Week Three Review

Capitol Pic of the Day
House mural reflects a monumental event that occurred on Valentine's Day:
Seraph Young casts a first ballot by a woman in 1870 when women first gained the right to vote in Utah. 

HOW A BILL BECOMES LAW:

I thought it might be helpful to review how a bill becomes law. In a nutshell, proposed bills come from many sources. Bills come from constituent concerns, requested clean-up language from previously passed legislation, bills that ran out of time in the previous session, policy changes desired by impacted stakeholders or interest groups, desired initiatives, etc.

In Utah we have a bicameral legislature, which is comprised of a House and Senate. In order for a bill to pass, it must be approved by each body. House bills are generated by representatives in the House, while senate bills are generated by senators in the Senate.

All bills must be approved by both chambers before going to the governor for final passage or to be vetoed. In other words, House bills must be approved in the House before being passed in the Senate, and Senate bills must be passed in the Senate before being approved by the House. The movement of a House bill would look something like this:

HB is drafted --> HB goes to House Standing Committee where it passes or fails --> if passed, HB goes to entire House chamber where all members vote on it --> if passed, HB goes to Senate Standing Committee where it passes or fails --> if passed, HB goes to entire Senate chamber where all members vote on it --> if passed, HB is signed by Senate President and sent back to House for Speaker signature --> HB is sent to governor for approval or veto --> if no veto, HB is enacted into law

If the bill originates from the Senate, it would begin in the Senate and follow the same path. A bill can die at any stage of the process. This filtering process allows proposed legislation to be reviewed and scrutinized multiple times before being enacted into law.

Here are some additional sites and clips to outline the process:

Utah Legislature | click here.

Utah Citizen Network | click here.

If you prefer to learn through video, here is a oldy but a goody.

Last but not least, here is the School House Rocks video.

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SOPHIA'S BILLS (Summary)

HB 151, Acupuncture Licensing Board Amendments was heard by the Senate Business and Labor Standing Committee on February 10th, where it passed unanimously. It is now on the Senate's consent calendar and will likely be voted on this upcoming week. If the Senate passes the bill, it will go the Governor for his signature and be enacted into law.

HB 289, Charter School Closure Amendments will likely be heard in a House Education Standing Committee later this week. I have been working with the Utah State Office of Education and the Charter School Board to develop a substitute that will improve the first draft. I will include the substitute in next week's update.

HB 351, Attorney General Fiscal Amendments  I have been working with the drafter and the Attorney General's Office on the language of this bill over the past couple of weeks. This bill addresses an audit recommendation to re-evaluate the way the office bills other state agencies for provided legal services.

HB???, Department of Administrative Services Rivisions will also be numbered and available in the next week or two. This is a clean-up bill that repeals unnecessary and antiquated accounts that are no longer used.

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CAUCUS UPDATES

Capitol Pic of the Day

Salt Lake County Caucus

This week we talked about the various education bills being heard this session. Here is a summary of the bills we discussed.

HB 200, Student Assessment Modifications: This bill allows districts and charters the choice to eliminate the year end assessment for the 11th grade. This would allow more time for college preparation.

HB 201, Student Testing Amendments: This bill eliminates the use of year end assessments as an evaluation for teachers. This proposal stems from teachers being held accountable for circumstances beyond their control. Additionally, this has added to the challenge of teacher retention and recruitment.

HB 28, Grants for Educator Professional Learning: This bill provides resources to teachers in schools for professional development. If this passes, it will free up money in the WPU for schools to use to address other needs.

SB 67, Partnerships for Student Success: This bill establishes a public-private partnership that targets schools with at risk students.

HB 42, Optional Enhanced Kindergarten Amendments: This bill adds to the existing Optional Enhanced Kindergarten (OEK) program which currently has about 214 participating schools. This bill would increase the level of participating schools to about 500. Many studies indicate that high school success can be predicted by reading proficiency at the third grade and that the best place to start for achieving proficiency by the third grade is at the kindergarten level.

HB 301 School Bus Route Grant Program: In order for school busses to run routes, there must be a 1.5 or 2 mile distance between the school and the route stops. This bill creates a grant program to provide additional routes in cases where the existing walking route is unsafe.

