Week One Review

Capitol Pic of the Day

The first week of the 2015 General Session of the Utah State Legislature is now complete. The new Speaker, Greg Hughes, was sworn in on opening day, January 26th. His remarks to the House of Representatives consisted of a challenge to fellow lawmakers to remain committed to addressing the most challenging and important issues facing our state.

Swearing in Speaker Greg Hughes

We spent most of our floor time reviewing bills that were in progress from the last general session, as well as bills that the various interim committees have been working on throughout 2014. You can listen to those discussions here.

The Legislature has eight appropriations subcommittees that are tasked with reviewing specific portions of the state budget. Out of these committees come various budget recommendations to the executive appropriations committee. This week, we reviewed base budgets. Each government department has been asked to represent to these committees what a two percent budget cut would look like and what types of adjustments they would make if a reduction were necessary. This exercise helps identify the critical areas and where there is flexibility to make potential changes.

Swearing in the new freshman class of the 2015 Legislature

Standing committees hear specific bills being considered during the session that relate to the area of expertise of a given committee. Some examples are Economic Development and Workforce Services, Transportation, or Political Subdivisions. If the bill originates from the House, it will be heard in a House standing committee first. If it originates from the Senate, it will be heard in a Senate standing committee first. These meetings are held in the afternoon and all citizens have the opportunity to attend, listen, and even participate in these meetings.

You can find my assigned committees on the right side of this blog page if you are interested in listening to the hearings and reviewing the materials that were presented.

Greeting the American Preparatory Academy

In the meantime, I have sent out a survey to obtain input from constituents. You can access this survey on my website, or in the top right corner of this blog. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Honoring Speaker Becky Lockhart

Current and former speakers honor Speaker Lockhart

Today was a beautiful day. The State of Utah honored Speaker Becky Lockhart today with a memorial at the Capitol that paid tribute to her service and leadership for women and the State. It was a privilege to join her family and so many of our great leaders of this state to honor her in such a special and beautiful way.

I was especially touched by the remarks of her daughter who spoke so eloquently about her mother. She gave the entire audience strength to withhold emotion. I was impressed with her poise and solidity as she shared her memories of growing up at the Capitol. It was clear to me that the Speaker's most meaningful contributions to this planet are her children. I'm certain that concern for their future provided her direction and perseverance to lead her through so many difficult decisions.

Colleagues who worked with her in the House of Representatives respected her and loved her dearly. That was certainly demonstrated very clearly today. She will leave a lasting impact and legacy for so many who will not have the opportunity to meet her. I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to her family, especially Stan, for supporting her through her legislative service so that she could be that example and leader that we as a State needed for our daughters.

Thank you Speaker Lockhart, for your leadership and committed service to this great State.

Pre-Session Highlights

I'm excited to start blogging about the happenings on Capitol Hill as we approach this upcoming legislative session.

One of the things I've been working on is meeting with as many school principals and directors as I can before the session. I've met with half of the schools in the district so far and have learned a great deal about the public school system. I've gained a deep appreciation for the people who bring passion into the classrooms of our schools and I'm grateful to them for helping me be better informed when voting on education bills. 

Dist 31 schools include (random order):

1. Douglass Orchard Elementary

2. Gerald Wright Elementary

3. West Valley City Elementary

4. Valley Crest Elementary

5. Neil Armstrong Academy

6. Monticello Academy

7. Monroe Elementary

8. Stansbury Elementary

9. Redwood Elementary

10. American Preparatory Academy

11. American Preparatory Academy - WV

12. Endeavor Hall 

I'm looking forward to serving my first term in the Utah House of Representatives. Here is a summary of the committees I've been assigned to, with a link to the meeting times, agendas, and materials that will be discussed.

SOPHIA'S ASSIGNED COMMITTEES

• House Transportation Committee
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• House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee
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• House Retirement and Independent Entities Committee
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• Retirement and Independent Entities Appropriations Subcommittee
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• Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee

The Legislature will be considering many important issues in the upcoming session. Below is a quick summary of a few big items that we will be discussing (random order). The common theme among all of these items is how to fund critical needs with the limited resources we have in the most responsible and effective way possible.

1. Education: Education funding continues to be a top priority. We can expect a robust discussion about where and how to spend this year's surplus of education dollars. As mentioned earlier, I've been meeting with schools in the district, as well as various education groups to learn more about their challenges and priorities. I will continue to gather feedback as we head into the session.

2. Medicaid Expansion/Health Reform: The Legislature will be considering various proposals, including the Governor's Healthy Utah Plan and other options proposed by the Legislature's Health Reform Taskforce, to provide healthcare coverage for uninsured adults who fall into the coverage gap (earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but not enough to qualify for federal premium tax credits).

3. Transportation: Utah's gas tax is fixed at cents per gallon (24.5 cents) rather than a rate per gallon and it has not increased since 1997, or 17 years. The main funding source for roads is shrinking, while vehicle miles traveled are going up. This funding dilemma coupled with unreliable federal dollars have created growing pressure on how we fund transportation infrastructure going forward. The Legislature will be considering various proposals to alleviate this issue in an effort to address the priorities outlined in Utah's Unified Transportation Plan.

4. Social Justice Reform: Discussions about moving the prison have opened up doors for social and criminal justice reform. Various proposals to reduce recidivism and the prison population will be evaluated.

5. Transfer of Federal Lands to Utah: Roughly 70% of Utah's land is owned by the federal government. There are proposals to pursue the transfer of federal public land to state ownership (excluding national parks, national monuments, and national recreation areas). We can expect a robust discussion on this effort.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Stay tuned for more and in the meantime, watch for updates on my Facebook page and some regularly posted Capitol pics of the day. Please feel free to contact me at any time regarding any issues, concerns, or other legislative matters that are important to you.