Week Four Review

Capitol Pic of the Day

Past the half way mark. 

The House floor was excited to welcome members of our national delegation to give us an update on some of the things they are working on in Washington D.C. Senator Orin Hatch, Senator Mike Lee, and Congresswoman Mia Love shared similar messages of Utah pride and the need to make sure Utah's priorities are heard and represented in Washington. 
 ________________________________________________________
SOPHIA'S BILLS (Summary)

For an explanation of each bill, see last week's blog post or click on the hyperlinked bill title.  Below highlights the status of my bills. (For a quick review of how a bill becomes law, Click Here.) 

HB 218, Nurse Practice Act Amendments - This bill was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives and was unanimously passed out of the Senate Business and Labor Committee. It is now headed to the Senate floor. Assuming it is passed by the Senate, it would then go to the Governor for his signature. (View my initiation as a freshman legislator presenting my first bill here.) 

HB 312, Reporting and Expenditure of Public Funds Amendments - This bill is waiting for a fiscal note response and will be assigned to a House Standing Committee some time next week. 

HB 324, Search and Rescue Financial Assistance Amendments - This bill received a fiscal note response and will be assigned to a House Standing Committee some time next week. 

_________________________________________________________

STANDING COMMITTEES

We reviewed only a few bills in standing committees in week four. Most notably, our Retirement and Independent Entities committee heard Rep. Paul Ray's HB 288, Line-of-Duty Death Benefits for Peace Officers and Firefighters, a bill to increase the financial support provided to the spouses of fallen officers and firefighters (Fox13News story). That bill was given a favorable recommendation and will be heard on the House floor some time next week. 

To see a list of bills that have been reviewed by my assigned standing committees, you can click on these links (also listed on the side of this blog). 

House Transportation Standing Committee
House Retirement and Independent Entities Standing Committee
House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee

_________________________________________________________

APPROPRIATIONS 

Our appropriations subcommittee recommendations were presented to the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) on Feb. 5th and 6th. 

From now through the rest of this session, all budget activity will be addressed through EAC. Over the next couple of weeks, we will see a list of items that will be ranked by priority for funding. I will post the lists on this blog once they are available. There are typically five categories of budget bills that are appropriated each session: 1) Base budget bills, 2) Compensation and Rate Adjustments, 3) Supplemental Appropriations (current year), 4) New Year Appropriations, 5) Appropriations Adjustments (Bill of Bills). 

Here are the bill numbers. Most of the budget bills are not yet drafted. 

Base Budget bills:
H.B. 1 Substitute -- Higher Education Base Budget (Rep. Grover, K.)
H.B. 5 -- Retirement & Independent Entities Base Budget (Rep. Powell, K.)
H.B. 6 Substitute -- Infrastructure & General Gov't Base Budget (Rep. Froerer, G.)
H.B. 7 Substitute -- National Guard, Veterans' Affairs, & Leg. Base Budget (Rep. Sanpei, D.)
S.B. 1 Substitute -- Public Education Base Budget Amendments (Sen. Stephenson, H.)
S.B. 5 Substitute -- Natural Resources, Ag., & Environ. Quality Base Budget (Sen. Hinkins, D.)
S.B. 6 Substitute -- Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Base Budget (Sen. Thatcher, D.)
S.B. 7 Substitute -- Social Services Base Budget (Sen. Christensen, A.)

Upcoming Budget bills (Not yet numbered):

Appropriations Adjustments

Current Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations

Current School Year Supplemental 

Public Education Budget Adjustments

New Fiscal Year Supplemental Appropriations

Education Compensation Appropriations

State Agency and Higher Education Compensation Appropriations

State Agency Fees & Internal Service Fund Rate Auth. & Approps
Revenue Bond and Capital Facilities Amendments 

_________________________________________________________

CAUCUS UPDATES 

There are many caucus meetings to attend and not enough time to attend them all. To name a few, there is a Rural Caucus, Freshman Caucus, Sushi Caucus, Public Lands Caucus, Labor Caucus, Conservative Caucus, etc. The two I rarely miss are the House Republican Caucus and the Salt Lake County Caucus meetings. Two weighty issues were discussed this week in these two caucuses.

Medicaid Expansion:

The House Republican Caucus revisited the debate on Medicaid expansion options. The caucus was unable to come out with a position on any side. The Utah Cares option (medically frail) was introduced in more detail, along with Healthy Utah.

Senator Shiozawa's SB 164, Access to Healthcare Amendments (Healthy Utah), passed out of the Senate standing committee and is headed to the Senate floor for debate. Senator Christensen's SB 153, Access to Healthcare (Utah Cares) also passed out of the Senate standing committee and is headed to the Senate floor for debate. The version that survives the Senate floor will then come before a House standing committee before it can move on to the House floor for debate.