This upcoming Thursday, we will talk about air quality and water infrastructure and hear from bill sponsors proposing legislation in this area. Health care will likely be heard next week. Watch for updates in next week's blog update.


House GOP Caucus

During this week's meetings, we heard various presentations from House members regarding their proposed bills. Our recent meetings have been used as a forum to get more in depth on some of the bills that are up for debate. This helps save time on the floor as a lot of our questions will be already be answered.

Here is a snapshot of where we are with the volume of bills this session.

Source: Legislative Research and General Counsel

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STANDING COMMITTEES

Click on the committee meetings below to see the list of bills we discussed in committee.

House Transportation Standing Committee

House Retirement and Independent Entities Standing Committee

House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee

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APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMTTEES

This week, our appropriations subcommittees prioritized budget requests. The final prioritized lists of each committee will be presented by the chairs to the Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) in the coming weeks. EAC is made up of the leadership of both parties and both House and Senate. If you're interested in watching these appropriations items, you can attend in person or listen in on the discussions online.

EAC will hear from all nine subcommittees (EAC represents its own as well), and after the new revenue estimates are announced, we will know how much money is available (or not) to appropriate to the requested needs. Once the new revenue estimates are presented, EAC will begin prioritizing these budget items and a newly revised list will be presented.

To see the Elected Officials and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee's final prioritized list, click here.

To see the Retirement and Independent Entities Appropriations Subcommittee's final prioritized list,  click here.

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OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS 

This past Saturday, I was invited to speak to a group called Kava Talks. This is a group made up of Pacific Islander men who are being certified as advocates to address the issue of domestic violence. I was impressed by the level of grass roots community engagement that is occurring in West Valley City, as well as the commitment and passion directed towards strengthening the future generation of Pacific Islanders in the valley.


This week, we had a few notable visitors on the House floor. We were visited by Taya Kyle, wife of Navy Seal and American hero Chris Kyle, Mark Geist, co-author and American hero of the tragic story behind the film 13 hours, and Donald Trump Jr.

Friday was PTA Day at the Capitol. I was able to speak to members at the UEA lunch and was pleasantly surprised to see my 8th grade art teacher in the room. This was the highlight of the session so far. It was also fun to have my daughter sit on the House floor with me and to run into teachers from her school.

Hearing from constituents is important to me. Please fill out my survey and help me better represent the district. I would like to get as much input as I can over the next two weeks. Please share with your family members and neighbors as well. Additionally, I am hosting a few more town halls in the coming weeks: February 20th, February 27th and March 19th. I will share the final results of the survey on my blog and at the March 19th town hall.

Budget Basics: Understanding our Budget

Capitol Pic of the Day

Federal Funds Backdrop

Take a look at this interactive fiscal impact barometer by Brookings, specifically, the Federal Spending by Category shown here. As mandatory spending and interest payments from borrowing go up, discretionary spending trends down. Over the upcoming years, fewer discretionary dollars will be available for areas like military, education and transportation (see purple box below). The real point of pain comes as the top line (discretionary spending) intersects with the other lines (Health, SS & Interest).  That is only about 10-15 years away!

To get a better idea of what mandatory spending pays for and what discretionary spending pays for, and how the federal budget works, take a look at the graphic below. Additional detail found here.

State Budget Backdrop 

About 26% of our total state budget comes from federal dollars (see below). Due to the uncertainty of the federal spending trend and the recent display of inaction by Congress in addressing budget issues, Utah has taken proactive measures to keep the state in a position of strength, long term.

That being said, this is the backdrop against why the state behaves cautiously when accepting federal dollars. This may explain why Utah's Federal Funds Commission has developed a Federal Funds Risk Model that will help us assess vulnerable areas of our budget and ways we can mitigate the risk of losing certain pots of federal money.

These graphs depict last year's budget (FY15/16), since our new revenue estimates aren't expected until mid-February. Nonetheless, it helps us see the overall picture. The largest three funding sources are General Fund, Education Fund, and Federal Funds and most of that goes to education and social services.

