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| Capitol Pic of the Day |
Governor Herbert has now concluded the signing period for bills. Out of the 528 bills that were passed, 495 required action by the Governor. Read about the details in a recent press release.
Additionally, the Governor vetoed five bills.
| Bill Number | Bill Name | Bill Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| HB197 | Educator Licensing Amendments | Coleman, K. |
| HB0385 | Memorial Highway Designation | Stratton, K. |
| SB94 | Corporate Franchise and Income Tax Amendments | Stephenson, H. |
| SB249 | Trax Crossing Bars Operations Amendments | Jenkins, S. |
| SB278 | Motion Picture Incentive Amendments | Bramble, C. |
Next, the House and Senate will poll their members to see if there is appetite for a veto override session. UtahPolicy.com did an article that offers more detail about the process and what to expect. By mid to late April, we will find out how the House and Senate responded to the poll.
SOPHIA'S BILLS (Summary)
I am happy to report that all three of my bills were signed by the Governor and will go into effect in early May (See lists here and here). To view a comprehensive of the passed bills and when action was taken, see this list.Here are a few stories that highlighted HB324, Search and Rescue Financial Assistance Amendments: Fox13 News, 2News Utah, Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City Sun Times, Park Record). Brad Petersen, Director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation will lead out on the implementation of the bill.
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APPROPRIATIONS
Governor Herbert vetoed three line items of appropriation for bills that did not pass but were funded in the bill of bills (SB3). The bills that were associated with the line item vetoes were: HB186, State School Board Election and Membership Amendments (SB3 Item 34, $31,500 one-time and SB3 Item 175, $127,000 ongoing); and SB219, World Language Proficiency Recognition (SB3 Item 177, $14,500 one-time).
Click on the linked text for an updated online Appropriations Summary Data Visualization report that reflects these changes. There is also a how-to video to learn how to navigate through the report.
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OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS
Scorecards and voting ratings are coming in. How did I fare? Here is an overview of what I was able to find so far.
According to Adam Brown, a BYU Political Science professor who publishes Utahdatapoints.com, out of our 699 votes, I missed only one vote and had the highest voting record in the Legislature. I had left the House floor to be available while one of my bills was being debated on the Senate floor and didn't realize I had missed a vote. To view more interesting rankings by Adam Brown, visit Utahdatapoints.com.
Here are some other organizations who have released a scorecard.
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| Happy Spring! |
Utah Taxpayer Association - 90.9% [Report]
Utah Charter Network - 85% [Report]
Sutherland Institute - 63% [Report]
Libertas Institute - 62% [Report]
Sierra Club - 50% [Report]
I will include others in future blog updates as more become available.
