Representative Becky Edwards

The last four days of the session are a little bit like the last 385 yards of a marathon.  You’ve already run 26 miles, but those last 385 yards can seem like an eternity and really can make or break the whole race.  Below are some of the make or break issues still out there for this session.  If you have others, feel free to pass them on.  

 1.  Prison Relocation

SB 72 – Prison Relocation and Development Amendments, Senator Jenkinshttp://le.utah.gov/~2013/bills/sbillint/SB0072S04.htm.

The Senate passed a very reduced/modified version of this bill for the Prison Relocation. The bill is now on the fourth substitute of the original bill and many changes have been made.  Click on the above link to see where it is now. At the end of the day, the bill authorizes the continuation of the Prison Relocation Development Authority Board to continue to review/study the issue and look at other possible recommendations. Here is a link to Senator Jenkins discussing the newest version of the bill. https://soundcloud.com/utsenate/senator-jenkins-prada  (When he says PRADA board it means the Prison Relocation And Development Authority.)

This is an issue where the public is crying out for assurances the decision will be made with consideration to impacts on public safety and inmate rehabilitation as well as the financial ramifications.  I am still taking recommendations on this bill.

2.  Second Amendment

We have passed out from the House all the second amendment legislation.

HB 76, Concealed Weapon Carry Amendments, Rep. Mathis

This bill only changes one thing in current Utah law:  it allows a person to carry an unloaded weapon concealed without a concealed carry permit.  The bill makes no changes to background check requirements.  It makes no changes to the requirement to have a concealed carry permit for a loaded concealed weapon.  It makes no changes to the rules regarding carrying a firearm in certain locations such as churches and schools.  It simply says if you are open carrying an unloaded weapon without a concealed carry permit (legal under current statute) then you may also legally cover that weapon up in its unloaded state.  If you are carrying a loaded weapon concealed then you still need a concealed carry permit.  I voted for this bill.  It is now in the possession of the Senate and I’m sure they would be happy to receive your recommendations.

HB 114, Second Amendment Preservation Act, Rep. Greene

I take very seriously the constitutional note included in the bill and drafted by the Legislature. Consequently, I voted against this bill.

3.    Medicaid Expansion

HB 391, “Prohibition of Medicaid Expansion,” Rep. Perry/Anderegg

http://le.utah.gov/DynaBill/dbill.jsp?bill=HB0391&trackadd=true

This bill prohibits the governor or the Department of Health from expanding Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  This is a substitute to a bill to the original bill which declared the PPACA null and void in the state of Utah.  As background to this issue it is important to remember a few facts:

• The Governor has the final say as to Medicaid expansion as proposed by the federal government.
• An independent study is underway to assess the financial impact of an expansion.  This analysis has not been completed, but needs to be considered by both the Governor and the legislature.
• There is no imminent deadline for expansion…states can opt in or out at any time.

I have concerns both with the process of the passage of the substitute bill as well as the substance of the bill. This issue, impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of Utah residents, deserves our most careful consideration taking into account all the data.  At present I do not feel comfortable supporting this legislation.

4.    Alcohol Policy

HB 228, Substitute Alcohol Beverage Control Act Amendments, which proposes removal of the “Zion curtain” passed out of the House.  A previous piece of legislation from 2009 required new restaurants seeking liquor licenses to have a seven foot high barrier, or curtain/wall, to prevent patrons from seeing drinks being mixed or poured.  This has created inequity within the restaurant community where some are required to have this barrier and others, grandfathered into the original system, are not.  It is a fairness issue.

5.    Budget finalizing

See the earlier post on the blog regarding the process of creating the state budget.  Here is the link to the approved budget by the Executive Appropriations Committee on Friday.  Check it out if you’re wanting to see if a particular program got funded or where the appropriation ended up.  Some highlights from the budget are:

• WPU Increase for Public Education. The legislature will increase the Weighted Pupil Unit by 2%, which should mean a raise for teachers. That money will filter down to the districts so they can increase employee compensation including salary and benefit changes.  An additional $68.5 million will be spent to manage the growth in schools.
• Restore $25 Million Public Education Shortfall.  We also authorized restoration of the $25 million budget shortfall due to calculation errors at the State Office of Education last year.  An error in the formula for student enrollment growth created that budget shortfall of $25 million.  That amount has been restored this year.
• $500,000 for the Disabilities waiting list    Every year there are hundreds of people with disabilities on a waiting list for services, including respite, and many are on that list for 5-6 years before moving up and actually receiving services.  This relatively small increase will make a world of difference to these individuals and their families.

