We as a society love to say how much we support our troops, but it is rare that policy makers actually step up to the plate and say “thank you, we are going to make your life a little bit easier because you have decided to protect our nation.” That is why I applaud Senator [...]
Archive for the ‘Democrats’ Category
Bills to Watch: HB 274, Adoption Amendments, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck
I don’t want you all to think that I am biased towards Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24) simply because she happens to have ranked number 1 last year for best representing my interests…or because she just so happens to be my actual representative on the hill; but the honest truth is, I am [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 119, Study of Signing Petitions Online, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck
One of the reasons I have always liked Representative Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D – Salt Lake, District 24), is that she has always fought to expand the rights of voters in Utah. She has been a strong advocate for modernizing our democracy while still holding true to is roots. I point to HB 119, Study of Signing Petitions [...]
Bills to Watch: SB 107, Possession of Graffiti Paraphernalia, Sen. Karen Mayne
I must admit that I originally was not going to write about SB 107, Possession of Graffiti Paraphernalia for one main reason: I have very mixed feelings about the bill. However, after members of the online group Anonymous targeted (for some unknown reason) the Salt Lake City Police Department’s website in protest of this bill, I [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 263 Unemployment Benefits for Military Spouse, Rep. Lynn Hemingway
After reading up on HB 263, Unemployment Benefits for Military Spouse as proposed by Representative Lynn Hemingway (D – Salt Lake City, District 40), I was shocked to find out we needed a bill like this in the first place. Being the spouse of a serviceman or woman is a difficult one, often times meaning that you [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 283, State Stores Pilot Program for Days of Sale of Liquor, Rep. Patrice Arent
One of the many perplexing liquor laws in Utah revolves around state liquor stores being closed on the more “obscure” legal holidays. Most Utahns don’t get holidays like Columbus Day or Presidents Day off from work, yet our liquor stores are inexplicably closed on those days. Thankfully Representative Patrice Arent (D – Salt Lake City, District 36) is attempting to [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 70, Air Quality Task Force, Rep. Patrice Arent
On the list of “important things our legislature really should cover,” our metro area’s air quality should be at the top of the list. Year after year the inversion gets worse and worse, and yet our lawmakers seem to completely ignore it. This is somewhat ironic as the inversion always seems to set in at [...]
Bills to Watch: HB 64 – Amendments to Public Employee Health Care, Rep. Brian Doughty
I have to hand it to freshman Representative Brian Doughty (D-Salt Lake City, District 30). His bill, HB 64, Amendments to Public Employee Health Care would go far in proving that Utah is not some backwater stuck in the 1940′s. Doughty’s bill makes the revolutionary step to acknowledge that not every state employee fits into the classic [...]
Bills to Watch: SB 117 – Publication of Education Fund Revenue Reductions, Sen. Ben McAdams
Senator Ben McAdams (D-Salt Lake City, District 2) is taking charge and working hard to hold legislators accountable with SB 117 – Publication of Education Fund Revenue Reductions. The bill is very straight forward, but will have big ramifications by holding lawmakers feet to the fire. The bill, in short, would require any bill that negativity effects [...]
Bills to Watch: SB 31, Classroom Size Amendments, Sen. Karen Morgan
I must admit that I was impressed when I saw that Senator Karen Morgan (D – Salt Lake –District 8) proposed SB 31, Classroom Size Amendments. It is short, it is sweet, and it cuts to the very core of one of the principal problems with Utah schools: large class sizes. Morgan is proposing that there [...]