Week 3 was full of action here at the Capitol.
Constituent News
Visitors to the Capitol
This week, my favorite guest was my daughter – Elisa Corry. She had come to visit us for the weekend and I convinced her to come to the Capitol to see what it is like. If you would like to visit the capitol, please let me know a day or two in advance so we can make arrangements to meet and give you a chance to visit the House Floor.
 Elisa Corry & Norm Thurston |
Break Time – A quick look at interactions that happen between meetings
Arts Advocacy Day on the Hill
 Arts Advocates at the Capitol |
Nurses Day on the Hill
 Talking with Nursing Students |
A Bill to Prevent Abuse of the American with Disabilities Act
The highlight of my week was a two hour hearing on HB115 “Bad Faith Demand Letters Concerning Americans with Disabilities Act.” After significant negotiating with the disabilities advocates, I presented an amended bill in the House Judiciary Committee on Friday afternoon. At the end of the presentation, the committee voted 8-1 to send the bill on to the full House for consideration. The bill essentially requires that anyone requesting that a business fix violations of the ADA should give the business a chance to fix the violations before asking for settlement money. We have discovered that there is a whole cottage industry out there where attorneys recruit “plaintiffs” to go from business to business looking for any possible violation. They offer to settle the case as long as there is a payment to compensate them for their “costs” of investigating. Essentially, they have turned identifying ADA violations into a money-making enterprise.
Big Issues
While there have been plenty of engaging policy bills, there is still no one huge issue that is taking all the headlines. For my part, as I mentioned last week, HB163 would set in motion a process for the State of Utah to import lower cost prescription drugs from Canada. It is waiting patiently for its turn to be heard by the whole house. It’s getting a lot of attention, especially from lobbyists newly hired by the pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Tax Reform
There is still nothing to report. I’m started to wonder if we’re going to see anything, but Rep. Tim Quinn is still working on his proposal.
Budget
Our committee wrapped up our budget work last Friday. The end product of three weeks of daily meetings was a prioritized list sent to the Executive Appropriations Committee. They will pull in all of the subcommittee priorities and make final decisions about how and where to allocate the limited amount of new money. I fully expect the final result to display remarkable fiscal restraint.
My Bills – A status update
Bills that are done (or almost done)
Three bills passed both the House and the Senate and are off to the Governor for signing, and a fourth will be joining them very soon:
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.
HB34 clarifies that employees make take paid leave to assist with natural disasters with any agency, not just the Red Cross.
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.
HB162 allows a person that buys a used car to keep the license plates and not have to buy new ones. It passed in the Senate committee and is waiting for a final vote on the Senate Floor.
Bills Moving in the House
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. I have been working with stakeholders to make sure this is narrowly focused on the bad actors. This bill had a House hearing and passed out of committee with only one dissenting vote (8-1).
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 is a really big bill and I’m thrilled that my colleagues are seeing how this can make a difference in the lives of everyday Utahns. I am expecting a full House vote next week.
Two New Bills in the House
Both of these have been assigned to committees and should have a hearing next week.
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. Novice drivers are not allowed to have any alcohol in their system while driving.
HB328 relates to the possession of dangerous weapons by intoxicated individuals. It removes the exception that would allow law enforcement to carry while intoxicated and adds three new exceptions – for self-defense, situations where the weapon is in a locked case or not readily available, and when the person is in a private residence or business with the permission of the owner.
