February 2020

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

This session is flying by! We have already completed week 4 of the legislative session which means we are more than halfway through the entire session. We have passed a total of 88 bills so far and still have hundreds more to consider. Here are some of the highlights from week 4:

Budget Update
This week we received an updated state revenue forecast. Thanks to hard-working citizens throughout the state, Utah’s economy continues to expand, and the most recent forecast indicates higher revenue numbers than previous forecasts.

The ongoing General Fund forecast indicates an available $92 million. Previously, we were on track for a $51 million deficit for our one-time General Fund needs, but recent collection numbers increased by $38 million, leaving us with a $12 million deficit for one-time General Fund needs. 

As we have seen for several years now, Education Fund revenues outpace General Fund revenues. One-time funds in the Education Fund are estimated at $323 million, with $518 million in ongoing education funds. 

These are great numbers, but they do highlight a structural imbalance in our State budget. The ongoing Education Fund is five and a half times that of the ongoing General Fund. Budget requests seeking money from the General Fund are quadruple available revenue, and that is not even considering bills with fiscal notes, cost of living expenses, and big budget items like Medicaid. We are not in a crisis state at this point, but the structural issues with our budget are notable even in a good year.
You can learn more about the budget here.

Passing School Buses
Current Utah law states a driver cannot pass a school bus when it is stopped and its stop-sign-arm is extended. Last year, the transportation department of the State Office of Education conducted an informal study. On a single school day, all school bus drivers were asked to write down how many times drivers failed to stop for their school buses. On that single day, bus drivers documented over 900 violations of this law.

H.B. 84, Traffic Code Amendments increases penalties for motorists who pass a stopped school bus. As frustrating as it may be for drivers to wait a few extra seconds, it is vital to ensure the safety of Utah’s school children as they enter and exit school buses. This bill passed in the Senate this week and returned to the House for concurrence.
You can listen to the bill presentation on the House floor here.

Personalized License Plates

Amid a controversial license plate debate in Utah that made national headlines, S.B. 97, Personalized License Plates Amendments gives Utah’s Motor Vehicle Division added clarification and authority regarding what is admissible on personalized Utah license plates. For example, it allows the Motor Vehicle Division to refuse to issue license plates with combinations of letters and numbers disparaging an ethnic group. The bill allows combinations of letters or numbers referring to an official state symbol. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that specialty license plates constitute government speech because they are state issued. This bill includes an amendment to recognize and consider Utah’s non-discrimination law. The Motor Vehicle Division brought forth concerns about offensive and otherwise problematic personalized license plates during Rules Committee review with suggested language and other recommendations. This bill will give the Motor Vehicle Division broader authority to approve or deny personalized license plate requests. This bill passed in the Senate and will be considered in the House.
You can listen to the floor presentation here.

Higher Education Amendments

Last year we made changes to the Regent’s scholarship to address diminishing funds for qualifying students. These changes included removing private institutions from acceptable schools for the scholarship. I heard from several constituents concerned about this chance.  After much work and negotiation, SB117Higher Education Financial Aid Amendments, would allow the Regents’ scholarships to be used at any Northwestern accredited non-profit institution located within Utah. This expands the scholarship eligibility from only state schools to include Western Governor’s University, Westminster College, Brigham Young University, and LDS Business College. There are cost control protections in place. The Regent scholarship money would be used as last dollars in – meaning other qualifying scholarships would apply before the Regent scholarship, the funds are limited to cover only tuition and fees, and no recipient attending a private institution can receive an award larger than the average award going to students attending public universities. This bill passed unanimously on second reading in the Senate this week.

You can listen to the floor presentation, here.

What do you think?

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you in the Utah State Senate. I hope you will reach out to me with your thoughts on the issues we are considering this session!

Thank you,
Curt Bramble
Senate District 16

Curt@cbramble.com
801-361-5802

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

We have completed week 3 of the legislative session and it is hard to believe that we will hit our halfway mark on Wednesday! With only 57 bills passed at this point, we still have hundreds of bills we need to consider before we conclude the session. Here are some of the highlights from week 3:

Fallen Soldiers
During each Legislative Session, the Utah Senate honors families of Utah’s fallen service members on the Senate floor. It is deeply sobering to see so many people walking onto the Senate floor to represent family members who have passed away during the past year. We paid tribute to those left behind – parents, spouses, siblings, children and friends. 

