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The 2008 legislative session is now over. The primary concerns of voters in district 61 were/are education, transportation, and market driven health care reform.
Here is a snapshot of the how those issues were addressed
Immigration: Policy this session is largely framed by 1SB81. This bill:
* Mandates that agencies that provide public benefits (using local or federal funding) verify the applicants' status.
* Enlist state, local police officers to enforce federal immigration statutes.
* Require public employers and their contractors to verify workers' status.
* Make it a class A misdemeanor to conceal, harbor, transport or shelter undocumented immigrants. (Charitable or humanitarian assistance is exempted.)
* Require county sheriffs to check the legal status of inmates in county jails.
* Mandate the state verify the documentation status of people before issuing them a restaurant, liquor or private club license.
Education: At the start of the session both the House and Senate approved a one-time $22.3 million supplemental appropriation to fully fund the 2007 salary increase of $2,700 and $1,000 bonus for every educator in Utah. Educators will receive another large financial boost this year. Teachers are slated to receive an across the board $1,700.00 pay raise. The WPU (weighted pupil unit) will be funded at an additional 2.5% which equals a 6 percent WPU increase.
In addition $25 million will go towards a $1,000 signing bonus for new teachers, performance pay for teachers determined by districts, and incentives for those seeking American Board Distinguished Teacher certification. |
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Transportation: As this letter is being written the segment of I-15 endorsed by the Senate is estimated to cost $3.9 billion to rebuild with another $1.8 billion in interest costs on a bond. The reconstruction would occur from 12300 South in Salt Lake County to U.S. Highway 6 in Utah County. Two new lanes would be added to most of the highway with 18 interchanges rebuilt or repaired. This scenario could change (and likely will somewhat) and I recommend the UDOT website to stay up to date.
Health Care Reform: HB133 passed this session. This bill establishes a task force that will study insurance portability from job to job and analyze how to provide a minimum level of coverage that is cheaper than current plans. The task force will also study several items including individual mandates, ways to end the practice of the insured paying for the uninsured through emergency hospital visits, expanding entitlement programs, and the possibility of protecting doctors from liability claims if they follow to-be-determined best practices.
This is a brief summary. If there is a particular issue that is important to you please contact me or link to the legislative website from my webpage.
This session was particularly busy for me with much of the legislation that I was involved in passing successfully. Bills that I sponsored and co-sponsored are as follows:
Introduced Bills-Short Title- Attorney
HB0176 Sex Offender Registration Amendments SCA
HB0180 Study on Taxpayer Advocate Program RLR
HB0185 Western States Presidential Primary Amendments ENW
Cosponsored Bills-Sponsor- Short Title Attorney
HB0133 Clark, D. Health System Reform CJD
HB0133S01 Clark, D. Health System Reform CJD
HB0133S02 Clark, D. Health System Reform CJD
HB0129 Dee, B. Appropriation for Construction of a Veterans' Nursing Home in Ogden JLF
HB0401 Dunnigan, J. Master Plumber Licensing JLW
HB0349 Fisher, Julie Open Enrollment Revisions DSL
HB0075S02 Frank, C. Inventory and Review of Commercial Activities PO
HB0339 Herrod, C. Human Trafficking Amendments SCA
HCR006S01 Morley, M. Concurrent Resolution Honoring the Life and Contributions of President Gordon B. Hinckley JLW
HB0051S02 Painter, P. Water Right Forfeiture Protection ERB
HB0051S05 Painter, P. Water Right Amendments ERB
HB0017 Ray, P. Cancer Screening and Mortality Reduction Program CJD
HJR010 Tilton, A. Joint Resolution Opposing Designation of Public Lands Currently Urged by Congress and the Bureau of Land Management JLW
HB0256 Wimmer, C. Criminal Penalties Amendments - Including Jessica's Law TRV
HB0286 Wimmer, C. Permanent Teacher License Revocation for Sexual Activity with Students DSL
HB0286S01 Wimmer, C. Permanent Teacher License Revocation for Sexual Activity with Students DSL
HCR008 Winn, B. Concurrent Resolution Supporting the Narrows Water Project in Central Utah JLW |
