May 4, 2023
Best Overall State!
Utah was ranked Number 1 best overall State by U.S. News and World Report! Our commitment to innovation, education, fostering industry, and strengthening our economy are just a few of the reasons why this is such an amazing place to live, now and for generations to come. I am proud to call Utah home. You can check out the report here.
Interim Meetings and Committee Assignments
During the year, my colleagues and I prepare for the upcoming General Session through our monthly interim meetings. These meetings start again this month on May 16th! They are open to the public, and you are able to participate both in person and virtually. Click to view committee assignments and interim study items.
Flood Prevention
This spring, we are facing an increased risk of flooding all across our State. It’s important to monitor your local risk of flooding to help minimize damage in the event of a worst-case scenario. Click here to check your risk level and find some helpful flood preparedness resources.
House Spring Service Project
Each year, the House majority participates in a spring service project. This year, my colleagues and I are helping address flooding in our areas by volunteering to help fill sandbags and participating in other flood preparation activities. If you would like to get involved, check your city and county websites for volunteer opportunities.
Mar 3, 2023
First, if you’re free on Thursday, swing by the Northern Utah County Legislative Debrief.
7:30 pm @ 3192 W 2450 North Lehi, UT 84043
This will be with myself, Representatives Moss and Maloy, and Senator Anderegg. Speaker of the House, Brad Wilson, will also be coming by to offer his support to our area.
That’s A Wrap!
The Legislative Session has come to a close. The legislature passed over 500 bills, a record number, and still managed to end before midnight on the last night. Five of those were mine, all of which expanded personal freedom and pulled back on government regulations.
Stewardship
Water:
We accomplished 4 main goals this session:
- Increased water capacity
- Expanded conservation efforts
- Prepared for future water needs
- Enhanced outreach efforts
The legislature invested nearly $500 million into Utah’s water resources this session. Solving our water problem is a marathon, not a sprint. It will take several years of careful management in addition to rain and snow, but we are committed to making progress every session.
Energy:
- Safeguarded Utah’s ability to provide safe, reliable, and affordable energy
- Pushed back against the federal government’s regulatory overreach that threatens our ability to provide power to the state
- Passed legislation to create a statewide energy plan to develop and implement energy policies and goals as it relates to renewable and non-renewable energy sources
- We will continue to invest in Utah’s all-of-the-above energy approach including coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, nuclear, wind, solar, hydrogen, and more.
Land Management:
Affordability
Taxes:
The legislature passed several tax related bills. The details of those are as follows:
Total Tax Reductions
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$607.9 million (H.B. 54) – Income Tax and Sales Tax on Food
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$9.6 million (H.B. 170) – Child Care Tax Credit
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$146 million (H.B. 293) – Property tax thaw
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$51 million (H.B. 364) – Low Income Housing Tax Credit
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$32.7 million (H.B. 301) – Gas tax
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$2.6 million (H.B. 130) – Adoption Tax Credit
Government Overreach
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Blocked efforts to distort financial markets and limit access to capital based on artificial and subjective criteria
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Protected against investment schemes based on assessments of businesses’ and individuals’ political beliefs
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Ensured any state investment is done without regard to companies’ political, environmental, or social considerations
Investment
Transportation
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Monumental year for generational investments, including every mode of transportation
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Over $2 billion invested in transportation
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These investments will not only benefit us today, but will greatly benefit our children and grandchildren and set Utah up for future success
Education
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Education inspires upward mobility, fosters innovation, and opens the doors of the future
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Made significant investments in public education that positively impact students, teachers, and parents:
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Provided historic teacher pay raises
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Gave additional learning opportunities for Utah students
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Funded paid teacher collaboration and preparation time
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Funded optional all-day kindergarten
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Passed half a dozen bills related to school safety
School Safety
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Multi-faceted approach to school safety by addressing top concerns of students, educators, parents, and law enforcement
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Invested in student safety and ensured best practices are used to protect Utah schools and students
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Addressed chronic absenteeism through prevention and intervention
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Passed legislation to empower parents with information and resources when their student has been subjected to bullying, cyber-bullying, or other abusive behavior
Feb 24, 2023
We’ve made it to our final week of the General Session. I will continue to work hard for each of you throughout this last week. You can follow along at le.utah.gov.
My Bills
This week HB166S04 Mental Health Processional Licensing Amendments passed through the Senate unanimously and has been sent for enrolling.
HB375 Traffic Violation Exemptions unanimously passed through the Senate Transportation Committee and was placed on the Senate consent calendar to be heard Monday.
HB350S01 Adoption Modifications unanimously passed the House Judiciary committee and was placed on the House consent calendar to be heard Monday.
