The Minority Report – February 19, 2010
Legislative Update from the Utah House Democrats
for the week of February 16-19, 2010
Welcome to Issue #4 of the Legislative Report from the Utah House of Representatives Democratic Caucus.
***Highlights from this week:
Representative Litvack Freezes Pay Raises for Legislators
HB 287, Legislator Salary Amendments, passed the House of Representative this Friday, February 19th. Through the Legislative Compensation Commission, House Representative will receive automatic pay increases in 2011. H.B. 287 refuses these salary increases. Representative Litvack explains, “in light of our budget, and the decisions that we are in the process of making… this bill freezes our salary at what it is currently today at 117 dollars—daily pay.” The bill passed almost unanimously and will now move on to the Senate.
Overdose Reporting Amendments Passes House
Representative Johnson’s bill, H.B. 277, passed through the House February 17th. The bill provides that a person younger than 21 years of age who is in violation of an alcohol possession or consumption law, and who in the same incident reports to law enforcement a person who is physically endangered by the consumption of alcohol, may be considered by the sentencing court for a mitigation of the sentence due to having reported the endangered person. The bill will now move on to the Senate.
Joint Resolution on Clean Air Passes House
Representative Moss's Joint Resolution on Clean Air (HJR5) passed through the House February 17th. The bill encourages Utahns to eliminate unnecessary idling of their motor vehicles to protect public health and the environment, reduce air pollution, conserve fuel, and protect motor vehicle performance.
Representative Moss stated on the floor that sixth grade students from Patti White's class at Morningside Elementary were "the brains behind the resolution." The bill will now move on to the Senate. Click here for a short video that the students created in support of their clean air campaign.
Strangulation and Domestic Violence Joint Resolution Passes House
Rep. Jennifer Seelig’s Strangulation and Domestic Violence Joint Resolution (H.J.R. 6) passed through the House on February 17th. The joint resolution of the Legislature urges state and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute as felonies assaults in which the defendant applied force to the neck or throat of the victim. The bill will now move on to the senate.
*** Democratic Bills that Have Passed The House and The Senate This Session:
H.B. 11 – Licensensing of Elevator Contractors (Wiley, Larry)
This bill provides for the licensing and qualifications for licensure of elevator contractors and elevator mechanics by the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing.
H.B. 23 – Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing (Beck, Trisha)
This bill modifies provisions related to an employer testing for drugs and alcohol. The bill clarifies current legislation and addresses grounds for employer action and liability.
H.B. 29 – School District Division Amendments (Black, Laura)
This bill modifies the procedures for creating a new school district. The bill also requires voter approval at the next general election.
H.B. 30 – Drug Law Amendments (Beck, Trisha)
This bill adds carisoprodol, which as the brand name of Soma, as a Schedule IV drug.
H.B. 69 – State Engineer's Plugging of Wells Repair (Gowans, Jim)
This bill repeals a provision concerning the state engineer's power to plug certain artesian wells.
H.C.R. 003 – Italian American Heritage Month Concurrent Resolution (Watkins, Christine)
The Italian-American Heritage Month Concurrent Resolution designates October as Italian-American Heritage Month, and recognizes the many contributions made by Italian-Americans to the history and development of the state of Utah.
*** Democratic Bills that Waiting to Pass The Senate This Session:
H.B. 97 – Amendments Relating to Deceptive Practices Involving Consumers (Poulson, Marie)
This bill provides that certain false expressions in an advertisement are deceptive acts or practices for purposes of the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act and truth in advertising provisions.
H.B. 109 – Volunteer Government Workers Act Definitions (Biskupski, Jackie)
This bill modifies the Volunteer Government Workers Act by amending the definition of "compensatory service worker."
H.B. 124S2 – Campaign Funds Expediture Restrictions (Cosgrove, Tim)
The bill amends provisions in the Campaign and Financial Reporting Requirements related to the personal use of campaign monies and provides for enforcement, investigation of complaints, and assessment of administrative penalties by the lieutenant governor. The bill defines "personal use expenditure," and prohibits a candidate, a judge, or an officeholder from using campaign contributions for personal use expenditure. The bill also provides a list of authorized and prohibited uses of campaign funds.
H.B. 181 – Condominium Association Common Expenses (Moss, C.)
This bill includes rules adopted by the condominium association management committee among the documents that may authorize the management committee to terminate certain services of an owner who has failed to pay an assessment.
H.B. 192 – Methane Gas / Renewable Energy (Watkins, Christine)
This bill provides that electrical energy derived from methane gas from certain coal mine facilities is among the types of waste gasses considered as a renewable energy source.
H.B. 208 – Disposition of the Remains of a Deceased Military Service Member (Seelig, J.)
This bill provides that a person designated by a service member while serving in a branch of the United States Armed Forces is a first priority person in determining the disposition of the remains of the military service member upon the service member's death.
H.B. 222 – Land Use Meeting Notice (Beck, T.)
This bill requires a notice for a public hearing to adopt or modify a land use ordinance be mailed ten days beforehand.
H.B. 232 – Medical Language Interpreter Amendments (Chavez-Houck, Rebecca)
This bill recodifies the Medical Language Interpreter Act and amends the act by providing for expiration and renewal of certification, denial of certification, and for disciplinary actions.
H.B. 277 – Overdose Reporting Amendments (Johnson, C.)
This bill provides that a person younger than 21 years of age who is in violation of an alcohol possession or consumption law, and who in the same incident reports to law enforcement a person who is physically endangered by the consumption of alcohol, may be considered by the sentencing court for a mitigation of the sentence due to having reported the endangered person.
H.B. 287 – Legislator Salary Amendments (Litvack, D.)
This bill maintains legislators' daily pay at $117 through the 2011 calendar year for annual general sessions, veto-override sessions, special sessions, and authorized legislative meetings.
H.J.R. 3 – Joint Resolution on Teacher Performance Pay (Poulson, M.)
This joint resolution of the Legislature recommends that performance pay or differentiated pay plans for public school teachers be developed using certain guiding principles.
H.J.R. 5 – Joint Resolution on Clean Air (Moss, C.)
This resolution encourages Utahns to eliminate unnecessary idling of their motor vehicles to protect public health and the environment, reduce air pollution, conserve fuel, and protect motor vehicle performance.
H.J.R. 6 – Strangulation and Domestic Violence Joint Resolution (Seelig, J.)
This joint resolution of the Legislature urges state and local law enforcement officers and prosecutors to investigate and prosecute as felonies assaults in which the defendant applied force to the neck or throat of the victim.
H.J.R. 13 – Recognition of Community Councils and the Association of Community Councils Together Joint Resolution (Duckworth, S.)
This joint resolution of the Legislature recognizes the 25th Anniversary of the Community Councils of Unincorporated Salt Lake County and expresses thanks and support for their work as partners with Salt Lake County government to provide advice and input on behalf of its residents for the betterment of their communities.
***Things to watch in the coming weeks:
The Utah House of Representative may ne considering a bill that would discuss affirmative action. We are watching this very closely, as fair treatment of all citizens remains one of our top priorities.
Budget decisions affecting children, seniors, and our neighbors with disabilities - Legislation that will impact public employees - Legislation in ethics reform
As we proceed through this legislation, we are interested in learning about issues that are important to you. We invite you to visit our website at www.utahhousedemocrats.org and take our online survey.
What matters to you, matters to us! We hope you will take the time to share your thoughts and opinions. We also hope you will browse through our website and read our thoughts and opinions about the legislation we are considering in the 2010 legislative session.
Best regards,
The Utah House Democrats www.utahhousedemocrats.org