When we look at the state budget, we speak about it in two contexts. One is in the context of our total budget, which includes outside sources like federal dollars (reflected above). The other is in the context of what we call "state dollars." When you hear about having a surplus or a deficit in our state budget in the news, they are referencing our state funds. State funds are primarily General Fund (source=sales taxes) and Education Fund (source=income taxes). Education Fund, or your income taxes, may only be used for education, while General Fund is more flexible and may be used at our discretion. Below, you can see that the bulk of our state dollars go toward education. 

While the Education Fund had a surplus in the last quarter and has trended up, our General Fund is trending downward. So while it appears to be a good budget year, it is actually a challenging one when it comes to the money available to fund non-education related requests. Additionally, our appropriations chair informed us that certain economic indicators like severance taxes and capital gains are trending down. This is suspected to be an early indicator of an upcoming recession.

On that somber note, let's conclude with a positive note. Utah consistently takes a proactive approach in preparing for challenging economic times. I expect this principle to drive much of the policy decisions we make during this session. While it won't make some groups happy this year, it is the right approach to help position the state in a positive direction in the future.

Week Two Review

Capitol Pic of the Day

One topic that is getting a lot of attention lately is medical marijuana. There are three bills being proposed. SB 89, Medical Cannabidiol Amendments provides limited access to the plant and has research components that will enable the state to study the issue more deeply.

Another bill, SB 73, Medical Cannabis Act, is proposing broader access to the plant where a Compassionate Use Board of physicians hear applications for use beyond conditions listed in the bill.

A third proposal, which is not yet numbered or drafted, Concurrent Resolution Urging the Rescheduling of Marijuana, will be a plea to Congress to put marijuana in a different drug class in a an effort to allow it to be used for research and to go through the proper channels at the federal level.

I will post additional detail for each proposal on this blog as more information becomes available.
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SOPHIA'S BILLS (Summary)

My first bill, HB151, Acupuncture Licensing Board Amendments passed out unanimously on the House floor this week and is now headed to a Senate standing committee meeting to be considered for the Senate floor. This bill adds the acupuncture board to a list of health care licensing boards that are able to provide feedback to the Legislature on policies that impact their industry.

This week, HB 289, Charter School Closure Amendments was also published. I am currently working with the Utah State Office of Education, the Charter School Board and any other interested parties to solicit feedback.

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CAUCUS UPDATES

Salt Lake County Caucus

Questions surrounding the use of body cameras by law enforcement officers have recently become an issue, leading to debates regarding the protection of privacy, standards for use and safety, for citizens as well as officers. This session there are two bills to deal with the issue in two ways.

One proposal, not yet numbered, is to establish consistent, state-mandated guidelines for allow enforcement agencies that use body cameras. It would set rules regarding when to turn on, when to turn off, how to display the camera and give notice of its use.

The other proposal, SB 94, would allow for POST, the Peace Officer Standards and Training Division, to establish minimum standards that would given the use of the cameras and the storage and retention of the footage taken. Rather than encoding specific guidelines in statute, POST would be responsible for instituting standards, and would change them as needed. Any law enforcement using body cameras would be required to comply with those minimum standards.

Both bills would make the audio and video recordings private but the first proposal explicitly prohibits personal use.

House GOP Caucus

The Legislative Fiscal Analyst's office developed a federal funds risk simulator so that we can make better policy decisions by visualizing the impacts of fluctuating or uncertain federal dollars. Take a look at what risk responses are considered when compensating for the loss of federal funds in various areas of the budget by visiting the link.

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STANDING COMMITTEES

The volume of bills is slowly increasing in our committee hearings. Take a look at the bills being proposed in each of my assigned committees by clicking on one of the links below.

House Transportation Standing Committee

House Retirement and Independent Entities Standing Committee

House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee

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APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMTTEES

We heard a lot of testimony from the assigned agencies to our committee this week regarding their base budgets and the various proposed adjustments and needs.

Notably, many of our agencies are dealing with challenging compensation issues that are consequently leading to hiring and retention issues.

There are several retirement bills being proposed this session that may help, however, we heard loudly and clearly that compensation is primarily the immediate issue in need of being resolved.

Our Guardian Ad Litem department, which is the department that provides legal support for children, is substantially underfunded when compared to other legal offices such as the Attorney General's Office, or the District Attorney's office.


To get a good sense of the budget and where to find items related to appropriations, visit this link.

