Becky Edwards

Today was Charter School Day on the Hill.  Two of the Charters located in North Salt Lake were in attendance:  Legacy Preparatory Academy (whose photo didn’t work on my camera–if someone has one, please send it to me and I’ll post here), and Spectrum Academy.  They are two of the finest Charters in the state, if I do say so myself, and I have loved getting to know both their students and administrators over the past few years.  You can see LPA on the bottom right and Spectrum just to their left.

These are the Student Body Officers from Spectrum Academy.  They were vibrant and passionate about why and how Spectrum was meeting both their educational and social needs.  They are great kids.

Some things you may not know about Charter Schools in Utah:

1.  In 1998 the Charter School Pilot Program passed in the Utah State Legislature

2.  7 Charter schools opened in 1999.  There are now 82 Charters from St. George to Logan.

3.  If all students in Charter schools were grouped together they would comprise the 4th largest school district in Utah, tied with Jordan School District in enrollment.

4.  Charters enroll 9% of all public school students in Utah.

5.  More than 40,000 students are on the waiting list for Charters.

Besides the opportunity to visit with these students, the House and Senate members had a chance to meet with the combined Davis/Weber/Ogden/Brigham City/Cache Chambers of Commerce.  They laid out their joint priorities for the legislative session in the following areas: Transportation, Hill Air Force Base, Capital facilities projects, Healthcare, Education, Tourism, Immigration, Economic development, and Rural issues.  I’ll be highlighting some of their priorities in my end of week newsletter.  It has been very helpful for us as legislators to have this weekly opportunity to hear from civic, business, education, and county leaders.  We have a chance to work and combine together on issues that are important to all of us and we accomplish much more that way.

We also met in two Standing Committees today:  Political Subdivisions and Education, and had two hours of floor time.  It was a busy and productive day.

*photo credit to John Gotts

Today in Higher Ed we heard presentations by the Presidents of Dixie State College, Weber State, Southern Utah University, and the University of Utah.  One word that kept cropping up over and over was…..hybrid.  In this context hybrid means a mix of formal classroom learning and online, weekend, night course options that comprise learning beyond the classroom.  This is the future of higher ed and something each institution will rely on in their own way as they strive to meet the lofty goals of Prosperity 2020 and others, who challenge that by the year 2020 2/3 of Utahns will have education beyond high school, either in an advanced technical certificate or a degree.  This means that schools will be increasing their enrollment significantly and the hybrid model will help deliver education to this new population.  

There are also important partnerships that will help expand course and degree offerings.  For instance, Dixie State is partnering with the UofU, whose Masters Program is hosted in the UGraduate Center across the street from Dixie and offers Masters degrees in Special Ed, High School Counseling, Teacher Licensure, Social Work, and Nursing.

Great things are happening in our higher ed institutions and it is gratifying to see how aggressively and cohesively they are moving forward to meet the educational and economic needs of our State.

On a personal front, all my bills have been drafted and are out for analysis by the Fiscal Analysts office.  Several already have fiscal notes attached to them, which you can see by linking to the “Track my Bills” on the right side of this page.

More about the specific bills as they get assigned to committees and start to move through the process that way.

By law, the legislature is required to pass a base budget within the first 10 days of the legislative session.  Links to the base budgets for each of the nine Appropriations Committees are below.  Basically base budgets are builtoff the previous years budget, minus items funded with one time money.  

Additions, reductions, and other changes will be made to the budgets as we move through the session.  Revenues that come out about Feb. 21st will impact the final budgets.Utah is unique in that each member of the legislature sits on an appropriations committee and has the opportunity to work through the specifics of a budget.  In my first term I sat on the Transportation Appropropriations Committee and this term I am serving on Higher Ed.  Watch for the discussions on budget as we move through the session, and remember by law Utah is required to pass a balanced budget.  That process is one of the most important and interesting things we do as a legislative body.  

HB 1 – Education:

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillint/hb0001.html

HB 4 – Higher Ed:

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillint/hb0004.pdf

HB 5 – Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillint/hb0005.pdf

HB 6 – Retirement and Independent Entities

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/hbillint/hb0006.pdf

SB 4 – Business, Economic Development, and Labor

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/sbillint/sb0004.pdf

SB 5 – Executive Offices and Criminal  Justice

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/sbillint/sb0005.pdf

SB 6 – Infrastructure and General Government

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/sbillint/sb0006.pdf

SB 7 – National Guard, Veterans’ Affairs, and Legislature

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/sbillint/sb0007.pdf

SB 8 – Social Services

http://le.utah.gov/~2012/bills/sbillint/sb0008.pdf

Let’s start with a bit of trivia dedicated to other “One Fifths”:

1.  One fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz every day.

2.  One fifth of all mammals are bats.

3.  One fifth of students age 11 to 18 say they have been cyberbullied.

4.  One fifth of grandparents use social media.

5.  One fifth of my constituents read my blog every night.

Now you decide which “one fifth”  of the comments above is not true.

