A proposed constitutional amendment would leave one Utah lawmaker without a seat on Capitol Hill. Republican Representative Paul Ray wants to ban lobbyists from serving in the Utah Legislature.
State school board officials say unexpected budget cuts could force them to shut the doors of the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind. As KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, parents and others who don’t want to see that happen attended a committee hearing before state lawmakers Tuesday.
The Utah Senate gave the thumbs-up this morning to a bill that makes it a crime to leave a child alone in a car under dangerous conditions. But some lawmakers say it needs more work. Although Republican Senator Lyle Hillyard voted for the bill, he said it’s too subjective.
The Utah House of Representatives delivered good news today for unincorporated Salt Lake County residents who are sick of paying a fee for police services. Lawmakers approved a bill that would prevent the Unified Police District from imposing that fee. Taylorsville Representative Jim Dunnigan said about half his district is in unincorporated Salt Lake County.
Utah teens would be doing a lot less talking on the road, under a bill that cleared a Senate committee yesterday. Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero wants all drivers under 18 to put down their cell phones while behind the wheel.
While the federal health reform law’s mandate to purchase health insurance may be getting the most attention, some Utah lawmakers are focusing on another aspect of it: expanding eligibility for Medicaid, the government-funded health program for low-income Americans. Hoping to get ahead of this, Republican State Senator Dan Liljenquist, who spearheaded major reforms to Utah’s public pension system last year, is proposing changes to how Medicaid providers are compensated.
Lawmakers in the House Education Committee agreed yesterday Utah voters should be able to directly elect state school board members, but they couldn’t agree whether party politics should play a part in those elections. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports.
Utah Senate lawmakers voted today to limit the role of two independent state commissions tasked with reviewing tax policy and constitutional revisions. Republican Senator Margaret Dayton’s bill requires the legislature or Governor to formally request reviews from the Constitutional Revision and Tax Review commissions.
All Utahns would be allowed to openly carry a gun near a school, day care or college if a GOP-sponsored bill makes it out of the legislature. KCPW’s Whittney Evans reports on a committee hearing where it narrowly passed last Friday.
Several bills in the Utah legislature this year aim to deal with illegal immigration on the state level. And lawmakers in one senate committee passed a resolution last week urging the federal government to make that effort easier.
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