Hello friends,

A very visible and historic icon in our House District is the cross on the mountain at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. Interestingly, the history of this location is captured in our state Capitol’s impressive Rotunda on a beautiful and large mural titled “Father Escalante Discovers Utah Lake 1776”. The painting is not only beautiful, but the image itself also has a fascinating story about the exact location where we live.

Over 200 years ago, Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante was commissioned by the Spanish government to find a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Monterey, California. In hopes of discovering more about an “unknown land”, or Utah, he appealed to a group of natives, the Laguna Indians, by sharing the good news of the Lord; fortunately, a young Laguna Indian boy, who they called Joaquin, agreed to help them. Eventually, they arrived at Utah Lake, a Laguna territory. Father Escalante and his group were able to earn the love and trust of the Laguna Indians. They were enamored by the way Father Escalante was able to instill confidence in his words, as well as his faith and courage. This relationship enabled this expedition in discovering more areas of the West and opening up to further exploration and trade (source: historytogo.utah.gov).

In many ways, what we do at the Legislature reminds me of Father Escalante’s experience. While we all may come from vastly different backgrounds and ways of life, we are able to work together through the love and trust we have forged. This connection comes from our faith and courage that we have in this state and its future and our desire to create policy that will better Utah. I hope that we can always continue to be inspired by Father Escalante’s story.

Our House District 63 was represented well again this week on Capitol Hill. I loved meeting with neighbors, students, teachers, attorneys, small business owners, families, and many more people from our communities to listen to their concerns, ideas, and recommendations. Thank you for your involvement.

Did you know you can join any legislative committee meeting in person or online to share your thoughts and recommendations about any bill before it is voted on? Just go to le.utah.gov and click the calendar and then the committee meeting.

The 54th annual Utah All-State High School Art Show was held at the Springville Museum of Art this past weekend. Seeing the winning students, their parents and teachers from all over the state was inspiring and their art was absolutely beautiful. This show is the largest exhibition of its kind in the nation. Each year high school juniors and seniors from across the state participate. This year 109 Utah schools submitted 1,073 works of art by 907 students. Of those, 352 pieces were selected to display. 79 students were chosen to receive awards and scholarships. The students' winning pieces of art will be displayed for the next year at the Utah State Capitol, U.S. Capitol and the Springville Museum of Art. This is all made possible through a public-private partnership between the Utah Legislature, private donors and businesses, and education. Congrats to everyone.

Thank you to everyone who joined me this past weekend for Bills & Bagels in South Utah County, where Representatives Jeff Burton, Doug Welton, Norm Thurston, Senators Mike McKell, and David Hinkins, and I shared updates on the legislative session. We truly value hearing your thoughts and recommendations on legislative policies and budget priorities, which are both appreciated and very helpful.

Utahns benefit from some of the most robust transparency tools in the nation, with real-time access to legislation, committee hearings, floor debates, voting records, and public comment through the legislative website that allows anyone to follow the process from start to finish. Financial transparency is equally critical. Every taxpayer dollar can be tracked, audited, and reviewed by the public, with appropriations meetings and audit reports fully open and accessible. Combined with strong ethics rules, disclosure requirements, and penalties for violations of public trust, these efforts reflect mine and my colleagues' commitment to honest government that answers to the people it serves.

Utah is taking meaningful, concrete steps to preserve the Great Salt Lake. This month, the state moved to acquire the US Magnesium plant and its associated water rights. This move will secure over 100,000 acre-feet of water annually for the lake. It’s a significant, long-term step to strengthen the lake’s health, protect its economic and recreational value, and preserve this vital natural resource for future generations.

Utah’s Legislature has three primary responsibilities: 1) lawmaking, 2) creating the state budget, and 3) oversight of state government.

One way the Legislature oversees all organizations that receive any taxpayer dollars is through the Legislative Auditor General. The Utah State Constitution reads:

“The legislative auditor shall have authority to conduct audits of any funds, functions, and accounts in any branch, department, agency or political subdivision of this state and shall perform such other related duties as may be prescribed by the legislature. The legislative auditor shall report to and be answerable only to the Legislature.” Article VI, Section 338

Did you know you can read all the audits conducted by the Legislative Auditor at https://olag.utleg.gov. I, and the Legislature, regularly review each audit to learn what is going well and what recommendations are being made so we can appropriately address them each legislative session.