• Pay Increase for State Government Workers. All State workers will also get a 1% pay raise.
• One-Time Allocations for Arts.  There will be one-time allocations (meaning we are giving them that amount for the current year only) made to several organizations like the Pioneer Museum, Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Moab Music Festival and The Leonardo. 
 The Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program also gets $4,000,000.

Fire Cost Recovery. We have authorized the restoration of $19 million to the fire budget to pay the bill for last summer’s fire containment costs.

6.    State wide anti-discrimination

This bill has passed the Senate committee.  It must pass the Senate body before heading over to the House.  This will be an issue of prioritization by the Senate and how fast and far it moves on the Senate 2^nd and 3^rd reading calendars will be a statement of the support it has there.

 7.  Any looming taxes/fees?  (a rose by any other name is still a rose)

It appears we will not be seeing any bills related to a tax increase either on gas or a restoration of the sales tax on food this session.

However, we do have a Senate bill dealing with taxation on internet retail sales.  SB 226 – Sales and Use Tax Amendments – Senator Harper

http://le.utah.gov/~2013/bills/sbillint/SB0266.htm

This bill would collect sales tax on Internet retail sales. 24 other states are trying to pass the same legislation.  Unfortunately the Federal Government should really address this issue, but has failed to act on this like many other issues.  We need to do something as a state to address this loss in revenue as more sales move to online retailers.  The question is whether this legislation is the right fix and if we as a state create a solution ourselves or if we wait for a comprehensive federal fix.

We started today with the Consent Calendar. These are bills that have received unanimous support in their Committee hearings. The bill presenter has 2 minutes to speak to the bill, no discussion or questions are allowed, and the vote is taken. It is a way to clear up time for the more complex issues and bills that require more discussion amongst the members of the body.

We then moved to the Senate Calendar. We have had specific days during the session that the House passes Senate bills and vice versa.

Then when we had made our way to the bottom of that list, we moved to the 3rd Reading Calendar. Two of my bills passed out of the House today.

HB 318, Classroom Size Revisions, was on the calendar. Following the presentation and a good discussion on the floor the bill was passed with a margin of 59-21 vote.

HB 157, “Children’s Hearing Aid Pilot Program” also passed off the House floor, with a 70-0 vote.

We also sauntered for 1 hour. That is like a recess from school, only without the dodge ball or hopscotch. It is usually an opportunity to get some specific work done that is time sensitive. In this instance our House leadership were finalizing the items on the budget proposal. As we move forward discussion to bills are longer, because of the complexities of many bills, and so even though we were on the floor for 7 hours yesterday we only passed 22 bills. An example of one of those bills is HB 393, “Competency-based Education Amendments”
Requires the State Office of Education to set standards and mechanisms for funding competency based learning. It passed 43-26. I did not support the bill.
My questions surround the specifics as to the funding for competency based courses and felt like it needed to be fleshed out a bit more prior to moving forward. Additionally without additional funding necessary to the type of individualized attention these programs require, this is simply an unfunded mandate.

Tonight, a couple of photos of handouts I received today tell the story of District 20 through the lens of:

A) The impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit

B) World Trade Center’s economic impact on business and economic development efforts in District 20

The Pacifica Institute hosted the legislature for a lunch featuring Turkish food and entertainment.  Some of the cutest children you’ve ever seen danced the whirling dervish for us.  Video is embedded below.  We also learned about the importance of the US/Turkey military alliance, religious, cultural, and economic outreach of Turkey within the Anatolian region as well as within the US.  It was a great and informative meeting, and the baklava was to die for.

Today brought the passage of my HB 157, Children’s Hearing Aid Pilot Program, out of committee with a unanimous recommendation.  It now moves to the House floor for a vote.

From Natural Resources Committee this morning:

