at utgop.org. This can be filled out and sent to caucus with a registered Republican or turned in to the precinct chair. The only ballots that will be counted are those physically at caucus meeting. TheDemocrat primary will also be held on this date if there is one, but as Biden is the only qualifying candidate thus far, there will likely not be a primary.
- January 9, 2024–VOTER AFFILIATION DEADLINE. You cannot change your party affiliation after Jan. 9th; however, if you are unaffiliated with a party, you can register to be in a party after January 9th. Only registered Republicans will be allowed to vote in the Republican presidential preference poll.
- January 2, 2024 – January 8, 2024–filing period to declare candidacy. If you want to run for office in 2024, this is the time to go to the county clerk’s office and file.
- February 23, 2024–Voter registration deadline for presidential primary. Voter registration must be received by the county clerk before 5:00 pm on Friday, February 23rd, 2024.
- The Republican party has a provisional registration for 17-year-olds. They can register to vote and participate in caucus and elections as long as they turn 18 by the General Election in November.
The Taxpayer Receipt
You are entitled to know how the state spends your tax dollars. A decade ago, the Legislature authorized the creation of the tool that reasonably estimates how much you paid in taxes and what those dollars fund in state government.
The Taxpayer Receipt – an easy-to-use online tool – has been revamped for Utahns. Get an estimate for your household here. I found it very interesting.
This tool only looks at taxes assessed by the state. If you hover your mouse over the different areas of the graph, it shows a brief explanation of each tax. You can also click on each heading of where your taxes are spent–found to the right of the graph–and you will be taken to the state budget page and a fuller explanation of that part of the budget.
House Podcast: Utah Election Systems Security
I know there are a lot of Utahns who are concerned about our election security. If you would like to know more about how we keep our Utah election systems safe, please listen to the latest episode of our House podcast. It features our state director of elections, Ryan Cowley, and senior audit supervisor, Jake Dinsdale, both with the Office of the Legislative Auditor General. In the podcast, they discuss ongoing election security efforts. Listen HERE.
House Leadership Team
With the resignation of our former Speaker Brad Wilson, my colleagues and I met to elect a new House leadership team. The new assignments are as follows:
Speaker of the House – Mike Schultz
Majority Leader – Jeff Moss
Majority Whip – Karianne Lisonbee
Assistant Majority Whip – Casey Snider
Legislative Auditors Release Significant Reports on Corrections, Housing, Water
The Office of the Legislative Auditor General released the findings of three significant audits this month, painting an urgent picture of the state’s housing problems, staffing shortages at the Utah State Correctional Facility, and the necessity of accurate water-use data.
The Legislature regularly audits state agencies and issues to guide policy making with data-driven analysis and recommendations. Below, you’ll see highlighted findings and recommendations from each audit. Click the associated link to read each audit in full.
A Performance Audit of the Utah State Correctional Facility
Findings:
- Current staffing numbers fall far short of full staffing needs for safe and secure operations at the Utah State Correctional Facility. (My note: with the prison moved so far away from where most potential employees live and with the low pay offered by the state, it has been extremely difficult for administration to keep the prison staffed. Mandatory overtime is required and conditions are very unsafe for the employees. I feel that the legislature needs to increase the pay and benefits so that the prison can be fully staffed to increase the safety for everyone there.)
- A status quo mindset inhibits the Utah Department of Corrections’ ability to address challenging issues at the Utah State Correctional Facility.
Recommendations:
- The Utah Department of Corrections prioritize recruitment and retention of correctional offices and procure professional consulting to create a focused recruitment and retention plan.
- The Utah Department of Corrections senior leadership fosters a positive culture by working with industry experts and consultants to review the organization and address actions and mindsets that do not align with new organizational values.
A Performance Audit of Utah Housing Policy
Findings:
- Time is running short to accelerate action on housing policy.
- Utah should adopt state-level measures and targets for housing needs and construction.
Recommendations:
- Consider requiring the creation of a state-level strategic plan in Utah to address current housing shortage and population growth.
- Consider the range of state-level policy options presented in this report to create a program to set and manage state-level housing production targets.
Findings:
- Water use accountability and transparency can be improved by increasing usability of water use data.
- Statutory strengthening is needed for more effective water planning to ensure the state’s water future.
Recommendations:
- The Department of Agriculture and Food should develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the Agricultural Water Optimization Program.
- The Division of Water Rights should continue to develop the Water Right Network so that data is structured in a way that it is accessible and can be used in a wider scope of internal management needs and provide better transparency and accountability.
Happy New Year!! Let me know if you have any questions.