2018 Week Six Wrap-Up

Week 6 – As we race to the last hour, there is still a lot of work to do. Week 6 was full of action and movement.

Constituent News

Visitors to the Capitol

Week 6 was a great one in terms of visitors and special guests. I am always happy to show constituents around the Capitol and to introduce them to the process of the legislative session.  This week’s visitors included Rick Anderson (Bank of American Fork) who came to the Capitol for Utah Bankers Association Day, Utah County OUTRAGE students who came to lobby for changes to prevent underage tobacco use, executives from Geneanet who flew in from Paris for Rootstech and decided to take me up on the offer of a VIP tour, and the Utah County Republican Women’s annual bus trip to the capitol.

If you are interested in coming to the capitol, please let me know a couple of days in advance so I can make arrangements.

Rick Anderson

OUTRAGE Students visit the House Floor

Geneanet

Utah County Republican Women

Break Time – What happens when we are not in scheduled meetings

CTE Day on the Hill

A great part of our public education system is the opportunity for teens to participate in Career and Technical Education (CTE). I believe that these opportunities build not only technical skills but also help develop core leadership.

FFA Students on the Hill for CTE Day

Former First Lady Jackie Leavitt

Mrs. Leavitt has been at the capitol all week lobbying for a bill to incentivize couples to get premarital counseling as part of her work with the Utah Marriage Commission. I haven’t settled on a final position on that bill, but I am always willing to listen.

Former First Lady Jackie Leavitt

Museum Day on the Hill (Springville MOA & BYU Museum of Peoples and Cultures)

Every year, I look forward to Museum Day on the Hill. There are so many great things happening out there to enhance and preserve our understanding of the world around us.  Two of my favorite museums are the Springville Museum of Art and the BYU Museum of Peoples and Culture.

Springville Museum of Art

BYU Museum of Peoples and Culture

Student Research Projects

Student researchers from Utah State and the University of Utah filled the rotunda to discuss their exciting research. There are great things happening across the state.

Student Researchers

Mitt Romney

This week we invited Mitt Romney, candidate for United States Senate to speak to our caucus. He got peppered with a lot of questions on policy issues, which I think he handled quite well.

Mitt Romney

Update on the State Central Committee Bylaw Change

We have had some interesting discussions with legal counsel, the elections office and other interested parties about the potential impact of the Utah Republican Party State Central Committee’s action to change their bylaws.  While everything is still up in the air, this action presents a real possibility that candidates could be negatively impacted in terms of their access to being on the ballot. As a result of the uncertainty, I filed the form to be able to gather signatures in case that becomes necessary, although I really hope it doesn’t because I would prefer to use the caucus-convention system.

There is a bill open in the House to consider potential changes to the law that will be intended to protect candidate access to the ballot. I have been involved in many conversations about the form that the change will take and I do not have any idea what will eventually happen.  Hopefully we will have some clarity soon.

My Ideas in Action

Final Update on DUI .05

My top priority coming into the session was to defend last year’s change to lower the legal limit for drunk driving from .08 BAC to .05. We have successfully prevented all attempts to delay, repeal or make unfavorable changes to the law.  The last step was the defeat of Rep. Kwan’s delay proposal. With that off the table, I fully anticipate the law taking effect on Dec. 30, 2018 accompanied by significant media attention.  Hopefully other states will follow along quickly.

Canada Drug Imports

We made a lot of progress on this issue this year.  While the bill was ultimately recommended for interim study, it generated a lot of interest by my colleagues in seeking out solutions to this problem.  Health care costs consistently ranks near the top on constituent issue surveys. I have a commitment that over the summer we will study both the importation option as well as making the pricing process more transparent.

HB115 ADA Lawsuits

As of last week, the bill had been held up on the house floor.  On Monday, we were able to come to agreement on proposed changes in the language and get the bill forwarded to the Senate. It received a full committee hearing on Thursday and was recommended on a 4-0 bipartisan vote to the full Senate for final consideration.  They will probably make a couple of technical corrections, but I hope to have it passed and back to the House for a concurring vote by Wednesday evening.

Big Issues

Budgets

The final proposed budgets were released late in the week.  A few of the highlights that I pushed for were included. Most importantly, we will not be spending all of the surplus. A significant amount of money will be set aside in the Rainy Day Funds.  These are important because it prevents pressure to raise taxes during the upcoming economic downturn.

While I am not a fan of increased spending, I do support prioritizing assistance for those among us that cannot take care of themselves above other needs.  The budget will include a $2 million increase in spending for people on the Services for People with Disabilities waiting list. This will go a long way to providing needed help so that those people (many of whom are children) can continue to stay in their homes and live with family.  Another $600,000 will be allocated to the Utah State Hospital to address the difficulty in recruiting and retaining psych techs.

We should also expect to see significant support for education funding, perhaps a 3.5% increase in the weighted pupil unit.  State employees are slated to get a 2.5% cost of living adjustment.

I don’t have word on the final “tax reform” package. That should be coming out very soon and I continue to fight against the concept of a property tax increase, although I am starting to lose hope.

My Bills – Status update

Bills that are done (or almost done)

Most of my bills have passed both the House and the Senate and are off to the Governor for signing (or are very close). One bill found an alternate path to success.

HB19 would create programs inside health insurance plans that reward members who shop for lower cost health care options by sharing some of the savings with them. Passed.

HB34 clarifies that employees may take paid leave to assist with natural disasters with any agency, not just the Red Cross. Passed.

HB36 sets out a process and limitations for cities and towns that want to regulate free speech on public grounds. It will help ensure citizens’ rights to free speech. Passed.

HB98 is a small fix to the DUI legislation from last year. It changes the definition of “novice driver” to exclude anyone over 21 who has a full drivers license.  It is on the Senate Consent calendar to be heard on March 5.

HB162 allows a person that buys a used car to keep the license plates and not have to buy new ones. Passed.

HB163 would set up a program to allow wholesalers to import lower cost drugs from Canada and make them available to Utah’s pharmacies. This bill was recommended for interim study and I fully expect that we will get Phase 1 done as planned.

One More Bill Still In Play

HB115 aims to limit abusive lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act by requiring that claimants give businesses a chance to fix problems before they demand money. This bill passed out of Senate committee (4-0 vote) and is now waiting for a full Senate vote.

Ideas Waiting for Action Next Year

Alcohol Liability Amendments – consider changes to who is liable when a person who is served alcohol causing property damage or injures another person.

Occupational Licensing – participate in a major effort to reduce the burden of government on people that just want to do the job they have been trained to do.

Intoxicated Weapons Provisions – we need to review our statute and make needed updates.

State Boards and Commissions – I still want to review the requirements and remove political requirements for positions where it just doesn’t make sense.

Trampoline Park Safety – It has been difficult to get everyone on the same page in determining what the minimum statewide safety standards for trampoline parks should be. Hopefully next year.