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OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS 

Each Saturday, I've been holding town hall meetings at the West Valley Fitness Center. It's always fun to spend time with constituents, update them on what's happening on the hill, and hear about the issues that are important to them. I will continue to hold them at 2pm each Saturday through the session, with the exception of Valentine's Day weekend (no meeting on 2/13), as well as one post session meeting on March, 19th. Please visit with me if you're in the area.  

My intern Kelsey Barlow

Meet my intern, Kelsey Barlow. She is originally from Colorado, but we won't hold that against her. She has been a tremendous help and will certainly do great things in the future. For now, I am grateful for her assistance in keeping me organized and prepared each day.

Martha Hughes Cannon Caucus

Martha Hughes Cannon was the first female state Senator in the United States. In 1896, she ran against her own husband and beat him by more than 2,500 votes. On Tuesday, the Martha Hughes Cannon Caucus met for their first meeting of the legislative session. Female legislators, staff, and inters had the opportunity to mingle and network. This meeting was an amazing opportunity to honor the legacy of Martha Hughes Cannon.

Networking with interns

The Professional Republican Women had their luncheon this Thursday and invited the elected Republican women to present an update on our legislative priorities. It was a great turnout and wonderful to hear from colleges in the legislature. 

 Finally, this Friday, we were supposed to wear red to show support for women's health. Here is a picture of my colleagues in the House.

Week One Review

Capitol Pic of the Day

The first day of the session started with the recognition of fallen officer Officer Doug Barney. 

His funeral was held on opening day and I had the opportunity to attended the service. 

The outpouring of love and support for the Barney family touched all of our hearts. Please keep them in your prayers.

Later that morning, the Legislature started official business. The Legislature is off to a great start. with a full reading calendar meant for two days worth of work, the House was able to adjourn early after getting through every bill on the reading calendar. These bills were debated, voted on and passed out of interim committees since the end of the last legislative session, and rather than adding to current code, many were repealing language that was confusing or unclear in the law. 

Every bill that passed came out of an interim committee with unanimous, bipartisan support and no fiscal note. We accomplished many major reforms during the 2015 General Session and the work that our interim committees did over the past year has allowed us to start off with great momentum. Click here to watch the full video.

Additionally, we welcomed Congressman Chris Stewart and Congressman Rob Bishop. Congressman Stewart discussed three issues the United States faces: economic growth, national debt and national security. Click here to watch his remarks (13 minutes). 



Congressman Bishop and former Utah Speaker of the House discussed public lands and military issues during his visit to the House. Click here to watch his remarks (12 minutes).


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SOPHIA'S BILLS (Summary)


HB 151, Acupuncture Licensing Board Amendments - In the 2012 session, legislation was introduced that allowed legislative committees to hear input from various licensed medical boards on legislations that impacts their respective industry. The omission of acupuncture board was an oversight. This bill includes them as one of the listed boards. 

Charter School Closure (not yet numbered) - Last year, there were two charter schools that closed. This was the first time the state had experienced a school closure so there were inherent barriers in existing law that resulted in limitations for the students who had to quickly transfer to another school. This bill addresses closure plans and the requirement to have them in place prior a closure. 


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CAUCUS UPDATES

SLCo Caucus

Salt Lake County Caucus - I have the privilege of co-chairing the Salt Lake County caucus which is made up of all of the Salt Lake County legislators, county mayor and other stakeholders of the County. 

The topic for this week was homelessness. It was found that 88% of our homeless population are from Utah. Four bills are being proposed to tackle the homelessness issue. The four pieces of legislation will deal with enhancing data sharing coordination, increasing the affordable housing supply, funding new shelter needs and services, and addressing the funding of these needs. 

One of the main goals is preventing families from going to the shelter by redirecting them to immediate resources that help them get through a transition period of their lives. The county has experienced a 44% success rate in this area and will continue to focus on improving that rate. Complimentary to this are initiatives to provide counseling and mentoring services to teach skills such as financial planning and parenting. 

House GOP Caucus - The caucus listened to an overview of the legal analysis that evaluated viable legal arguments that could be pursued in the event that the state chooses to move forward with a case to transfer federal lands to the State of Utah. 