1. HJR 15, Joint Resolution on State and Political Subdivisions Jurisdiction, Rep. Roberts. This resolution asserts state and local sovereignty and encourages them to assert those rights to respond to and take action when conditions on federally managed land if the state may adversely affect the health, safety, or welfare of the people of the state. This resolution passed out of committee with my support.
2. HB 164, State and Political Subdivision Jurisdictional Amendments, Rep. Roberts. This bill describes actions that may be taken by a city, county, or state to respond to action or action not taken by the BLM or Forest Service on federally managed land in the state. Primarily the provisions in this bill include language that subdivisions may act, may provide notice, may adversely affect the health, safety and welfare of citizens etc. I did not support this bill as I felt it was a) too vague with the use of the word may, and b) needs clarification on properties addressed as current language includes National Parks, Camp Williams and others. Other concerns are with the requirement for the state to indemnify an individual against an action by the federal government if the individual was acting in good faith to exercise authority authorized in the bill.
3. HB 365, Swine Amendments, Rep. Mathis. This bill regulates the release and harvest of swine within the state. Discussion on the health impact associated with feral pigs such as Pseudorabies which can kill cattle, dogs, and cats. These are pigs that are raised in pens and released an hour prior to the hunt. The State Veterinarian raised concerns with the bill, including disease control and procedure of raising and harvesting of the swine. A motion was made to hold the bill in committee to allow the bil sponsor to address concerns. I supported that motion, which passed, and we will hear this bill at our next committee meeting.
4. HB 357, Waste Management Facilities Siting Amendments, Rep. Menlove. This bill requires a siting notice for a new solid or hazardous waste facility include a traffic impact study that takes into consideration the roads serving the facility, also all land acquisition and leasing, construction, and estimated annual operation. These considerations are not currently part of the conditional permit received for siting. I supported this bill.
5. SB 61, Hunting Permit Amendments, Sen. Christensen. This bill establishes a process whereby an individual can gift a hunt draw to a youth they are related to or a child with a terminal illness. The adult must accompany the child at the hunt. This is a great bill that supports individuals who want to include family members in a hunt. I supported this bill.
6. HB 382, Escalante Region Grazing Zone, Rep. Noel. This bill establishes a Utah resource management plan for the management of federal lands, specific to the grazing on the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. This bill will prevent the shutting down of allotments for grazing, water development right transfers, on those lands. I supported this bill and it passed unanimously.

Economic Development Committee from this afternoon.

SB 11, Substitute Joint Resolution on Environmental and Developmental Policies, Sen. Weiler.  This resolution addresses concerns with the UN backed Agenda 21 that is impacting policies being adopted regarding city, county, and state planning.  The focus of the resolution is to warn entities in Utah about the UN Agenda 21 that has infiltrated some of the innocuous sounding things like sustainability, transportation and mobility management.  In the end I voted against this resolution, primarily because I’m not sure it falls within the role of the legislature to spend our time throwing up red flag warnings for municipalities and counties on a variety of issues.  Also, I’m concerned about the impact on cities that may adopt policies that could appear to be a part of Agenda 21 and how that impedes their ability to enter into contracts etc. as per language in the bill. As the bill sponsor put it, he substituted the bill to make it less “tin-foil hatty.”  Enough said.

We also heard two other bills.  SCR 9, Concurrent Resolution Designating a Week to Recognize Workplace Safety, Sen. Mayne, designated a week in June, 2013, as worker safety week.

The other, HB 380, Economic Development Revisions, Rep. Lowry Snow, raised the % of post performance tax credits given to companies bringing in over $1,000,000,000 in capital expenditures.  This is a tool that is necessary to compete in the process that attracts and brings businesses to Utah.

Additional resources you may want to check out for different legislative perspectives and analysis:

1. Utah League of Women Voters
http://www.lwvutah.org/legislative-updates.htm
2. Ron Mortenson, retired US Foreign Service Officer and long time District 20 (now District 19) resident and citizen lobbyist writes for www.examiner.com. Ron provides analysis to the hot political topics of the day.

The 2013 session will go down as the year of the political snow messages.  In case you can’t see in the pictures, we are being admonished to:

1.  End fossil fuel subsidies

2.  Idle no more

Day 30 began with an absolutely beautiful prayer offered by Father Mike Sciumbato, a Priest at St. Ann’s Catholic Church, SLC.  I wish I had a transcript because it was so heartfelt and perfect.  It is not an exaggeration to say the prayer and pledge as we begin our daily floor time are among the most special moments of each day.

As promised, here is the report from the Higher Ed Appropriations Committee.

We approved the budget above and we are recommending it to the Executive Appropriations Committee. They now will meet and consider all the various sub-committee recommendations, and in the end they compile a complete state budget. Even then there is opportunity to make changes across each of the line items, but things are starting to gel in a very real way.  Of note is the fact that we are funding the UofU Medical School expansion back to 102 students.  It will eventually lead to a class of 122 each year. For the first year only they will receive $6.5 M because it is the first year of the ramp up.  The bill detailing how the money will be spent and any special preferences or requirements for enrolling Utah residents, or individuals with “strong Utah ties” will be included in the bill.  I think this is a great thing and a necessary way for us to accommodate the growing population and medical needs in our state.