OK, on to more serious legislative issues, I’ve had several people email and ask me to explain more specifically about how the legislative process works.  So, I’m dedicating a little space here tonight to share what a Committee meeting is like.

Each legislator serves as a member on two Standing committees and one Appropriations committee.  In the House there are usually about 10-12 members on each of those committees and there are few in the Senate because they are smaller in number.  There is a chair and co-chair for each committee and they are assigned by the Speaker of the House.   They run the meetings, set the agenda, and oversee the bills that get assigned to be heard in their committee.  I currently serve as the vice-chair for the Political Subdivisions Committee.

Appropriations Committees are tasked with setting budget priorities for their area.  In the state of Utah we are required by state law to balance the budget.  Over the past several years this has been a difficult challenge because of the recession.  A unique challenge is facing us this year as we anticipate a small revenue surplus and find ourselves having the chance to determine where to best place that revenue.

Standing Committees hear debate on bills that relate to their area.  Every bill has a sponsor who is either a member of the House or the Senate.  The bill will first be presented to the committee for the chamber of the sponsor (House committee for a House sponsor for instance) and then if it passes out it will be heard in the opposite body for their vote.  The sponsor presents the basic idea of the bill to the committee, the members of the committee can ask clarifying questions, members of the public are invited to comment, debate and further questions from the committee to the bill sponsor, and then motions are taken to pass out the bill with a favorable recommendation.  Depending on the vote tally the bill will either pass out, fail, get held, or the committee may decide to move onto the next item on the agenda.  That means the bill has not died, is still retained by the committee chair, and can be brought back to the committee or additional presentation at a later meeting.  A tie vote means the bill will not pass out.  The committee chair determines if the vote is taken by a raise of hands, a voice vote of yea/nay, or a roll call vote where members state their vote when their name is called.  Sometimes bills that seem really simple can actually take up quite a bit of time with thoughtful and detailed questions, and other times you can spend less time on a bill with a lot of significance because the sponsor has done so much work with committee members on an individual basis answering questions in advance of the meeting.  The pictures above are from the Education Committee this afternoon where Rep. John Dougall was presenting a bill allowing students and parents to determine the best place for their technical education to take place.  The current law states that the school district will make that choice.  It was a pretty simple, only four line bill, that basically empowered parents and their students to have some educational choice.

That is the work of the legislative committee.  Next week I’ll describe the next phase of the legislative process, the floor debate and include some photos from the House chamber.

Some of the most informative meetings I sit on are the Higher Ed Appropriations meetings.  Our chair, Sen. Steve Urquhart, has focused our attention so far this session on innovations in the field of higher ed.  Presentations from national leaders in the field have been very interesting.  Additionally, as we’ve turned our attention to some of the innovations the institutions in our state are involved in, it’s also been very gratifying to see how much they are on the right track.

Ten things I learned in Higher Ed today:

1.  A $10 Million increase in budget would compensate for only 60% of the anticipated enrollment growth in the upcoming year.

2.  Enrollment growth has not been funded since 2004.

3.  The UCAT system enrolls almost 43,000 students:  9,411 secondary students and 32,081 post-secondary students.

4.  UCAT boasts completion rates of 86%, licensure rates of 97%, and job placement rates at 75%.  Impressive.

5.  UVU is the 4th largest, open admissions, public, 4 year institution in the nation.

6. The enrollment at UVU in 2011 was 33,395 and by 2020 they anticipate enrollment of 46,000.

7.  The state of Utah ranks 3rd in the nation in degrees awarded as per state expenditure.

8.  Utah State has 385 courses available online and 380 courses offered through Interactive Video Conferencing.

9.  Throughout the state the focus is on innovation, online learning, extending learning opportunities by maximizing summer, weekend, and evening courses, online textbooks, and building and reinforcing the unique and distinctive missions of each institution.

10.  Even with all the innovations being explored and advanced, the traditional university is still indispensable.

11.  (A bonus)  We have some of the best institutions of higher education in the nation right here in our backyard.

I aso had the chance to join Sen. Weiler and Rep. Nielson as we ate lunch in the Capitol rotunda with some folks from our area who were here today for “Democracy Day on the Hill.”  We had a great conversation and judging from their interest and passion for the issues I fully expect to see them continue their involvement.

This weekend brought an opportunity to participate in Utah’s new “Official Winter Sport” of skiing and snowboarding with my family.  Brighton was beautiful, the air was clear, there were some great runs, and of course they have the best cookies of any ski lodge in the state.  Some time was spent answering emails, wrestling with technical glitches on my computer and phone (I’m in a new relationship with both my iPhone and iPad and we’re still getting to know each other) and reading up on bills we’ll be hearing in committees and on the floor this coming week.