Lastly, HB461S02 Airport Firearm Possession Amendments passed through committee, the House floor, and has been assigned a Senate committee hearing for Tuesday. Assuming committee passage, this bill will be heard on the Senate floor on Friday.
HB180S02 and HB256 likely won’t make it through this session while HB200 previously passed both houses.
Updated Budget Estimates
This week, the Governor’s Office and Legislature released updated revenue numbers for the state fiscal year 2023-24. The new revenue growth reflects the ongoing momentum of the state’s economy, yet as we historically do, we are committed to prudent and smart planning for future downturns.
During the 2023 General Session, we are tasked with deliberating on the estimated $817 million in one-time and $410 million in ongoing money combined in the General and Income Tax Funds, after accounting for base budget adjustments and set-asides. Read more about the budget estimates here.
Sales Tax on Food
Utahns have made it clear that removing the sales tax on food is a top priority. This week, the House passed H.B. 101 Food Sales Tax Amendments, which Removes the state portion of sales tax on food contingent on removing the constitutional earmark for income tax revenue, as laid out in S.J.R. 10
Currently, the Utah Constitution mandates that all revenue from income tax be used only for certain items. While Utah’s economy is robust, eliminating the sales tax on food would not be possible without first addressing these budget constraints. If passed by the full Legislature, voters will have the opportunity to approve these changes on the 2024 ballot. Read more here.
School Visit
One of my favorite things is having the local schools come for a visit. This week I had the opportunity to chat with students from Hidden Hollow Elementary about the legislative process and proper roll of government. They had some great questions!
Feb 17, 2023
Week Five of the General Session
With just two weeks left, things at the Capitol are busier than ever. I am honored to serve each member of my district and pass legislation that will improve the lives of families and individuals. You can follow along with the process at le.utah.gov.
Largest Tax Cut in State History
Over the last two years, the Legislature reduced taxes by nearly $300 million. This session, we are proposing an additional $400 million in tax relief. H.B. 54 Tax Revisions will be heard in the House Revenue and Taxation Committee early next week and provides tax relief to individuals and families in all stages of life by:
- Cutting the income tax rate from 4.85% to 4.65%.
- Expanding social security tax credit eligibility to individuals earning between $0 to $75,000 per year.
- Providing a tax benefit for pregnancy by allowing a double dependent exemption for children the year of their birth.
- Increasing the earned income tax credit (EITC) from 15% to 20% of the federal credit.
Celebrating Women’s Suffrage
On February 14th, 1870 Seraph Young of Utah became the first woman to vote under the equal rights law. In honor of her memory and to celebrate this historic event, our female legislators and staff wore purple. I am grateful to work with each of these ladies.
Over the last several years, we have seen efforts to use non-financial criteria to shade and skew financial markets. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards imposed on businesses and financial institutions distort the free market and place real costs on the people of Utah. As a Legislature, we are taking proactive measures against investment schemes based on assessments of businesses’ and individuals’ political beliefs.
HB 281: Social Credit Score Amendments prohibits governmental entities in Utah from using, enforcing, or providing data for a system that discriminates or gives preferential treatment to an individual. Similarly, SB 96: Fiduciary Duty Modifications ensures any state investment is done without regard to political, environmental, or social considerations of companies. Both bills passed committee this week and will be voted on in their perspective bodies.
My Bills
Five out of my seven bills are in the Senate now which is great as we go into the last two weeks of the session. All of my bills either reduce regulations or push family friendly policy changes. Even though I’ve proposed 7 bills, I’ve proposed zero new laws. If you have ideas on more ways we can curb overreach, please reach out and let’s see what we can do.
With a record number of bills moving through and leadership preparing for the annual board scramble where the bill order is switched up to include a priority from each member rather than going in order, I anticipate that some of these won’t make it through this year. However, those that don’t will come back next year with a high chance of success as they’ll already be drafted and ready to go on day one and I’ll know if I need to make any changes to ensure success.
HB166S04 Mental Health Professional Licensing Amendments
-This bill is currently on the Senate 3rd Reading Calendar. It passed 2nd reading unanimously and I’m looking forward to checking it off this coming week. It makes adjustments to licensing requirements and opens up Telehealth for mental health services.
HB180S02 Child Welfare Placement Review Amendments
-This bill is currently in Senate Judiciary. It codifies language from the Utah Supreme Court to address inconsistencies within the juvenile courts relating to child placements after a finding of parental unfitness has occurred.
