One of the highlights of today was the chance to spend time with two outstanding UofU students, who were raised right here in District 20. They left the University of Utah “hill” to spend some time on Capitol Hill as part of the UofU’s “Research Posters on the Hill” series. The first student was Karisa Snow, Bountiful, senior in Chemistry, whose project discussed ways in which molecular connections can be manipulated to create pharmaceutical products. The second was Megan Lindsay, Bountiful, senior in Social Work, whose project involved using dance in elementary school settings and outlined the wide range of benefits to the students. These two presentations, along with all the others, demonstrate the creativity and dedication of University students and are a great example of why we need to maintain funding to continue a strong system of higher education.
To give a flavor for the scope of bills that come to the floor this morning I thought I’d just list the bills that were acted upon today:
- HB26, Child and Vulnerable Adult Endangerment Provisions, passed
- 1SHB86, Division of Real Estate Related Amendments, passed
- HB244, Disruption of School Activities, passed
- HB17, Expedited Partner Therapy Treatment, the bill that received the most nay votes today, 8, but it still passed
- HB33, Refund of Unearned Health Insurance Premiums and Medicare Supplement Insurance Premiums, passed
- HB75, Utah Communications Agency Network Amendments, passed
- HB216, Telecommunication Pricing Flexibility Amendments, passed
- HB238, Exemption of University Housing from Eviction Laws, passed
- HB247, Amendments to Email Information Required of Registered Sex Offenders, passed
- HB87, Identity Theft Amendments, passed
- HB106, Controlled Substance Database Amendments, passed
- HB11, Recodification of Natural Resources Provisions, passed
- HB34, Penalties for Destruction of Bald Eagle, passed
You can see there is a lot of material to read, digest, and form opinions on in preparation for discussions on the floor. Luckily, the resources available to us are plentiful: the Legislative Office of Research and General Council, Office of Legislative Fiscal Analyst, and other staff, are great at providing accurate information, analysis, and data, and do a fine job of maintaining a nonpartisan stance on the issues. It is a system that produces good, reliable information. We are deeply indebted to all their counsel.
The Executive Appropriations Committee will give it’s “final” budget report to the Republican caucus tomorrow morning. I expect they have taken the 7 1/2% cuts discussed earlier, included back in the 3 1/2% backfill we agreed on a few days ago, and have their recommendations to present. I will report on that tomorrow.
Also today, the new legislators, House and Senate, had lunch with Governor Huntsman and Lieutenant Governor Gary Herbert. We had a chance to meet the Governor’s staff and hear the Governor reiterate much of what he said in his state of the state address. His priorities echo much of what remains important here in District 20: Education, Energy, the Economy, the Environment, and Ethics. I am officially coining these District 20 priorities the “Five E’s.” It is imperative we take action on these “Five E’s” this session.
Thanks for your involvement!
How would you prioritize the Five E’s?
I would say that Education and Ethics should be in the top tier while Energy, Economy, and Environment follow close behind.
For 8 years now we have put education at the top of the list. And where has it gotten us. In the past we have been instructed by those who built this state and country out of the desire to not have a bumbed down citizenship, not to allow government to control/fund education. If education is so important why do we continue to enslave it with government entanglement?
Chuck, I suspect that you and I agree on this more than you might imagine. Just because there is already too much government entanglement does not mean that the legislature is not the place to start to undo the problems – we need to cut the cost of education by removing some entanglements so that the money we already have there will be more effective.
Becky, thanks for these updates. I appreciate your taking the time to provide them for us.
Okay, Dave lets do it. Do you want to hear my four year plan to get it done?
Sure. What’s your plan?
HB244, Disruption of School Activities, passed – Where can I read more about this?
Maybe Chuck could post a pdf link to his four year plan for us all to see.
The most short version to start the process is organizing teachers into a group that will four times their income through special research in four years time. Thus removing the need for them to depend upon any school dist/ government funding. They can continue to teach as they please students/aprentices. They can move away from school buildings and teach in the enviroment that best fits them. IE home, on the road, etc.
We make use of robotic technologies to provide the income.
The teachers will supply top professional with imput as to what they desire to invest there new income in and it will be produce using the exponetial capcity of robotics. This will give them a life long income starting a 4x and building.
If you have a hard time imaging this possible just look on the Internet at the MYT engine that could have been built 100 years ago and saved us trillions of dollars. And then you will realize how far we have been dumbed down. For the MYT engine is obsolete with newer technology that also could have been many years ago.
If you would like to know more let me know and we can get into great detail.
The text of all bills can be found on the homepage for the legislature, which is: http://www.le.utah.gov/
You can see Bills on the left side of the home page and they are listed on the pull down menu under Bills 2009 Session. That was an interesting bill because it increased the penalty of a crime for someone who had used a school as part of the crime, or avoiding capture by the police. For instance, if someone steals a car and is being chased by the police, stops and gets out of the car and runs into a public school to try to hide or even just to evade the officer, that would be an additional charge brought on top of the original crime. It is a safe schools issue. Something similar to what I described really happened and was the partial genesis for the bill.
Dear Camille, Do you want to know more? If so I will post, Let me know.
Thanks for the information Becky. Can you add a table that shows how you voted on each bill? Thank you
I will look into that. That information is available on the legislative website, but I see the value of having it easily accessible on this blog. I can begin to include my votes each day maybe even in list form while searching for the best format to present the information. Thanks for the suggestion.
Becky,
Will you support your supporters by voting YES on HJR 8?
I am worried our Representatives are not going to vote in favor of our right to vote on this bill. And that does not make sense to me – Why would you not vote for something that supports our right to vote on a matter that affects us directly? Shouldn’t we, the people of the Utah, have the right to vote? If we are a nation run “by the people,” why would our government officials want to vote that right away?
Becky, please prove you want your supporters to have the right to vote by secret ballot and vote YES on HJR 8.
Thank you.
SL