Preview of the 2023 General Session
Over the interim, I’ve been working on several bills, many of which will be heard during the 2023 session, which gets underway on Tuesday, January 17th and runs through midnight on March 3rd.
Please let me know your thoughts on any and all pending legislation, whether it is coming to a committee I serve on or to the floor. (And if you will be at the Capitol during session and would like to join me on the floor, please let me know and I will see if I can arrange it!)
During those 45 days, we as a legislature will be working on several issues, including:
Water (all hands on deck to replenish the Great Salt Lake)
Affordable Housing - In addition to providing shelter, home ownership is the American Dream, because it lifts people out of poverty and becomes a growing investment. The state is considering a bill this year that would help first-time home buyers overcome the hurdle of high interest rates to buy their own home.
Taxes (especially tax cuts to help Utahns during our current inflationary period. There are many proposals on the table, including eliminating taxes on Social Security income and groceries, raising the income level cap for seniors using the circuit breaker to manage property tax increases, expanding the EITC for working families, and many others)
Vouchers and School Choice - while many people support school choice (and Utah has more school choice than any other state), funding school choice options is a complicated matter involving accountability, parents’ rights, taxpayer dollars, etc. The new bill has not been posted yet.
New Flag - always a contentious issue!
Some bills I’m working on:
Patient Visitation - ensuring the rights of patients to have a visitor with them in a hospital setting. I just received word yesterday that the Utah Hospital Association supports this bill.
Prohibiting the use of ESG Social Credit Scores in Utah (one of the four ESG bills we will hear this session)
Community Associations - requiring greater transparency from HOAs, particularly election transparency
Expungement of Nonajudicated Juvenile Records for non-violent criminal involvement that did not go before a judge but remain on the individual’s record, often becoming impediments to progress later in life.
Curriculum Participation Waiver - allowing children in K-12 education to decline participation in activities or assignments they find invasive or offensive - essentially, to conscientiously object
Temporary Restraining Order (of one month only) for individuals leaving in-house treatment for mental health and substance abuse. It’s a protective order for the individual to allow time for them to adjust to new medications and therapeutic programs outside of the institution, preventing suicide.
Simplifying the Medicaid Application Process (currently a literacy test, a technology test, and an endurance contest, rather than a qualification assessment)
Prison Health Care Services Amendments - to allow prison medical staff to transition into HHS while still retaining their retirement benefits
Sale of Goat Dairy - will allow the sale of clearly labeled unpasteurized goat cheese products. Yes, you need a bill in order to do that.