Here’s our version of a Legislative Advent Calendar–a 45-day paper chain hanging from the ceiling in our kitchen.  It’s a tradition we started my first session.

The 4th Day of the session finds most bills in 1st gear.  This is the stage where a lot of the work on bills is done that produces the momentum to take them through the next 2 gears and finally into the 4th gear where it passes through both the House and the Senate and is signed into law by the Governor.

Two bills I am working on took a significant step forward as I was able to secure Senate sponsors for both of them.  The first is the Access to Voter Date of Birth Records.  Currently, that information is public and accessible to anyone. That causes a lot of concerns over potential identity theft and this bill is an attempt to simply protect the privacy of those who register to vote. The release of private information like your birthdate, even if it is voluntarily made public by you in other places like facebook, should not be a requirement for voter registration.

Senator Ralph Okerland will be the Senate sponsor on this bill.   Sen. Okerland has heard from several constituents about this issue and one of them has had their identity stolen, in part because of their date of birth being public record on the voting roles.  Below are several links that discuss this issue.

Governor Herbert gave his annual State of the State address tonite.  Read the text of his message here:

http://www.utah.gov/governor/news_media/2012-state-of-state.html

While that was happening (better planning next year, I promise), Rep. Jim Nielson, Senate Todd Weiler and I held our “State of Davis County” Legislative Town Hall meeting at the Bountiful City Library.  We had a great crowd there who came well informed and prepared with questions about issues facing the families of our area.  The questions covered everything from education funding, online learning, insurance coverage for autism, eminent domain for trails, concurrent enrollment for high school students, and tax policy.  In addition, each of us had a chance to briefly discuss bills we are working on this year.  It was a great opportunity to meet together and I know all three of us would welcome continued conversations.

Earlier in the day I had the opportunity to visit with a group of students representing the North Salt Lake City Youth Council.  They were at the Capitol as part of the League of Cities and Towns annual event.  They are great young people and it was a great reminder that the “State of the Future” in our area is doing great.

I also had a chance to meet with some folks representing Utah Works, a “State Use Program”program that puts people with disabilities to work through public-private partnerships.  It is a self funding collaboration that saves taxpayer dollars by reducing public assistance costs and currently employs over 200 people.  I am very impressed with the good work done by several businesses employing people to do janitorial work, shredding, scanning, laundry, assembly work.  The “State of Employment” is healthy in the disability community and those helping them creatively find employment.

These are some of the folks involved in Utah Works projects:  Chad Miller and Bob Daniels from PARC in Clearfield, Charlee Norman of the Columbus Community Center in SLC, and Jan Parke and Phil Shumway with TURN Secure Shredding.

In addition, we had committee meetings for Political Subdivisions and Education today as well.  In Education we heard two bills.  One that addressed the division of a school district and required that all people involved in the split would be allowed to vote in decision to divide.  That bill is an outgrowth of the Canyons/Jordan split from a few years ago.  The bill failed with only one yes vote. The other bill allows for a public school teacher to send home with their students a list of school supplies that their parents could voluntarily purchase, otherwise the school would furnish the supplies.  This is not an option under current state code and many teachers spend hundreds of dollars every Fall getting their classroom stocked with the necessities for the school year.  That bill passed out with only one no vote.

We had two great committee meetings today, both having to do with different aspects of education.

First, in Higher Education Appropriations we had the privilege to hear from Clayton Christensen, author of “The Innovative University” and other books that challenge the status quo by disruptive techniques.  He believes in the realm of higher education those disruptions are:

1.  On-line learning.

2.  Modular pieces of higher education that can fit seamlessly with other pieces.

3.  Removing the boundaries between K-12 and post-secondary education.

4.  Finding a common way to frame the issues surrounding higher education.  In other words, let’s speak a common language.

Clayton Christensen is the brother of our own Carlton Christensen, Salt Lake City Councilman, who represents the area of Rose Park that I represent in the legislature.  Judging from the two of them, they must have had a great Mom.

A photo of Clayton in committee:

And now, if you’d like a reading assignment…..today’s homework assignment is to read “The Innovative University” and share your thoughts with the class.

And speaking of higher ed, today was “Research on the Hill” day where students from the University of Utah and Utah State University came with posters to present their research on a variety of subjects.  It was quite a thrill to connect with a USU student, Kira Anjewierden of Bountiful.  Her research, in conjunction with fellow USU student Sarah Pope of Sandy, centered on the influence of physical activity on eating disorder risk and emotion regulation in female college athletes.

It was an interesting study, but even more impressive was their ability to discuss the design of the study, statistical analysis and their conclusions.  There were probably 30-40 students from each University and the research topics ranged from microgravity, literacy, linguistic patterns, and organic carbon in beaver ponds.  Truly, an impressive bunch of students and Sen. Todd Weiler and I were pretty wowed.

