Week two of the 66th Legislature was filled with big wins for Utah! Several of my bills are working their way through the process. This week one of my bills passed in committee and another passed in the house and is off to the Senate for further consideration. It has been wonderful to meet many of my constituents. This week I was allowed to invite guests to say the prayer and lead the pledge of allegiance. As always, my focus remains on keeping Utah and our district a great place to live, work, and raise a family. You can stay tuned for more updates and follow along with the process at le.utah.gov.

Town Halls

On Saturday I participated in the first Bagels & Bills town hall this year. I saw constituents from our district and heard what you are interested in or concerned about. While I cannot always make everyone happy with my votes, I greatly appreciate our idea-sharing and the involvement of Provo and Springville citizens.

In that spirit, the next Bills & Bagels will be on March 1st from 7-9am at the Nebo School District Office (350 S Main St, Spanish Fork, UT 84660). We will have breakfast together and talk about what is important to you. This will be a great way to start the month and share ideas, I look forward to seeing you there!

Utah Leading the Nation in Fiscal Responsibility

Balancing the state budget is one of our most important constitutional duties, and Utah stands out as the only state where all 104 lawmakers take part in the budgeting process. The House and Senate passed the base budget bills. (I am sponsoring the General Government Base Budget, HB5). Together, these bills set a baseline for keeping the government open in case further discussions break down. By the end of the session, we’ll refine the budget with adjustments, increases and decreases, to keep Utah on a strong financial path.

New Committee Updates

Speaking of fiscal responsibility, last week I introduced you to the new General Government Appropriations Committee. There we review how our state agencies are doing and decide how we will allocate the money in the budget. These are the ones we’ve heard from this week:

Utah Insurance Department
Utah State Tax Commission
Public Service Commission
Department of Government Operations
Office of the Inspector General of Medicaid Services
Judicial Conduct Commission
Department of Commerce

It’s been a busy week of absorbing information about each one of these to decide how taxpayers dollars should be used. In addition to reviewing budget issues, we have an important role in holding them

With My Constituents

This week I had the pleasure of meeting many of my constituents at the capitol. A few joined me on the floor where they go to see our government process in action including me presenting and getting passed some bills. As always, I enjoy seeing you all up at the capitol.

Photo Above: Representative Thurston and Deborah Taylor, Provo Resident, together on the floor on Wednesday.

Image Above: Rep. Thurston presents his bill HCR 2 to the House with Lisa Smith, Provo Resident and Nursing student, sitting next to him.

This week I was also given the privilege to select individuals to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance and say our legislative morning prayer. I invited Michael Crabtree, Field Office Director for the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Office in Utah, to lead us in the pledge, and Shauna Warnick, School Board member of Nebo School District, to say the prayer (see main picture).

An Update on My Bills

HB 14 – Emergency Personnel Amendments: This passed in the House ✅ and the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. It is currently in the Senate waiting to be voted on!
HCR 2 – Concurrent Resolution Directing PEHP Regarding Pharmaceutical Rebates – This passed in the House ✅ and is going to committee in the Senate.

HB 190 – Motorcycle Amendments: This passed in committee ✅ and is waiting to be voted on in the house.
HJR 1 – Joint Rules Resolution – Sponsors Statement: I presented this idea in committee where it was held so we I can to refine it with colleagues.

These bills are awaiting assignment to committees: