Dear Friends, Week 3 of the Legislative Session is done. I sure appreciate all of you who have reached out to me and shared your opinion on the bills we are discussing. Make sure you continue to follow along with the process by reading my newsletters, connecting with me on social media, or watching live streams of our meetings at le.utah.gov.

Next week we will be finalizing budgets in our Appropriations Committees. I serve on Public Education Appropriations where we have been hearing budget requests from the Governor, Utah State Board of Education, several education groups and other legislators. Prioritizing what gets funded is challenging as there are a lot of needs and many worthy requests. To learn more about Utah’s budget click HERE.

The Legislature will be considering several election bills in the next few weeks. A majority of the residents surveyed in House District 45 feel confident in our current elections. Please reach out to me with your opinions about election bills that are coming up.

The House passed HB265 Higher Education Strategic Investment. A recent legislative audit underscores the need to better align higher education programs with workforce needs. The audit highlights cases of Utah institutions offering duplicative programs despite low student interest. At the same time, our growing state needs more highly skilled engineers, nurses, teachers, and mental health professionals. Working in partnership with our universities, this bill will trim administrative costs, consolidate underperforming programs, and reinvest the savings to expand high-demand programs that deliver strong employment opportunities for graduating students.

This week I presented two bills in the House Education Committee, both of which passed. The first bill, HB184 School Trust Land Amendments, clarifies the responsibilities of the School Children’s Trust Section at the Utah State Board of Education to be consistent with the current law. The second bill, HB76 Public Education Revisions, proposes minor changes to Utah’s public education system. The amendments address teacher salary supplements, funding formulas for teachers at the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind, and early literacy software evaluation. It also modifies the current age requirement for a student that starts kindergarten in another state and moves to Utah.

Riverton City Youth Council

PTA leaders from Canyons School District PTAs

PTA leaders from Jordan School District PTAs

HB76 - Public Education Revisions

HB184 - School Trust Land Amendments

HB268 - Nonresident Online School Amendments

HB325 - Parent Access to Learning Materials Pilot Programs

HB410 - Child Care Amendments

I am co-sponsoring two bills HB197 and HB87. HB197 Criminal Conduct Amendments which helps to protect our children from sex, kidnap, and child abuse offenders. HB87 Drug Trafficking Amendments, creates a criminal offense of trafficking fentanyl. 

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