I anticipate further negotiations between all parties involved over the next week.

Transportation Funding:

The Salt Lake County caucus, attended by state and local elected leaders in the county, had a robust discussion about transportation funding. To get a good context of the transportation issue, you can view this Speaker Q&A interview . Two bills are moving through the process right now.

Senator Vantassell's SB 160, Transportation Funding Amendments adds 10 cents to the existing motor fuel tax. This bill passed out of a Senate committee and is on its way to the Senate floor for debate.

Rep. Johnny Anderson's bill, HB 362, Transportation Infrastructure Funding, takes a more comprehensive approach to address transportation funding issues and incorporates local options as well as formulaic changes. This bill was recently numbered and is waiting for a House standing committee hearing.

I anticipate continued robust dialogue on this as the two bills move through the process.

________________________________________

OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS 

Due to my previous service on the Utah Multicultural Commission, I was asked to help emcee the annual Multicultural Commission Youth Leadership Day on the Hill. 

It was a wonderful opportunity to welcome over 800 6th-9th grade kids to the Capitol in an effort to empower them and encourage them to be engaged citizens in their communities.

As we move into week five of the 2015 General Session, I'm looking forward to seeing more progress on my bills, as well as on some of the tougher issues we've been preparing to face. Please contact me with any questions or concerns. 

Week Three Review

Happy Valentines Day!

Capitol Pic of the Day

So much to say and so little time to say it. Week three of the 2015 General Session has come to a close. We had some great debates on the House floor. To see how I voted on various bills, please click here, find the bill of interest and click on status. There you can find how many yes/no votes there were and how each member voted. If you have any questions about why I voted the way I did on a particular bill, please don't hesitate to contact me. There is often context behind some of these bills that are not conveyed by the vote on the bill, so please contact me if you have a question.

I'm looking forward to the last few weeks of the session. Please continue to reach out to me with your questions and concerns, and pass the word on to your friends and neighbors to fill out my survey.

________________________________________________________
SOPHIA'S BILLS (Summary)

HB 218, Nurse Practice Act Amendments - This bill updates the organizations that may accredit a Utah nursing program and it authorizes the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) to establish, by rule, a solution to address situations in which a nursing program loses its accreditation status. Right now, DOPL does not have authority to address situations in which a nursing program loses its accreditation status. This bill provides that authority and requires DOPL to work with the Board of Nursing to establish the rule. 

HB 312, Reporting and Expenditure of Public Funds Amendments - This bill requires reporting on how certain grants are spent. Every year, there are various requests for appropriations for miscellaneous regional projects and there is currently no required mechanism to capture information on how 100% of those state funds are actually spent. The intent of this bill is to increase accountability for these funds.

HB 324, Search and Rescue Financial Assistance Amendments - This bill creates the Utah Search and Rescue Assistance Card (USARAC). Right now, if you are rescued by a search and rescue team, you may be billed for the costs incurred of the rescue. This bill creates a card that may be purchased, for a rate established by the advisory board, that would free you from that potential liability. It is a voluntary program that will help generate funds for search and rescue teams across the state. 

HB 218 passed out of a House standing committee favorably with a unanimous vote. It will likely be presented early next week on the House floor. If it passes next week, it will go to a Senate standing committee next, before it is debated on the Senate floor for final passage. Both HB 312 and HB 324 have been introduced to the House and were sent to the Rules Committee to be prioritized for a Standing Committee hearing. I am hopeful to have them placed on an agenda either later this week, or early next week. 

_________________________________________________________

APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMTTEES

We finalized our committee priorities and budget recommendations that will be presented to the Executive Appropriations Committee. To see a list of which items were recommended by the Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, click here. To see the list of items recommended by the Retirement and Independent Entities Appropriations Subcommittee, click here. 

For the other appropriations committees that I do not sit on, I thought it would be convenient to post them here for your perusal. Keep in mind that at this point, these lists are simply recommendations to the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC), which is made up of legislative leadership of both parties and both House and Senate. EAC will have final say on which items ultimately get funded. Final revenue estimates will come out late next week or early the following week and they will know exactly how much money is on the table. I will post the final lists on this blog once they are available. 

APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE NAMES AND LISTS

    Business, Economic Development, and Labor - Ongoing / One-Time
    Infrastructure and General Government - Ongoing / One-Time / State Capital / Other Capital
    Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality - Consolidated List
    Public Education - Consolidated List
    Social Services - Ongoing / One-Time 

    Higher Education Appropriations  - Pending

_________________________________________________________

STANDING COMMITTEES

We heard some great bills in our Transportation committee over the week. Most notably was HB 275, Highway Designation Amendments (Rep. Fawson), which designates I-84 as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Highway. As part of the presentation, we were visited by Purple Heart recipients from each branch of the military. It was an honor to hear from them and to honor them in this way. 