✅ HB200 Motor Vehicle Registration Revisions
-This bill has passed both the House and Senate and is prepared for enrolling. It allows for the transporting of unregistered OHVs. Prior to enactment of this bill, you could receive a citation or have your OHV impounded if it was unregistered and on a trailer, even if the trailer was registered.
HB256 Carpool Lane Usage Modifications
-This bill is currently assigned to the Senate Transportation Committee. It failed to be recommended but myself and some of the Senators are working on language adjustments with the hope of bringing it back. Simply put, it would allow a woman who is pregnant to access the carpool lane. It is life affirming as it acknowledges a separate individual in the vehicle. It also has the ability to help free up congestion which leads to improved air quality. UDOT has reported that the carpool lanes are underutilized and moving these women over can help with congestion. A positive message with positive results. Senator Kennedy and I have discussed bringing this back next year but starting it in the Senate since we know we have the support in the House.
HB350 Adoption Modifications
-This bill will be heard in the House Judiciary Committee this week. It modifies the process for fees and streamlines the issuance of birth certificates in adoptions for children who were born in another state.
HB375 Traffic Violation Exemptions
-This bill is being heard in Senate Transportation this week. It essentially says that if you receive a ticket for an offense where the only means of identifying the owner of a vehicle is DMV records (parking ticket, registration violation on trailers, etc), you can receive an automatic dismissal through the court clerk if you can demonstrate proof that you did not own the vehicle. Because of how the DMV tracks vehicle sales, if you sell your vehicle and notify them, you are still kept as the owner of record until the new owner registers it. Sometimes, especially with recreational vehicles, this formal transfer of ownership never occurs.
HB461 Airport Firearm Possession Amendments
-This bill is being heard in the House Law Enforcement committee this week. It is modeled after legislation in Texas and Georgia and states that it is a defense to prosecution if a concealed carry permit holder who unknowingly carries a handgun into a secured area within an airport, leaves with their firearm and possessions upon notification of possession and the completion of the required screening process. It also states that a peace officer may not arrest the individual if they exit the secured area immediately. This will only apply to those with a concealed carry permit as they undergo frequent background checks.
Constituent Visits
I love having guests during floor time. To schedule, you can reach my intern, Anne, at (385) 420-3103 or you can click here: Schedule Now. If none of these times work for you, please reach out to Anne and we will try to work something out. If you have already scheduled, you are good to go with no further action required.
Legislative Update
On Tuesday, Feb 21, legislators from Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, and Lehi will be giving a quick update. Please join us from 7:30 – 8:30 at 3192 West 2450 North, Lehi, UT 84043.
Jan 27, 2023
Week Two of the General Session
With only 45 days to debate hundreds of bills, every day is important and full of meaningful deliberation. Stay up-to-date and watch committee meetings or floor time at le.utah.gov.
My Bills
This week both HB166 and HB200 passed unanimously out of their respective committees.
HB166 adjusts licensing requirements for certain mental health professions to help boost the number of mental health providers here in Utah. It also sets up a program by which residents can seek out of state care via telehealth while they sit on waiting lists to receive care locally.
HB200 will allow the transportation of unregistered OHVs. Currently, it’s a citable offense to transport an unregistered OHV, even if it is on a registered trailer. You will still need to complete the registration process to operate the OHB on public lands, but upon passage of HB200, will safely be able to transport it from point A to point B without issue.
This coming week, HB180 and HB256 will both be heard in committee.
The Base Budget
Balancing the state budget is one of the most important constitutional responsibilities given to lawmakers. Utah is actually the ONLY state in the nation that allows all lawmakers to be a part of the budgeting process. All 104 lawmakers sit on an appropriation subcommittee, and this week, the House and Senate passed the base budget, which will help fund key areas in our state. My colleagues and I will continue to make adjustments to the state budget over the next several weeks. Social Services Appropriations, which I have the pleasure to serve as the vice-chair on, is the largest portion of the budget. We are also the only appropriations committee that meets every day.
Water Week
Next week is #WaterWeek, and we’ll be talking about preserving, conserving, and optimizing Utah’s water all week long.
School Visit
This week I had the opportunity to visit with students from Black Ridge Elementary. I proposed a new law where everyone would be required to own a puppy. These smart kids determined that wouldn’t be the best law to pass as some people are allergic, some can’t pay for dog food, and some just don’t like dogs.
Meet Anne
Lastly, meet Anne Minnick. Anne is my intern for this session and an invaluable part of the team. She works hard managing my schedule, tracking bills, and doing everything else needed so I can focus on issues. If you’d like to come to the capitol, reach out to Anne and she will schedule a VIP experience for you with everything from a tour of the capitol to sitting with me on the house floor while we debate the issues and cast votes. She can be reached at (385) 420-3103.