We had a great 13 year old boy scout, Lyle, from Lehi, attend committee today as part of earning his Citizenship in the Community merit badge.  He is one of thousands of awesome boy scouts in the state and couldn’t have been more pleasant as we spoke about his 8 merit badges he’s already earned (his favorite so far? horsemanship).

A couple of other bills we discussed on the floor today.

HCR 4, “Concurrent Resolution on Utah Wildfires,” Rep. Briscoe

This resolution expresses appreciation to the hundreds of state, federal, local, and volunteer firefights who helped to combat the many wildfires last year in Utah. 1526 wildfires last year in Utah burned 413,626 acres, including 81,624 private acres,
42 279,521 federal acres, and 52,481 state acres.

We were able to welcome to the floor representatives from the various state, federal, local and volunteer firefighter units across the state.  They truly are heroes for literally standing between us and harms way in so many places this past year.

A couple of bills of interest from our floor time today:

HB 142, “Public Lands Policy Coordinating Office Amendments,” Rep. Barrus

This bill creates a public lands policy coordinating office.  It is a first step in creating a dialogue with all parties and working towards getting a resolution on land issue. There is no precedent for land takeback, however, there is precedent for land swaps, exchanges etc. The bill allows us to gather the information and we have 2 years to do so. This is not a lawsuit as some of the other federal land bills have been in the past.

HB 238, “Cosmetology and Hair Braiding,” Rep. Dunnigan.
This bill makes changes to the licensing for hair braiders and cosmetology practitioners.  It exempts out a person who only engages in hair braiding and no other activity requiring licensure, those engaging in short eyelash extender classes that are not considered a pathway to licensure, and people applying makeup at a counter at a department store. Lowers the number of curriculum hours from 2000 to 1600.

A couple of great lines from today:

“We’re the first cow down that path.”

“Many of us in this body wish we had enough hair to braid.”

“So much tyranny, so little time.”

“Higher Ed in the state of Utah–think of it as a 2 pant sale.”

“Never let a good crisis go to work.”

“It’s like the adage about the pig and the chicken.  The chicken makes a contribution to a bacon and eggs breakfast, but for the pig it’s a total commitment.”

More up tomorrow.

In Natural Resources today we discussed yet again another bill dealing with water.  There are several bills dealing with water rights and ownership of water shares.  SB 109 and HB 123 have different approaches to clarify this issue.  We have passed out each of them from our committee and it will be up to the body to make a determination on which way to vote.  Quite honestly water has been the issue I have had the biggest learning curve on since serving in the House.  This has always been an enormously important issue to the people of Utah.  In fact during committee today the final witness testifying to HB 123 recounted a story from the early days of Utah.  LDS President Wilford Woodruff was speaking to a church congregation and referenced a water rights dispute between the cities of Goshen and Mona. He recounted the bitter dispute and indicated that the individuals involved, including the bishopric and nearly all the members of the LDS ward in Goshen, had all been either disfellowshipped or excommunicated from the LDS church because of their actions during the dispute.  The joke was made that noone today would be excommunicated based on their vote on the bill.  Legislative humor, as my daughter would say.

Today was our first day spending 5 hours on the floor passing bills. We will eventually work up to 8 hours a day on the floor as our committee work winds down. Higher Education Appropriations meets for the last time tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 to prioritize the budget. Then the Executive Appropriations Committee will collect and use the recommendations from each Sub-committee as a base to create their final list. More negotiations will take place and by Friday of next week we should have the final budget.

We celebrated Carson Smith Day on the Hill. Carson is the son of a dynamic mom, Cheryl, who spearheaded the effort to create the the Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship, which is a state-funded program that provides private school scholarships to K-12 students with disabilities.

The Carson Smith Special Needs Scholarship is a state-funded program that provides private school scholarships to K-12 students with disabilities

A few interesting bills we heard on the floor today:

HB 300, Retention of Sales and Use Tax Collections by Certain Remote Sellers, Rep. Eliason.

This is a voluntary bill that levels the playing field and allows for the collection of sales tax by remote sellers who do not have a brick and mortar store in the state.  It is a marketplace equity bridge until we get federal action on the issue of internet sales.This does not raise taxes.  It has a positive fiscal note.  It is voluntary.  I support this bill.

HB 121, “Firearms Safe Harbor,” Rep. Pitcher.

This bill allows individuals to voluntarily commit a firearm to a law enforcement agency for safekeeping if the owner believes there is an immediate threat to the owner or any other person.  The safe harbor is limited to 60 days.  I support this bill.  This is a short term bridge to get past a family emergency.  It is not intended to house a weapon long term.  Provides a measure of safety for families in crisis.  I voted yes.

