Newsletter (September 9, 2024)
September 2024 Newsletter
Dear District 38 –
Welcome to September, one of the prettiest months on the calendar.
August has been a very busy month, but experience tells me it will only get busier from now until General Session. The bulk of my time will be spent working on bills with constituents and stakeholders, trying to reach consensus, if possible, before the bills come up for a vote.
If you have ideas for bills (“there oughta be a law…”), please let me know. My very best bills come directly from constituents, and now would be a great time to bring them forward, because we will start prioritizing bills later this fall.
Some of the things on my calendar over the past month:
Executive Offices & Criminal Justice Appropriations
Natural Resources & Agriculture Committee (presented a bill about raw milk)
Judiciary Committee
Health & Human Services Committee
Special Session (at the end of Interim Day)
All-day Caucus on 2025 Legislative Priorities
Lunch with Congressman Burgess Owens to enlist federal help on some issues we face as a state
Please know that you can reach out to me at any time. Texting seems to get my attention faster than anything else, but I also try to respond to all of the emails and Voicemails I receive. I always appreciate hearing from you. Knowing what you think empowers me to do my job.
Sincerely yours,
Cheryl
Congressman Burgess Owens and I had lunch in West Jordan to discuss issues we have as a state that overlap problematically with federal rules and regulations. I am inspired by Burgess’s four areas of emphasis, which are: Faith, Family, Free Markets, and Education.
My husband, Scott, joined me on the floor for our very brief Special Session at the end of Interim Day August 21st. If you would like to sit with me on the floor, just let me know by text or email. We are allowed to have one guest at a time for up to one hour, and I would love to have you sit me with me.
Interim Meetings
In my appropriations meeting last month, we focused on ongoing improvements in the Department of Corrections under the leadership of Executive Director Brian Redd. Everything in the prison system is drastically improved. As a result, hiring is up, overtime is minimized, inmate health care is better, and treatment programs are more available and more easily tracked. There’s a major technology project underway that will lead to more ongoing improvements. More than 95% of inmates will eventually be released from prison, and one of the major changes Redd has made is putting release date information at the front end of the inmate’s file, rather than at the back end, “beginning with the end in mind.” They’re preparing inmates to be re-introduced to society with the successful completion of judge-ordered treatment programs and with job skills.
Our Judiciary Committee meeting also focused on the technological innovations needed for communications between the judicial system, Corrections, and the Board of Pardons. Court records must be accessible and reliable for judges and the Board to conduct risk assessments, for example. These departments have been operating in silos using antiquated methods for far too long. Until recently, some inmate files were only available in paper format, and many were inches thick.
In Health & Human Services Committee, we agreed that prevention will be a major emphasis going forward as a means of controlling skyrocketing healthcare costs.
Interim meetings are a valuable time to collaborate and discuss the impacts of Utah policy. If you would like to join our next interim meetings, I’ll be back at the Capitol on Sept. 17-18. Can’t make it to the Capitol? As always, you can watch live at le.utah.gov. Hope to see you there!
Stand for Our Lands.
After decades of policy work and legal analysis, the state of Utah filed a landmark public lands lawsuit asking the U.S. Supreme Court to address whether the federal government can simply hold unappropriated lands within a state indefinitely. This lawsuit does not impact the millions of acres of “appropriated” lands – or those designated as national parks, national monuments, wilderness areas, national forests, Tribal lands, or military properties.
Right now, the federal government controls nearly 70% of land in Utah. For some perspective, the federal government owns less than 1% of the land in Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island.
In Utah, the Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) controls 18.5 million acres of “unappropriated” lands, meaning the United States simply holds the land without any designated purpose. Much of that land is neglected and at risk for wildfires.
If the state prevails, Utah will keep these public lands in public hands – actively managed by local governments for sustainable use and recreation.
Have Questions About Voter Initiatives?
This July, a Utah Supreme Court ruling upended the state’s voter initiative process and created a new restricted class of “Super Laws.” Effectively, the ruling prohibits the Legislature from updating or amending an initiative to work within our government, sustain balanced budgets, or change to meet our state’s needs. The court’s ruling gave outside interests a powerful tool to create restricted, unbending Utah laws that would fundamentally change what makes our community special.
At our recent special Legislative session, I voted with my colleagues in the House and Senate to put a question on your ballot. You will have a choice this fall to shore up Utah’s initiative process and keep big-money special interests from drowning out our values while expanding the amount of time Utahns have to gather signatures for initiatives and referenda.
To be clear, this ballot proposal means Utah’s standard initiative process remains unchanged. Utahns will continue to have the ability to propose and run ballot initiatives. If Utahns approve the constitutional amendment, these would be the only constitutional and statutory changes:
Prohibiting foreign entities from contributing to ballot initiatives and referendums.
Clarifying the voters' and legislative bodies’ ability to amend laws.
Adding 20 more days to collect signatures to the referendum process – extending the process from 40 to 60 days.
Year after year, Utah ranks as the best-managed state in the nation. If we maintain Utah’s standard initiative and referendum process while protecting it from outside influence – we will remain the best-managed state for generations to come.
Utah is Best in the West for Education
In government, budgets are a reflection of values and priorities. Utah’s historic investments in education are paying off.
U.S. News & World Report ranks Utah’s public education system as the second best in the nation (!) – only behind Florida – and far ahead of our peers in the West.
Over the past two years alone, the House and Senate invested nearly $2 billion in our students and schools. We worked together to strengthen school safety, eliminate unnecessary school fees, and increase funding for classroom supplies.
American Founders and Constitution Month
The Legislature has designated September as American Founders and Constitution Month, giving us the chance to honor the many freedoms we enjoy because of those who came before us. I am deeply grateful for the U.S. Constitution and the many freedoms we enjoy because of it. I hope you will join me over the next month in reflecting on the wisdom of our Founding Fathers and the values that have shaped our nation.
Upcoming Events and Important Dates
September 17th and 18th - September interim meetings
October 15th & 16th - October interim meetings
October 25th - last day to register to vote
Tuesday, November 5th - Election Day
I would love to hear from you!
District 38
Representative Cheryl Acton
cacton@le.utah.gov
801-809-3571
Facebook: @RepresentativeCheryl Acton