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STANDING COMMITTEES

To view a list of the bills and hear the discussions, click on one of the committees below. The bill that came before us this week were non-controversial issues that passed out of committee and will go to the House floor. 

House Transportation 

House Retirement and Independent Entities 

House Economic Development and Workforce Services 

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APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMTTEES

EOCJ Appropriations Subcommittee 

Retirement and Independent Entities - The committee listened to base budget overviews of the Career Service Review Board, Utah Education and Telehealth Network, and the Department of Human Resource Management. It was interesting to see how much fiber and connectivity has been put in place since 2012. We have come a long way in delivering internet access and redundancy across the state. 

Elected Officials and Criminal Justice appropriations committee - We heard presentations from Corrections, Public Safety and the Board of Pardons and parole. All three departments have experienced phenomenal progress in the last year. Specifically, there has been a decrease in the prison population and there have been more opportunities for women throughout the incarceration, probation, and parole process. Most notably, the average wait time at the Drivers license Office in West Valley City has been reduced from 24 minutes to four minutes, while experiencing an increase of 7,000 customers to over 11,000. 

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OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS 

The fourth grade class of Neil Armstrong Academy visited the Capitol this week. 

They met the Lt. Governor, ssang the state song to the Senate, received a tour of the Capitol, and had the chance to ask me a lot of questions. My favorite questions was, "Why don't you pass a law to make the chamber floor a ball pit?"  

January Legislative Updates

Capitol Pic of the Day

TRIBUTE TO OFFICER DOUG BARNEY

We lost an incredible public servant and father of three on January 17th, 2016. Officer Doug Barney was a resident of House District 31 and dearly loved by the community. As I witness the outpouring of love and support to the family, I am reminded of how wonderful it is to be part of it. 

I am grateful to the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line for us every day when they are out doing their jobs. We must remember the sacrifices they make in order to protect the public and not take them for granted. 

The funeral for Officer Barney is Monday, January 25th at the Maverick Center at 11:00 am. The funeral procession will be live on KSL.com as well. Here is his obituary. 

NOTICE: UPCOMING TOWN HALL MEETINGS

In addition to the seven town hall meetings held in 2015, I have scheduled six tentative meetings around the legislative session to keep you informed and to gather your feedback on important issues. I am also gathering input through another legislative survey. Please take the time to fill it out and provide your input (see below)

Dates and Times (Tentative Schedule): 

Sat. January 23, 2016 – 2:00 to 3:30

Sat. January 30, 2016 – 2:00 to 3:30

Sat. February 6, 2016 – 2:00 to 3:30

Sat. February 20, 2016 – 2:00 to 3:30

Sat. February 27, 2016 – 2:00 to 3:30

Sat. March 19, 2016 – 2:00 to 3:30

(Meetings will be held at the West Valley Family Fitness Center on 5600 West and 3100 South)

2016 LEGISLATIVE SURVEY 

Please click on this link to provide your input on various important issues in preparation for the upcoming 2016 legislative session. Spread the word to other residents of House District 31 so that I am able to better represent the district. 

SCHOOL VISITS 

Spending time with the principals and directors of the schools in House District 31 has been a great learning experience. Each school has its own unique needs and challenge and every time I leave a school, I gain an even greater appreciation of what it takes to provide the best learning opportunities for children of all backgrounds and circumstances. 

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

13. Esperanza Elementary

14. Mana Academy

15. East Hollywood High

OTHER RELATED CAP HAPS 

The AAUW and LWV hosted their annual legislative forum this month and invited me to participate in a bi-partisan daiologue on issues like education, healthcare, air quality, and many other issues of interest to the audience. 

I also had the opportunity to visit and tour a number of apprenticeship programs in the valley. Apprenticeships provide a great alternative path to specialty occupations with great salaries and benefits. I certainly gained a greater appreciation for the time, training, and education that goes into the experience of certified plumbers, electricians and heavy equipment operators. 

The State of Utah turned 120 years old this year. and the Capitol Building turned 100 years old. The Capitol Preservation Board presented the state seal embedded on the floor of the main level of the Capitol building, also known as the Hall of Governors. Surrounding the state seal are the individual seals of each of Utah's 29 counties. It is a nice feature that future generations will be able to enjoy when they visit the People's House.