HB 76, “Concealed Weapon Carry Amendments,” Rep. Mathis.

This bill would eliminate the need for concealed carry permits unless the carrying is onto the campus of a school. This bill allows anyone who is 21 years of age or older and who is not otherwise restricted to lawfully possess a dangerous weapon, concealed or displayed openly.

Currently every time you purchase a gun you are subject to a background check.  It costs $7.50.  There is NO permit required to open carry under current law.

So what would be different under HB 76?

1.  Background checks as part of the gun purchase process would still continue under the bill.

2.  The only permit that exists currently is the concealed carry permit and that is required only if you wish to conceal.  This bill takes away the requirement to get a conceal carry permit.  An individual may still get conceal carry permit if they wish, which has advantages for carrying across state lines, but it would no longer be required within the state of Utah.

After over an hour of discussion on the floor the bill was circled.  We will visit this issue again another day.  I’d be interested to hear how you feel about this issue.

Today began at 7:00 with our Davis County Chamber of Commerce/Legislator meeting. This is a great opportunity for us to discuss the legislative issues within the framework of how they will impact businesses and entities in Davis County. Several bills were of concern to the Chamber. They are:
SB 177, “Highway Designation Amendments,” Sen. Reid. This bill designates a portion of the Legacy Parkway as the Michael O. Leavitt Parkway. The Chamber is not supportive of this bill at this time. They feel it is 10-20 years before it’s time, have concerns with the $10-20M fiscal note to change all signage etc. They also stated that schools, businesses, an event center, and others have adopted the name “Legacy” as part of branding with the Legacy Parkway. This Parkway is already Gov. Leavitt’s legacy as he was the one who named it originally.

HB 347, “Landowner Liability Amendments,” Rep. Wilson. This bill puts a fence around common law liability as per attractive nuisances and prevents the expansion of liability beyond the status quo. The Chamber supports this bill.

We also heard a presentation by Andrew Gruber, the Executive Director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council. WFRC is a collection of elected officials working cooperatively with the three other metropolitan planning organizations in the state to create the 2040 Unified Plan for Utah. This includes a 10, 20, 30, and 40 year look at the demands on travel, transportation needs, and other issues related to development. This is unique to Utah. We happen to be the only state in the nation with this type of long term vision that has been developed cooperatively with all these parties. For more information on the WFRC link here.

Two of my bills were heard in Committees today.

HB 332, “Alternate Dispute Resolution,” provides that a benefactor can require beneficiaries or fiduciaries of a trust or will to engage in alternative dispute resolution prior to litigation in court. ADR is more efficient, less time consuming, less expensive, and more of a win win for all parties than litigation. Parties remain in control of the outcome and are almost universally more satisfied with the ADR process over litigation. This bill passed out with a unanimous recommendation.

HB 318, “Class Size Revisions,” provides a 4 year phase in for class size caps for grades K-3 in the following numbers: Kindergarten 20, 1st and 2nd grade 22, and 3rd grade 24. There is currently an unrestricted stream of state funding to the tune of $106M that goes specifically to a line item within the Education Budget specifically for Class Size Reductions. As a state we have not had the capacity to track those monies and since the inception of the CSR fund class sizes have actually gone up in the K-3 years. This bill provides that the CSR funding will be contingent upon a district meeting the caps. The idea behind the bill is that class size in the lower grades is absolutely foundational in terms of creating a successful learning environment to ensure early literacy in children. We have felt so strongly about this as a legislature that we have funded this line item since 1993. Increasing class sizes coupled with a move by the legislature to require increased accountability has led to this bill. Additionally, this bill provides a provision for districts to hire paraprofessionals to assist in the classroom with licensed teachers to accommodate classrooms that go over the cap. This bill does not carry an appropriation because the money is already flowing to the districts for this purpose. It simply requires tracking and accountability for those funds, as well as a requirement to focus on the grades where those class size reductions can make the most impact. This bill was held in committee and did not receive a vote.

This bill has generated a lot of media and constituent interest.

Below are links to TV and print stories about HB 318.