The afternoon brought a House Education Standing committee where we had standing room only due to the fact that there were probably 50 students from the American Preparatory Academy visiting.  They are one of the strongest charter schools in the state, with several campuses serving different cities, and really exemplify the why and how charters can be so successful in providing choice for parents and students.

During the Education Committee  we discussed State-wide Adaptive testing, a great tool for educators that allows a test to adapt the questions on a test to the ability of the test taker.  Test results are available immediately, allowing for lesson plan creation that addresses the specific needs of the students.  This bill passed out unanimously.  There is a significant fiscal note, however, and we will have to see how that gets dealt with as we continue to put the budget together.  The other bill we heard was dealing with the UEN, the Utah Education Network, the entity that provides curriculum, student inter actives, professional development, and educational tools to K-12, higher ed, and adult ed across the state, free of charge.  It is a tremendously important program to the education community as a whole in our state and this bill creates a board for governance and accountability for the UEN.

The 2012 Legislative session began this morning at 10:00 am.  Here is the view from Victory Road as I was driving in to the Capitol earlier this morning….and yes, I did pull over to the side of the road to take this photo.  

The morning began with a beautiful prayer by Elder Donald L. Hallstrom of the LDS Church.  He asked that a blessing of humility and civility be present in the legislative session and that those involved would work towards all that was right and good.  Since Elder Hallstrom is a neighbor it was a special treat o see him there this morning and to feel of his spirit.  We then had the privilege of hearing the Provo High School Chamber Choir sing  ”The Star Spangled Banner,” “America the Beautiful,”  and the beautiful British hymn “I Vow to Thee, My Country.”

 I’ve included the lyrics to that hymn, set to Gustav Holst’s “Jupiter,” below:

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

I heard my country calling, away across the sea,

Across the waste of waters she calls and calls to me.

Her sword is girded at her side, her helmet on her head,

And round her feet are lying the dying and the dead.

I hear the noise of battle, the thunder of her guns,

I haste to thee my mother, a son among thy sons.

And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago,

Most dear to them that love her, most great to them that know;

We may not count her armies, we may not see her King;

Her fortress is a faithful heart, her pride is suffering;

And soul by soul and silently her shining bounds increase,

And her ways are ways of gentleness, and all her paths are peace.

Speaker Lockhart shared some remarks that included several experiences she has had throughout this past year meeting exceptional people across the state.  She ended by encouraging House members to “be bold and be brave” so that “when the session is over you’ll be able to say you did your very best.”  A good admonition.

We also witnessed the swearing in of the three most recent members of the House:  Rep. Craig Frank (R-Pleasant Grove), Rep. Dan McCay (R-Herriman), and Rep. Lowry Snow (R-St. George).  I look forward to working with my new colleagues.

During a break for lunch I was able to go to the Capitol cafeteria with my husband who was visiting for the morning.  He deserves the title of my favorite constituent and it was a treat to have him up at the Capitol.

We returned from lunch in time to hear Utah  State Supreme Court Justice Christine Durham deliver her state of the judiciary address.  It was impressive to hear the innovations and efficiencies they have applied in the past several years that have resulted in improved court reform and judicial administration.  I am highly impressed with the great work they do.

Then it was off to the Political Subdivision where we heard 4 bills, several of which were very hotly scrutinized and debated.  Usually this early in the session you hear bills that are fairly non-controversial or simple, but that was not the case.   One bill dealt with a state requirement to perform a seismic assessment on buildings built prior to 1975 when they undergo a complete roof replacement.  The other deals with a clean up of the Utah Voter files by requesting either an acknowledgement of a correct current address from the voter at least once every 10 years, or the voter actually placing a vote in an election at least once every 10 years in order to maintain their status on the voting rolls.  Very interesting topics and we will hear more from both of these bills I’m sure.

Thanks for following this legislative blog.  As we move forward I will be including on the right sidebar a list of every vote taken on the House floor and continuing to write a more in-depth accounting of the activities of the day than I include in a Facebook or twitter post.  However, you are welcome to follow me on either of those sites.  You can search for me @utahbecky on twitter and Becky  Edwards on fb.  As always I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for those who have completed and mailed in their legislative surveys.  I mailed the surveys to every registered voter within both my current and new legislative district boundaries.   However, if for some reason you didn’t receive one, you may login to www.utgop.org/edwards and complete the survey online.  You may also choose to complete it online even if you received a survey in the mail.

One last thing….please join me, Rep. Jim Nielson, and our new Senator Todd Weiler, at a Legislative Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 25th, at the Bountiful City Library, 620 S. Main in Bountiful.  We will begin at 7:00 pm and I hope to see you there.

Again, thanks for your interest and input.  I look forward to hearing from you.