Becky Edwards

During floor time we voted on two interesting bills. Actually every bill is interesting, it’s just that some are more interesting than others (think Animal Farm).  HB 79, “Valid Voter Identification Amendments,” by Rep. Marie Poulson deserves the award for the bill that received the most debate on the floor.  Basically it allows for elderly voters to utilize their Medicare card as a valid form of ID voting.  I voted for the bill and it did not pass.  The arguments against the bill centered on this making a way for voter fraud by illegal immigrants and that the mechanisms in place are necessary to serve the purpose of protecting the sacred right of voting.  While I agree that voting is a special privilege and right of Americans and think appropriate protections of that right are necessary and good, I believe the group this bill is intended to help deserves an additional level of ease in their attempts to vote.  The group this bill intends to assist are those aged 80-90 primarily, many of whom live in assisted living, and who treasure their right to vote, but do not have a drivers license or a form of secondary identification (such as a utility bill or concealed carry permit proving address).  To me, this bill was a good common sense bill and I was disappointed to see it failed 27-47.

The other bill was by Rep. Jim Dunnigan, which was a 2900 line bill that amended many aspects of the insurance industry.  The thing that sold me on it was the ability it laid out for children, who are no longer available for the CHIP program, either through aging out or parents’ income escalating beyond the qualification levels, to have a window of 30 days to get enrolled in their parents’ insurance program rather than waiting for the annual open enrollment period.  CHIP is an example of a government program that really works and to the extent that we can continue to make it work efficiently for the children it serves all the better.  Another example of a good common sense bill.  I voted yes and it passed unanimously.

In the afternoon the Transportation, Environmental Quality, National Guard and Veterans Affairs Appropriation Committee I sit on was cancelled.

I had an opportunity to meet with several people from our district today.  One was a USU student Ben Brown of North Salt Lake and now Logan, who was at the Capitol today as part of the USU Research Posters on the Hill day.  I’ve known Ben for many years and he served as a senior class officer with my son and a fantastic girl, Jenny Badham,  who is returning from an LDS mission in a few weeks, just in time to help these two young men plan their five year reunion.  They couldn’t be more thrilled!  Anyway, Ben has just completed a complicated and impressive research project on neuroaminidase (?) proteins and their involvement with the influenza virus.  Ben is a good example of all that is right with Utah’s colleges and why it is so important to maintain sufficient funding for strong higher ed programs in our state.

Next, I attended an event for an organization called Women for Decency.  It is a non-profit organization created to combat pornography and provide support for women who endure the pain of a loved one’s use of pornography.  Several people in our district were there:  Kim Jensen, North Salt Lake, who serves on their board, Daryl and Diony George of Salt Lake City, Shannon Wright of North Salt Lake, and Steve and Marcia Bennion of Bountiful.  Seeing this group of folks from our area all involved in this good enterprise is a reminder of all the activities so many of you are involved in that enrich and enhance our communities, schools, neighborhoods, and families.  I’m inspired by the choices you make to spend your time and resources pursuing good ideals.  And tonight, I was inspired by this group.

Lastly, I attended the opening night of the Woods Cross High School production of “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.” My daughter and niece are in the cast and I must say it is fantastic.  If you’re in the mood for a return to the golden age of Broadway and a simple love story, this is it.  They run every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday until Presidents Day in February.  Woods  Cross HS is just off the 2600 South exit of I-15 in Woods Cross.

I had the opportunity to meet the Youth Councils for both Bountiful and North Salt Lake cities today. They were at the Capitol as part of some training provided by the Utah League of Cities and Towns. I know many of these youth and can assure you they are well rounded, interesting, and inspiring. The Youth Councils in both cities provide great service for the community and also are given opportunities for learning leadership. Today’s focus for them was on what it takes to be an effective leader. They spent some time at the Capitol observing elected leaders, heard from Dale Murphy, former major league all-star baseball player, and also heard from Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City. Legislators were invited to attend the Giuliani speech. It was a treat. Having lived in New York City for some time I know how well respected and loved he is by New Yorkers, especially after the attacks of 9/11.

Giuliani shared the six essential skills a leader must have:
1. Operate from a sense of purpose.
2. Be an optimist.
3. Have courage–the ability to overcome fear, their own and the fears of others.
4. Turn fear away by relentless preparation.
5. Have a clear understanding of the importance of teamwork.
6. Be able to communicate–care about and love the people you lead.

As I discussed his six characteristics with a colleague following an afternoon Transportation Appropriations Committee meeting I realized the youth council members I met earlier are well on their way to becoming the very type of leaders Giuliani described in his speech. They have what it takes!

We started off the floor time this morning by discussing and voting on a few bills that I think will really make a big difference in the state. Two were sponsored by Rep. Brad Daw and dealt with the Controlled Substance Database maintained by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL). The first, 1SHB35, outlines a procedure for notifying a practitioner following an overdose of a person to whom they have prescribed a controlled substance. The hospital initially notifies DOPL, who after receiving the report notifies each practitioner who may have written a prescription for the controlled substance of the overdose. The second bill, HB28, requires physicians who are licensed to prescribe a controlled substance to register to use the Controlled Substance Database and take a tutorial and test related to the database and prescribing of controlled substances. This would happen when the physician applies for or renews their license. Both these bills begin to take seriously the problem our state has with prescription drug addiction. I applaud the efforts of all involved in the creation of the bill and enthusiastically voted yes on both.