Some media links to discussion about this bill:

http://fox13now.com/2013/02/25/legislation-lowers-k-3-class-sizes/

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865574157/Call-for-smaller-classes-stalls-for-lack-of-funding.html?pg=2

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/55882133-78/class-bill-schools-sizes.html.csp

Each bill must receive a committee hearing that results in a vote recommending them for passage prior to moving on to the floor for further voting. In our Economic Development Committee this week we heard two bills that didn’t receive an opportunity for an up or down vote from committee members. They were “held” in Committee for further work prior to a vote. That day of reckoning will hit tomorrow morning for the following two bills:

HB0209S01 Public Assistance Restrictions (D. Brown) prohibits a recipient of public assistance under the Family Employment Program from accessing the assistance through an electronic benefit transfer, including through an automated teller machine, at a liquor store, gaming establishment, or adult-oriented entertainment establishment. It also prohibits the liquor store, gaming establishment, or adult-oriented entertainment establishment from allowing an individual to access assistance under the Family Employment Program through an electronic benefit transfer on the establishment’s premises, including through an automated teller machine. It authorizes the Department of Workforce Services to make rules regarding providing information to the public and to recipients of public assistance about the fees and surcharges that apply to assistance accessed through an electronic fund transaction. The Department would also make rules about preventing access to assistance through these electronic fund transfers, including enforcement provisions for violations.
HB0139 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Action Center (V. Peterson) creates educational programs for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). It creates a new STEM Board representing the governor, four representatives of business, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commissioner of Higher Education, Department of Workforce Services and State Science Advisor. The board is to coordinate STEM activities among public and higher education, private schools and parents of home-schooled students. The board would also engage businesses to cooperate with the board and provide funding and assistance for a STEM Action Center. HB 139 appropriates $15 million from the General Fund, one million of which would go to the State Office of Education for grants to school districts and charter schools for STEM related courses.

Several of the House bills dealing with 2nd amendment rights were heard in Standing Committees this week. A synopsis of three of these bills and committee votes follows.

HB0076 Concealed Weapon Carry Amendments (Mathis, J.) – This bill would eliminate the need for concealed carry permits unless the carrying is on to the campus of a school. This bill allows anyone who is 21 years of age or older and who is not otherwise restricted to lawfully possess a dangerous weapon, concealed or displayed openly. This bill passed out of the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 7 yeas, 2 nays

HB0114S01 Second Amendment Preservation Act (Greene, B.) -The primary thrust of this bill is intended to assert the rights of Utah over those of the federal government as they relate to gun laws and enforcement of gun laws. There is a constitutional clause at the end of the bill that warns that this bill violates the Supremacy and Commerce Clauses of the US Constitution. This bill was held in the House Judiciary Committee to allow time to re-evaluate the constitutional clause and will be heard again in the committee on Friday.

HB0268S01 Disorderly Conduct Amendments (Ray, P.) – This bill confirms that merely displaying a dangerous weapon in public without other behavior is not disorderly conduct. While open carrying of weapons is currently legal under Utah law, this bill creates confusion as to the ability of law enforcement to engage a person openly carrying a weapon in a public place. This bill passed out of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee with a vote of 7 yeas, 3 nay and 1 absent.

Day 23…Be prepared

Each day we are faced with numerous bills to be heard and debated on the House floor. Each day the list of the bills that are on the “3rd Reading Calendar” is posted online. To be prepared you must have read the bills and created an opportunity to discuss with the sponsor any questions you may have. That just means you’d best find a cozy little spot each night to do some reading…..because there is a lot of it.

This facebook link opens up a Dropbox file of all the bills currently on the 3rd reading calendar. Feel free to join in the fun tonight and get busy.

Today in our House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee we heard two bills:

HB 209, “Public Assistance Restrictions,” Rep. Derek Brown. This bill adds some restrictions on an existing federal program called the Family Employment Program operating under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. Restricted are charges for liquor, gambling, and adult oriented entertainment. This program currently serves 2000 individuals who are typically on the program for 6-12 months, receiving cash while participating in a program that requires about 30 hours a week including job training, coaching, and employment services. 91% of the individuals served are single mothers. There was a lot of discussion regarding the flexibility of the monies made available through this temporary cash assistance program and the role of the Department of Workforce Services in writing rules for the new changes, including fines. After an hour debate the bill was not voted on and we will hear it in a later agenda.

1st Sub. HB 222, “Domestic Asset Protection Trust Amendments,” Rep. Derek Brown. This bill provides a framework for an asset protection trust in Utah, which currently does not exist in Utah, and is modeled after current law in Nevada and Alaska. This generates revenue for professions involved in asset protection services (attorneys, tax accountants, trustees etc.) and provides a vehicle for individuals to protect assets in case of a catastrophic event. This bill passed out after almost an hour of debate as well.