There are currently 23 audits being conducted. Here are a few of the recently conducted audits for your reading pleasure:

• School library books
• Sensitive materials in schools
• Utah medical cannabis
• Utah schools for the deaf and blind
• Election cybersecurity
• Property tax

Bill topics have once again been vast and varied this week including: taxes, energy, school safety, AI, drug trafficking, adoptions, fees, higher education, water, transportation and many, many, many more.

Here is my voting record for the 3rd week of the Legislative Session:

HOUSE FLOOR VOTES:

HB 20             Yes

HB 22             Yes

HB 24             Yes

HB 30             Yes

HB 37             Yes

HB 46             Yes

HB 51             Yes

HB 55             Yes

HB 57             Yes

HB 60             Yes

HB 62             Yes

HB 63             Yes

HB 64             Yes

HB 71             Yes

HB79              Yes

HB 82             Yes

HB 93             Yes

HB 101           Yes

HB 103           Yes

HB 108           Yes

HB 113           Yes

HB 116           Yes

HB 120           Yes

HB 126           Yes

HB 128           Yes

HB 132           Yes

HB 142           Yes

HB 146           Yes

HB 156           Yes

HB 163           Yes

HB 164           Yes

HB 174           Yes

HB 178           Yes

HB 186           Yes

HB 192           No

HB 193           Yes

HB 214           Yes

HB 238           Yes

HB 242           Yes

HB 258           Yes

HB 272           Yes

HB 279           Yes

HB 356           Yes

HB 392           Yes

SB 15             Yes

SB 16             Yes

SB 17             No

SB 20             Yes

SB 22             Yes

SB 25             Yes

SB 26             Yes

SB 27             Yes

SB 32             Yes

SB 33             Yes

SB 35             Yes

SB 36             N/V

SB 43             Yes

COMMITTEE VOTES:

SCR 2             Yes

HB 42              Absent for a Public Ed and Appropriations meeting

HB 43              Yes

HB 44              Yes

HB 87              Yes

HB 122            Yes

HB 130            Yes

HB 134            Yes

HB 158            Yes

HB 165            Yes

HB 171            Yes

HB 188            Yes

HB 205            Yes

HB 220            Yes

HB 269            Yes

HB 271            Yes

HB 289            Yes

HB 313            No

HB 343            Yes

SB 24              Yes

SB 27              Yes

SB 30              Yes

SB 32              Yes

SB 40              Yes

SB 41              Yes

SB 84              Yes

SB 117            Yes

HB392 Constitutional Court Amendments addresses the increasing complexity of cases before our courts by putting cases that raise key constitutional questions before a panel of three judges. Since the bill was first presented in a legislative committee on January 28, changes to the bill have been made to address questions and concerns raised by the Judiciary.

The updated proposal would now do the following:

• Cases that raise key constitutional questions would go to a three-judge panel with statewide jurisdiction.
• The judiciary would publish a list of judges eligible to serve on a panel and establish a random process for selecting judges to serve on the panel.
• Each panel would include no more than one judge from the same judicial district, ensuring a statewide perspective on these critical cases.
• Any appeals of decisions made by a panel of judges would be heard by the Utah Supreme Court.

This type of panel of judges is used in other areas of the nation. North Carolina and Tennessee both convene three judge panels to hear these types of constitutional challenges. Other states also use three judge panels, and the U.S. federal courts have put 3 district court judges on panels to hear specific types of cases since 1910. This proposal follows that proven model while preserving checks and balances.

 Utah already uses specialty courts for specific topics like juvenile courts, drug courts, and veterans’ courts. Just a few years ago, a new Business and Chancery Court was created in Utah to handle complex business and commercial litigation.

 Putting key constitutional questions before a randomized panel of three judges, providing three sets of eyes rather than one set of eyes, will lead to improved confidence in the courts. 

 It is for these reasons that I voted in support of HB392.

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