| With 8 working days left, we are in the home stretch of the General Legislative session! I have been working on getting my priority bills through the Senate before next week. If you have a few minutes this Friday, please tune in to my Facebook Friday event for more information on bills I voted on this week. I’d also like to thank everyone who participated in my Town Hall last week, and invite you to join this Saturday at noon through this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84956063042. |
| CONGREGATE CARE SB 127 – Human Services Program Amendments was passed favorably out of the House Health and Human Services Committee this week. It is one of three congregate care-related bills this session and promotes best practices in this industry. (Congregate Care Programs are programs that serve youth with therapeutic residential treatment, and this bill is related to the bill I sponsored: HB 135 Congregate Care Amendments) It requires quarterly inspections of the program, describes when a congregate care program may use a restraint or seclusion, requires a congregate care program to maintain suicide prevention policies, and requires the program to facilitate communication between the child and their family at least weekly. This bill is supported by the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs. FARMERS FEEDING FAMILIES I was excited to support HCR 19 – Recognizing Farmers Feeding Utah yesterday on the floor. This program is the brainchild of our amazing farmers and the Utah Farm Bureau. Because of COVID 19, there have been processing shortages and market losses that have left many Utah farmers without an outlet for their products. At the same time, there has been a 300% increase in needs for food assistance, and, due to this higher demand and lower supply, many of our food pantries have not had enough food for the families they serve. Last May, the Utah Farm Bureau launched Farmers Feeding Utah to help to solve these two problems. By raising funds to purchase the surplus agricultural commodities and then distributing this food through community organizations, the project has helped families needing access to healthy food and farmers negatively impacted by COVID-19. DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TRAINING This week, I voted on HB 301 – Domestic Violence Training Amendments in committee and on the House floor. This bill would create an online, hybrid domestic violence curriculum administered by the Department of Public Safety to help officers respond to domestic violence incidents. It is an optional, online follow-up to POST lethality assessment training, which introduces a trauma-informed approach for identifying potential victims and is strongly supported by law enforcement. MUNICIPAL RUNOFF VOTING Today the House passed HB 174 – Municipal Instant Runoff Voting Amendments. It would add approval and star voting methods as options–along with ranked choice, which we already passed– for municipal runoffs, which currently only use plurality voting. The approval method allows voters to vote for every candidate they approve of, and the candidate with the most approvals wins. The star voting method has voters rank each candidate as we do with movies: 2 stars, 5 stars, etc. Out of the two candidates with the most stars, the one who most voters prefer as determined by a set formula is elected. The most significant benefit to this method would be getting a winner that most voters liked, even if the winner was not their first choice. Following are example ballots of both these methods. |
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| IN THE NEWS HB 68 – Rental Expenses Disclosure Requirement was featured in another article this week. The op-ed “Utah’s predatory rental practices need a fresh look” explains how transparency in renting may help balance renting practices in Utah. |
