General Session - Week 2 Recap
- Daniel McCay
- Jan 31, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 14, 2023
Dear Friends and Neighbors, It was another great week at the Capitol. There were many individuals who visited this beautiful building, and it is great to see Utahns getting involved. Below you will find a video where I cover events from last week.
During week two, in addition to hearing budget numbers presented, I spent many hours in committee meetings and considered a variety of bills. So much hard work has gone into all the proposed legislation and it is truly an honor to be involved in this process. I had many thoughtful discussions with my colleagues on a variety of topics. Below you will find a description of some items that were addressed and events that happened last week. I will continue to send regular updates during the remaining five weeks of the session. I encourage each of you to reach out with your questions and thoughts. You can contact me directly or my intern Jack Fuetterer at jfuetterer@le.utah.gov. Thank you for all you do. It is my privilege to represent you.
How to Navigate the Legislative Website Staying informed and knowing how to use government resources are important parts of being involved in the legislative process. With this in mind, we have created video tutorials that explain how to best utilize the legislative website (le.utah.gov). We will be highlighting a new tutorial each week of the session, and we hope that they will be both helpful and instructive. This week’s tutorial walks you through the steps of how to virtually join a committee meeting.
Base Budget Bills As a Legislature, our constitutional responsibility is to pass a balanced budget before the close of the general legislative session. It is a responsibility we take seriously. As such, we spend the first few weeks of the session meeting in appropriations subcommittees to consider how we allocate money in each area, which include public education, social services and transportation. Eight appropriations subcommittees prepare base budgets for their assigned subject area over the first couple of weeks of the session. These subcommittee base budgets are passed in the early weeks of the session, which allows the state to continue functioning at a basic level. This prevents the state government from shutting down. Then, typically during the final week of the session, we pass what is known as the “Bill of Bills,” which is the comprehensive budget bill that includes additional appropriations not included in the base budgets. You can learn more about the state’s budget here.
S.B. 35 Professional Licensing by Endorsement Amendments S.B. 35 creates a compact for physician’s assistants (PAs) in the state, titled the “PA Licensure Compact,” allowing Utah professionals to cross state lines to practice. It additionally establishes a process for certain state agencies to issue some professional licenses and certificates by endorsement, upon the approval by the Utah Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL). Among these agencies are the Department of Agriculture and Food, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health and Human Services. See a presentation on the bill here.
S.B. 106 - Caregiver Compensation Amendments S.B. 106 Caregiver Compensation Amendments, allows for parents and caregivers to decide what option will provide the best care and quality of life for their dependents, whether that be at home with a caregiver or in an institutional facility Through state programs, we have been able to help provide funds for home caregivers. Currently, there are three sub-groups that are able to apply for the caregiver's compensation funding. The first is the spousal group, by the passing of S.B. 63 during the 2021 General Session. This initial program had great success. During the pandemic, ARPA funds were granted to the state, allowing two other groups, the dependents under 18 group and the dependents over 18 group to be funded. The funding for the additional groups showed that the in-home care resulted in higher quality of care and quality of life. This bill will extend this funding, allowing the spouse or family member who provides care, to receive partial compensation for the work lost. A presentation on this bill can be found here. Read the executive summary or the complete, detailed analysis here.
S.B. 117 – Domestic Violence Amendments The Legislature is examining legislation to address domestic violence in Utah. The Department of Health and Human Services reported that 22.7% of Utah homicide victims died in an intimate partner or domestic violence related incident and 53.9% of victims had a known history of intimate partner violence that was reported to authorities. S.B. 117 Domestic Violence Amendments aims to lower these percentages. S.B. 117 makes two changes to the current practices of reporting domestic violence incidents. First, the bill requires police officers responding to a domestic violence call to ask a potential victim a series of questions to assess the possible lethality of a domestic situation. These questions are known as the Lethality Assessment Protocol (LAP). Officers can use LAPs to determine the danger level of a potential victim's situation and connect a potential victim with the appropriate resources. The second change S.B. 117 makes to domestic violence reporting is the creation of a statewide LAP database. The database would be a helpful resource for police officers to use when responding to a domestic violence call, allowing authorities to review any previous LAP reports, incident reports or probable cause statements. By creating a database for domestic violence incidents, police officers responding to a domestic violence call can have a more complete picture of the history of domestic violence incidents between a victim and an assailant. By creating resources for law enforcement to use when handling domestic violence situations, authorities will be able to better perform their critical work of protecting every Utahn from harm. You can track the progress of S.B. 117 here as it moves through the legislative process.
S.C.R 5 – Concurrent Resolution Concerning the Celebration of Halloween The Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee heard S.C.R. 5 Concurrent Resolution Concerning the Celebration of Halloween in committee last week. S.C.R. 5 encourages Utah communities to celebrate Halloween on the last Friday in October. The resolution does not change Halloween from officially being on October 31, but designates the last Friday in October as the day Halloween is to be celebrated in Utah. When Halloween falls on a weekday, there can be confusion regarding when to celebrate the holiday, especially in schools. Additionally, when Halloween is on a weekday, school attendance can also decrease the day after Halloween due to the late night of Halloween celebrations. Rather than having students return to school the day after a fun-filled, late night, S.C.R. 5 encourages Utahns to designate the same weekday every year for Halloween celebrations. You can learn more about the proposed resolution by listening to the conversation in the Senate committee here.
Until next time, Senator Dan McCay District 18
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