The other bill, HB24, sponsored by Rep. Brent Wallis, “Economic Development Incentives Act Amendments,” sets forth requirements of applicants for tax credit under the Economic Development Incentives Act to provide documentation that it has in fact met it’s obligations to create high paying jobs, had significant purchases from Utah vendors or providers, and made significant capital investment. I am wholeheartedly in support of economic development measures to attract and retain businesses and industry to our state, but am pleased to see the tightening up of responsibilities these entities have to our taxpayers.

We also met briefly in our standing committees. As a reminder the two standing committees I sit on are Political Subdivisions and Education. In Education we passed out of committee a bill by Rep. Rhonda Menlove that provides an option for school districts to expand the provisional teaching status from 3 to 5 years. We also passed out a bill by Rep. Sheryl Allen that requires background checks on non licensed employees in a school district (secretaries, custodial etc.) to be paid for by the applicant, rather than the school district. These tests for this level of employee typically run from $20-$40 but would save Davis School District around $250,000 a year, for instance. Teachers are already required to pay for their own background checks. Both groups must get background checks at the time of initial hiring and then every 5 years for teachers and every 6 years for non-licensed employees. A good move I think, that also happens to save school districts some money.

This evening Governor Herbert gave his State of the State address. His focus remains on three issues: Education, Energy, and the Economy. He recommitted to maintaining funding for public education and announced a new Energy Commission, which will also discuss air quality (hooray!!). More to come tomorrow….

As you are probably aware today was the first day of the 2010 legislative session.  The day was spent in the chamber as we began the day with some formal pomp and circumstance including an opening prayer given by Elder M. Russell Ballard, the national anthem and several other selections from BYU’s Vocal Point (including a rousing rendition of “Rise and Shout” as an encore), introduction of our two new House members and the rest of the Representatives, and introduction of the interns and most importantly all those who serve primarily behind the scenes as legislative pages, support staff and security.  Speaker Clark spoke on the challenges we are expected to face this session and his commitment to face those challenges in a manner consistent with Utah’s being voted the number one best managed state.  Utah Supreme Court Chief Justice Christine Durham also spoke on some of the innovations the judicial system has put into place in light of the budget cuts they have experienced this past year.   It was a great day in the chamber, full of inspiration and motivation.  During the lunch hour I was part of a panel of women legislators who spoke to a group representing “Leadership Park City,” which identifies, encourages and trains emerging leaders.  It was great to hear from my colleagues about their bills and principles that guide them during the session.  One theme that came across from us all was the need to work together to find common ground and solutions we can all agree on.  Tomorrow we get on with the work of actually putting that ideal into practice.

Thanks to all the folks who attended the Town Hall meeting on January 20th. A vibrant and passionate crowd of about 150 constituents were in attendance. Rep. Sheryl Allen, Sen. Dan Liljenquist, and I jointly hosted this meeting and shared in the answering of open questions from the audience. The focus of questions centered around what are universally thought to be the three main forces on the budget this session: the growth of Medicaid, viability of the Utah Retirement System, and funding of public education. Thank you to all those who attended. A write-up of the meeting was compiled by Paul Reimann of Bountiful. It is in Word format and can be accessed on the sidebar to the right of this blog homepage under the heading “Resources.” You can also access it from this address: http://www.utahbecky.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Town-Hall-2010-Jan-20-btfl-libr.doc.
Please let me know if you have clarifications or corrections on the record made by Mr. Reimann. We are greatly indebted to him for his copious note taking, but realize it is a living document. Again, thanks for those who attended and please stay in contact!

The Legislature met today in our Appropriations Committee meetings in preparation for the General Session that begins on January 25^th.  Each agency was asked to present their proposed budget for FY2011 in light of the following recommendations.

1. The Governor’s recommendation of a 3% cost of living adjustment decrease.
2. A 4% proposed general fund budget adjustment recommendations by the Executive Appropriations Committee. 

In the Transportation, Environmental Quality, National Guard and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Committee, which I serve on, we heard reports from each of the four agencies as to how they propose to meet both of those budget recommendations.  As a committee we passed unanimously each committee’s presentation of their budget adjustment that followed the 4% general fund recommendation.    

The Compendium of Budget Information, the complete budget analysis from the Legislative Fiscal Analyst staff, can be found at: 

http://www.le.state.ut.us/asp/lfa/lfareports.asp

and

http://le.utah.gov/lfa/reports/cobi2010/COBI2010.htm

Other resources that may be helpful in analyzing the budget and the economic outlook are:

www.governor.utah.gov/dea

This is the Economic report to the Governor on FY 2010 and includes information on demographics, employment and wages, and an economic outlook for the state as we go forward.  This can be found in a two page excerpt sheet or a 25 page Executive Summary.  Both provide helpful background information as an analysis of our current situation takes place.

The next two links provide a summary of Governor Herbert’s budget proposal for FY 2011 (the Legislature has not formed their budget proposal for FY 2011 yet).

http://governor.utah.gov/budget/budget/Agency%20Recommendations/FY2011/FINAL%20FY%2011%Budget%20Presentation.pdf

and

http://www.governor.utah.gov/budget/Budget/Agency%20Recommendations/FY2011/Budget%20Overview.pdf