| IN THE LEGISLATURE Listed below are the bills that the House passed since last Wednesday. If you are interested in following the status of individual bills, go to the Legislature’s Tracking Service and add the bill number to receive email notifications.SJR9 – Joint Resolution on Jail Facilities 1SB16 – Utah Retirement Systems Amendments SB30 – Utah Commission on Aging Amendments 3SB83 – POLST Order Amendments 1SB97 – Charitable Prescription Drug Recycling Program Amendments 4SB90 – Parental Defense Amendments 1SB102 – Peace Officer Training Qualifications Amendments 2SB88 – Local Option Sales Tax Distribution Amendments SCR2 – Concurrent Resolution Honoring the Life of William E. Christoffersen 1SB75 – Community Association Fund Amendments 1SB109 – Emergency Services Amendments 1HB54 – Insurance Revisions HB305 – Quality Growth Act 1SB102 – Peace Officer Training Qualifications Amendments 2HB192 – Fertility Treatment Amendments HB242 – Ticket Reseller Amendments 2HB302 – Preserving Sports for Female Students 1HB124 – Civics Education Amendments 2HB312 – State Residency Amendments 2HB255 – Protective Order Revisions HB259 – Lead Exposure Education and Testing Amendments 2HB72 – Device Filter Amendments HB38 – School Technology Amendments SB10 – Place Name Amendments SB96 – Legislative Water Development Commission Amendments SB114 – Animal Chiropractic Amendments 2SB78 – Motor Vehicle Repair Amendments SB146 – Emissions Testing Amendments 1SB125 – Open and Public Meetings Act Amendments 1SB58 – Metro Township Amendments SB50 – Juvenile Offender Penalty Amendments 1SB51 – Group Gang Enhancement Amendments 1HB182 – Educator Hearings Amendments 1HB277 – Child Care Eligibility Amendments 3HB101 – Prohibited Persons Amendments 3HB260 – Criminal Justice Modifications HB282 – Right of Survivorship Amendments 2HB93 – Youth Suicide Prevention Programs Amendments 1HB289 – Victim Services Amendments 4HB283 – Community and Police Relations Commission HB236 – Waste Tire Recycling Amendments 2HB295 – Wildlife Modifications 4HB82 – Single-Family Housing Modifications 2SB130 – Regulation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations 6HB303 – Emergency Medical Services Revisions 2HB296 – Soil Health Amendments 1HB313 – Heritage and Arts Amendments HB91 – Tax Credit for Alternative Fuel Heavy Duty Vehicles HB106 – Adoption Tax Credit HB140 – Income Tax Revenue Amendments 1HB94 – Microenterprise Home Kitchen Amendments HB279 – Higher Education for Incarcerated Youth HB300 – Reporting Requirements for Local Education Agencies 2HB318 – Higher Education Amendments HB262 – Children’s Health Insurance Amendments HB292 – Children’s Health Insurance Plan Amendments 2HB304 – Digital Opportunity Access Amendments HB200 – Firearm Safe Harbor Amendments 2HB258 – Firearm Safety in Schools 1HB348 – Economic Development Amendments HB267 – Voluntary Lethal Means Restrictions Amendments 1HB219 – Inmate Phone Provider Amendments HB316 – Common Law Marriage Amendments HJR10 – Joint Resolution Approving Settlement Agreement 1HB307 – Training for Peace Officers 1HB329 – Expungement Revisions HB212 – Homeless Youth Protection Amendments HCR13 – Concurrent Resolution Regarding the Bridal Veil Falls Area 2HB195 – Vehicle, Boat, and Trailer Registration Amendments HB322 – Amusement Ride Safety Amendments 1HB68 – Rental Expenses Disclosure Requirements 1HB323 – High Poverty Schools Teacher Bonus Program Amendments 1HB328 – Adult Learners Grant Program HCR15 – Concurrent Resolution Emphasizing the Importance of Civics Education HB287 – Nurse Practice Act Amendments HB233 – Education Immunization Modifications HB265 – Pharmacy Software Amendments 2HB249 – Public Access to Court Records HB319 – Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act Amendments HB333 – Medicaid Amendments 1HB359 – Dental Billing Amendments 1HB321 – Division of Consumer Protection Amendments HB332 – Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Amendments HJR6 – Joint Rules Resolution – Request for Appropriation HJR11 – Joint Rules Resolution – Executive Appropriations Committee 3HB285 – Juvenile Recodification 1HB286 – Juvenile Code Recodification Cross References HB271 – Home Child Care Amendments 3HB227 – Self Defense Amendments 1HB290 – Probation and Parole Amendments HB324 – Alimony Amendments 3HJR7 – Joint Resolution Amending Rules of Criminal Procedure on Motions 1HB216 – Firearms Amendments 1HB257 – Utah State Park Amendments 1HB352 – State Identification Amendments HB308 – COVID-19 Vaccine Amendments 2HB256 – County Land Use and Development Amendments 1HB356 – Rural Economic Development Tax Increment 1HB355 – Workers’ Compensation Revisions HCR18 – Concurrent Resolution Supporting Extension and Expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 1HB347 – Homeless Services Amendments 1HB76 – Firearm Preemption Amendments HB358 – Guardianship Amendments 3HB237 – Lethal Force Amendments 1HB301 – Domestic Violence Training Amendments HCR19 – Concurrent Resolution Recognizing Farmers Feeding Utah 2HB77 – Aviation Liability Insurance Amendments |
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