Purple Heart Recipients from Each Branch of Military

To see a list of bills that have been reviewed by my assigned standing committees, you can click on these links: 

House Transportation Standing Committee

House Retirement and Independent Entities Standing Committee

House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee

_________________________________________________________

HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAUCUS

In our caucus meetings this week, we talked about the different transportation funding options that are being considered. We also talked about the different options for electing our state school board members. Last week, we touched on Medicaid expansion, and I believe we may hear more about health care reform in the coming weeks. If you're interested in what the leadership buzz is, you can follow the Utah Representatives YouTube channel by clicking here. 

To get a glimpse of these big issues, I thought it might be helpful to list out the options so far. Not all of the bills are numbered, but here is a list of what is out at this time: 

TRANSPORTATION:

[Cents per Gallon] SB 160, Transportation Funding Amendments (Sen. Van Tassell) 

[Formula Modifications] HB 362, Transportation Infrastructure Funding (Rep. Anderson) 

[Local Options] HB XXX, County Transportation Funding Amendments (Rep. Anderson) 

SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS:

[Non-Partisan] HB 186, School Board Membership and Election Amendments (Rep. Gibson) 

[Governor Appt.] HB 305, State Board of Education Membership Amendments (Rep. McCay) 

[Governor Appt.] HJR 16, Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Governance of Public Education (Rep. McCay)
[Governor Appt.] SB 195, Amendments to State Board of Education (Sen. Milner)

[Local Board Driven] HB 297, State School Board Elections Amendments (Rep. Thurston) 

[Partisan] SB 104, Education Elections and Reporting Amendments (Sen. Jackson) 

MEDICAID EXPANSION

[Governor Herbert's Healthy Utah] SB 164, Access to Health Care Amendments (Sen. Shiozawa)
[Medically Frail] SB 153, Access to Health Care (Sen. Christensen)
[Medically Frail] HB XXX Amendments to Medicaid (Rep. Dunnigan) 

[Full Expansion] SB 83, Medicaid Expansion Proposal (Sen. Davis) 

[Add to Current Program w/ Max Fed Rate] HB 307, Medicaid Expansion Provisions (Rep. Spendlove) 

________________________________________

OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS 

I had the opportunity to co-host the Red Meat Radio show with Senator Todd Weiler on Saturday morning. We intereveiwed Rep. Becky Edwards, Robert Gehrke, Sen. Jim Dabakis, Val Hale, Sen. Al Jackson and Sen. Margaret Dayton. It was a lot of fun to recap the various session activities with them.

To Sen. Dayton's point, many forget about the meaning of what many call President's Day. She reminded us that in Utah, it is officially Washington and Lincoln Day. To that end, have a happy Washington and Lincoln Day break!

Week Two Review

Let me introduce you to my intern, Kim Gabbitas. Kim is an undergraduate student in the Hinkley Institute of Politics Program at the University of Utah. She is sharp and witty and I am grateful for her assistance during this legislative general session. Last week, she had the opportunity to join me at an event where she was able to meet the Governor. If you are not able to reach me for any reason, don't hesitate to contact Kim. She is a fantastic resource.

Congressman Jason Chaffetz

Last week, we were visited by Congressman Chris Stewart and Congressman Jason Chaffetz to provide a brief update about what's going on in their world. We listened to updates on the efforts to reduce recidivism for those in federal prison, entitlement reform, regulatory reform, and budget controls. We look forward to watching for updates on these important issues.

During the first two weeks, we spent our mornings in appropriations subcommittees designing a base budget. This budget acts as a backstop if no final agreement is reached between the House and Senate during the legislative session, which this year ends at midnight on March 12th.

The base budget is based on the current fiscal year's budget, with one-time funding removed. This year, all appropriations subcommittees have been asked to design their base budget at 98 percent of the current allocation, as part of a budget effectiveness review. Through this exercise, each department has been charged with looking for inefficiencies, as well as determining departmental priorities in the case of declining state revenue.

Standing Committee Meetings

Though there is no concern this year, and budget surpluses are projected while departmental cuts are not, this process will allow lawmakers to evaluate current funding, gain insights into potential areas of savings and determine how to more efficiently utilize state funds.

Once this task is complete, lawmakers will start the work of building a new budget and working with the Senate to finalize it over the next month.

We've also spent this week hearing and debating bills in committee, as well as on the House floor.

I presented my first bill to the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee, H.B. 218, Nurse Practice Act Amendments. It passed out favorably with a unanimous recommendation and will likely be heard on the House floor next week.


We're making good progress and look forward to hearing your comments and concerns over the course of this 2015 Legislative General Session.