Lawmakers continued their work in Salt Lake City as we conclude the third week of the legislative session. The pace at the Capitol is picking up as new bills continue to be introduced, committees hold hearings, and legislation moves from one chamber to the other.
As always, you can follow the bills we’re tracking in real time and contact your lawmakers through the Libertas Legislative Tracker.
Here’s a recap of what happened this week:
- Legislation that will allow veterans to use training or experience when seeking an occupational license, rather than having to redo coursework, cleared the House Government Operations Committee this week. Senate Bill 90, sponsored by Sen. Heidi Balderree, is a top priority of Libertas.
- House Bill 126, sponsored by Rep. Ariel Defay, will make it easier to start microschools by providing clarity and expediting the process for founders who wish to open one. It passed the House this week and is headed to the Senate.
- Legislation to expand Utah’s Right to Try law has cleared the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. SB 222, sponsored by Sen. Chris Wilson, will give seriously ill patients broader access to investigational medicines and devices that have completed initial safety testing.
- SB 116, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, will automatically lower income tax rates if the state experiences a “windfall,” or budget surplus. It has cleared the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee and is headed to the full floor.
- HB 450, sponsored by Rep. David Shallenberger, is known as Truth in Surveillance because it will provide meaningful oversight on government surveillance.
- HB 170, sponsored by Rep. Rex Shipp, which will expand public oversight of decisions made by local school boards cleared the House Revenue and Taxation Committee.
- Legislation to establish a state Nuclear Energy Regulatory Office and position Utah to take a larger role in regulating nuclear energy activities has cleared the House and is narrowing a final passage in the Senate. HB 78 is sponsored by Rep. Carl Albrecht.
- SB217, sponsored by Sen. Kirk Cullimore, which modernizes and expands Utah’s legal framework for locally produced food, cleared the Senate Business and Labor Committee.
Things will really start to move faster in the coming days. We’ll be back next week with more updates.