Senate Art Contest
 
This week on the Senate floor, we recognized winners of our 6th Annual Senate Art Contest. There was no theme this year, which led to a wonderful variety of subject matter. The contest received over 250 submissions from 9th–12th graders throughout the state. Twenty students won $500-$5,000 scholarships. I am proud to announce that Eleanor Smith from Timpview High School was awarded a $500 scholarship for her piece, “Northern Harrier”. Winning entries are currently on display on the third-floor exhibit at the Capitol building. Congratulations, Eleanor, on your accomplishment!

My Bills

This week my bill  S.B. 67 Disposition of Fetal Remains seeks to give women the right to choose the final disposition of fetal remains following an abortion or miscarriage and requires the hospital or clinic to handle those remains in a respectful manner. There is a misconception circulating that this bill would require women to bury or cremate the aborted or lost child. This bill simply gives women the option to bury, to cremate or to make no decision on the final disposition of the fetal remains. Nothing is required of parents wanting healthcare facilities to handle the final disposal. This is an important bill because there is nothing in current Utah law protecting a woman’s right to make this decision in any clinic or hospital. This bill passed in the Senate this week and will now be considered in the House.

Budget

We continued to hear Requests for Appropriations (RFA) presentations in our appropriations subcommittee meetings each morning this week. 
In recent years we have implemented increasingly strict RFA submissions standards, requiring more detailed budget information, performance measures and prior state funding history. By requiring this additional information, we’re working to eliminate excess spending and unnecessary budget requests. 

After submitting all required documentation, legislators and groups sponsoring requests address assigned subcommittees to explain their budget requests and answer questions. After subcommittees carefully review all presentations, they submit priority lists to the Executive Appropriations Committee for final review and consideration before inclusion in the final budget bill.

Higher Education Governance

In an effort to better meet higher-education needs of both students and employers throughout Utah, S.B. 111 Higher Education Amendments proposes to create a unified system of higher education, bringing Utah’s eight public two- and four-year colleges and universities (USHE)  and Utah’s eight technical colleges (UTech) under the same umbrella. This bill aims to help Utah students in a variety of ways including allowing school credits to transfer seamlessly between all 16 state colleges and universities. This will protect students’ investments of time and money.

Merging the two systems will reduce overlap and duplication, provide better coordination, promote comprehensive strategic planning, and make administrative efforts more efficient. Stakeholders from both USHE and UTech were actively involved in the drafting of this legislation and shared their support publicly during the committee hearing. This bill passed out of the Senate Education Standing Committee unanimously with a favorable recommendation.

You can listen to the committee presentation here. 

Electric Driver License Amendments 
 
Nowadays we can use our phones for nearly everything—paying for groceries, electronic plane tickets, depositing checks, etc. Last year, as you may recall, the legislature passed a bill to request research on the ins and outs of issuing electronic driver licenses. This year we will consider, S.B. 110, Electronic Driver License Amendments which would require the Driver License Division to create a pilot program to initiate the process of issuing electronic driver license, and to later create a permanent process for obtaining an electronic driver license.  

150th Anniversary of Women’s Voting in Utah

This week we celebrated the 150th anniversary of women’s suffrage in Utah. On February 12, 1870, a law was signed allowing all women over 21 to vote in Utah Territory. The territorial legislature had voted unanimously in its favor, making Utah the second state to pass such a law. Two days later, on February 14, Seraph Young cast the first female vote in the country under equal suffrage laws. The 19th Amendment allowing women to vote throughout the United States wouldn’t be passed until 1920 — 50 years later.

To honor the 150th anniversary, on February 12, the Utah Legislature unanimously passed H.J.R. 12, celebrating trailblazing women of Utah and our state’s role in the women’s suffrage movement. Members of the Legislature wore yellow roses to commemorate the day.

What do you think?

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to represent you in the Utah State Senate. I hope you will reach out to me with your thoughts on the issues we are considering this session!
 
Thank you,
Curt Bramble
Senate District 16
 
Curt@cbramble.com
801-361-5802