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This week kicked off with the Utah Federation of Republican Women’s annual “Day on the Hill” where their members had the opportunity to hear from legislators and various government officials in Utah. One of the benefits of having to do many things virtually since the pandemic started is that we now have the opportunity to share these meetings with a much broader audience. It was my honor to be the first speaker this year and to thank our Republican women for the hard work they do all year long. Throughout the morning, speakers included Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson, First Lady Abby Cox, State Representative Melissa Ballard, and others. In case you missed it, you can revisit their day on the hill here.

Paris Hilton came to Utah and shared her unfortunate personal experiences during her testimony on behalf of SB127. SB127 is a bill sponsored by Senator Mike Mckell and is designed to regulate residential teen facilities. Ms.Hilton was in the Provo Canyon School in the late 90s. She wants to ensure no one experiences what she did. You can watch her testimony here.

A Statement from Senate President Stuart Adams "Ensuring students receive the best education possible is key to our state's future success and my top priority. I've heard concerns that some students are struggling to graduate high school and can't meet the requirements due to missing so many hours of school. We need to do everything we can as a Legislature to help our students succeed. This week, the Senate discussed and voted on a substitution for S.B.107 In-Person Education. This substitution would provide schools the opportunity to continue in-person learning with enhanced testing when schools have higher COVID-19 positivity rates. This change would no longer require school closures. Giving schools the flexibility needed at the local level to remain open is essential to help students in their academic achievements.  

This week, we were honored to have Sarah Frei in the Senate as we passed H.B.47 DUI Revisions. This bill is nicknamed “Sarah’s Bill,” for 17-year-old Sarah, who lost her legs after being hit by a drunk driver. While she was fighting for her life in the hospital, the drunk driver was out on bail, still intoxicated. Sarah has shown great courage and resilience. This bill will strengthen bail terms for DUI offenses and help better protect our communities.

Creating a safe environment physically and emotionally in all teen treatment centers is essential. S.B.127 Human Services Program Amendments, increases transparency and proposes to end abusive practices in Utah’s congregate care programs. This week, we heard from advocates, including Paris Hilton and other Utah constituents, about their experiences in youth residential treatment centers. The Utah Senate is committed to addressing this issue head-on and working to create safe environments in all facilities to effectively care for struggling youth. Like we have done many times before, Utah will lead the nation on a path forward."

This week, the House had the pleasure of welcoming Sarah Frei and her parents to the House Floor. Sarah was involved in a car accident over the summer, resulting in the loss of her legs. Sarah’s optimistic outlook is truly inspiring. HB 20 Driving Under the Influence Sentencing Amendments, nicknamed “Sarah’s Bill,” will create stricter bail terms for DUI offenses.

This week the House Health and Human Services Committee passed HB 288 Education and Mental Health Coordinating Council. This bill creates a new council of educators, mental and behavioral health experts, and other advocates to advise the Governor and the Legislature. The council will provide action-oriented guidance to state leaders on how to meet the behavioral and mental health needs of children and families in our state.

Several bills are making their way through the legislative process that will provide tax relief to many Utahns. Last week, H.B. 86 Social Security Amendments passed the House unanimously and if passed by the Senate, will benefit many living on a fixed income. Additionally, H.B. 161 Military Retirement Tax Amendments passed the House this week, which removes the tax on military retirement, benefiting those who have served our country. Finally, a bill is in the works to help restore the child dependent exemption. 

HB 82 Single-Family Housing Amendments. This bill passed out of the House Business and Labor Committee this week. This bill, sponsored by Representative Ray Ward, helps increase housing availability and relieve pressure on prices by decreasing regulations in housing. 

H.B. 60, which allows for anyone over 21 and legally able to own firearms

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! Governor Cox and Lieutenant Governor Henderson announced their goal to have all adult Utahns receive the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of May. In tackling this goal, there is a large need for willing and able volunteers. Click here to volunteer for this project and see if you qualify. 

Senator Lee has been working hard on several items of interest to Utah voters. Among those are increased access and qualifications for health savings accounts, and protecting women's athletics for women.

During the recent Senate Vote-a-Rama, Senator Lee led the charge to expand access to and qualifications for health savings accounts, which could include increasing HSA contribution limits and include dietary and nutritional supplements among HSA-qualified medical expenses.

In protecting the interests of female athletes to ensure that female sports remain a place of opportunity and celebration for women. He, along with 13 other Congressmembers have presented legislation that would protect athletic opportunities for female athletes. Of this issue, Senator Lee has said, “When transgender athletes compete against women, women’s sports are no longer women’s sports; they become unisex athletic events. This bill would protect the opportunity of girls throughout America to athletically compete against other girls.”

It is unfortunate in today's world that the best of intentions are twisted around and misrepresented. Our Senators from Utah are no strangers to this. Recently, Senator Mike Lee was presented with an opportunity to disparage Democrat members of Congress. In keeping with his commitment to focus on policy over personality, his response was one of goodwill as he allowed that everyone needs the opportunity to have a Mulligan every now and then. As Senator Lee said, "I used the term only to avoid needlessly inflaming partisan passions."  Unfortunately, that show of goodwill was twisted to insinuate that he meant something other than he said. We all need to do better and think better of our fellow man. Only by doing so can we move forward in unity with our countrymen.

Approximately 70% of our federal budget is wrapped up in what we refer to as mandatory spending. Between entitlement programs and interest we pay, that's money we cannot use elsewhere. This leaves only 30% of the budget that can be used for everything else (to include the military). 70% is a staggering number!

In addition to joining Senator Lee and others in protecting women's sports, Senator Mitt Romney has proposed innovative, conservative solutions to tackling these budgeting challenges. These solutions would enable Congress to finally address the ballooning costs of the nondiscretionary spending. The first of these solutions is the bipartisan/bicameral Time to Rescue the United States' Trusts (TRUST) Act. The TRUST Act would form Rescue Committees to review and improve Trusts such as Social Security and the Highway Trust Fund. You can find a simplified explanation of the TRUST Act here. According to Senator Romney, “Among its many devastating effects, COVID-19 has threatened the fiscal health of essential programs like Medicare and Social Security. If Congress does not respond quickly, the day of insolvency for these programs will now come years sooner than expected. The TRUST Act is a bipartisan solution to shore up these programs and get us off the path of fiscal danger.”

Another innovative solution to difficult budgetary issues is the Family Security Act. This act will eliminate cumbersome, complex programs such as the Earned Income Child Tax Credit (EICTC) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and replace them with simplified monthly payments for almost all families with children. Read more here.