Committee Assignments

The Natural Resources Appropriations Committee finalized budget prioritization this week, and the two requests that I had made were ranked high by my colleagues.

As Vice Chair of the Natural Resources Standing Committee, we have been hearing multiple bills and I encourage you to listen to the recorded audio on le.utah.gov

Visitors

Wednesday, I was joined on the floor by Richfield High School senior Ben Anderson. Ben was at the Capitol as a 4-H State Ambassador and was learning the political system to prepare for when he will be teaching youth in April from around the state about how our government works.

At noon on Thursday, I spoke with the Foundation of Integrated Resource Management (FIRM) and presented to them my newest bill; H.B. 390 – A Rural Economic Development Bill – which appropriates $2 million towards a program that would incentivize companies on the Wasatch front to hire individuals from rural counties. This directly affects 4th 5th, and 6th class counties and offers up to $6,000 towards each new job as incentives to the companies to hire rural folks to work online for them.

Friday, rural county commissioners and educators attended the Rural Caucus when I presented H.B. 390.  Afterward, UEA district representatives met with me to discuss it in more detail. We also discussed other possible solutions to supporting the economy in Rural Utah. I believe that children are this state’s most valuable export.

What Are My Bills?

Recently, I received word from some constituents asking me to take some time to describe in more detail what my legislation is. I would like to take a moment to share with you some of the details about bills that I am running and moving through the legislature.

H.B. 23, Office of Economic Development Amendments – This bill has already passed both chambers. It was a streamlining bill for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, which actually returned over $1 million to the State by removing positions that have fulfilled their intended purpose.
H.B. 33, Energy Producer States’ Agreement Amendments – This bill creates a team, made up of four legislators, to research during Interim the most efficient energy advancements. This creates the ability to converse with other states who have significant energy production to enable Utah to be aware of their best practices.
H.B. 89, Health Facility Licensing Amendments – This changes one line in code to allow the Bureau of of Health Facility Licensing to fingerprint their employees who are under the age of 18, who may be working in Health Care facilities which require it.
H.B. 188, Regulation of Out-of-state Distribution Electrical Cooperative Amendments – Many of our Rural areas near our borders are provided power through cooperatives that are headquartered outside of Utah. These companies currently have to abide by both state’s laws. This bill allows those from outside our state to offer their services to our citizens more efficiently by relieving their regulatory burden to file reports in only one state.
H.J.R. 1, Joint Resolution Urging Exemption from the Antiquities Act – This Joint Resolution is a request to the our federal legislation to exempt Utah from the Antiquities Act. I understand that the existing National Parks in Utah have benefited from this Act. However, I feel Utah has been taken advantage of by the designation of millions of acres in the Grand Staircase Escalante and Bears Ears designations. Receiving exemption would not stop any more monuments from being declared in Utah, but it would make it necessary for the Federal Government to work through local county officials and the legislature to get approval before being declared. This would be a bottom-up vs top-down approach. There are currently two states exempted already, Wyoming and Alaska.
H.J.R. 2, Joint Resolution Urging Congress to Relocate Federal Land Management Agency Headquarters – This resolution urges Congress to move Federal Land Management Offices to Utah. This is a very straight forward bill that would benefit Utah by having these agencies closer to the resources they manage. Offices like the Forest Service and Utah Department of Interior need to be able to be geographically near the land in order to prescribe the best care, rather than in Washington, D.C.
H.B. 390, Rural Economic Development Incentives – My final bill is one that I am excited to introduce. The Rural Economic Development Incentives program will support job growth in Rural Utah by incentivizing companies along the Wasatch Front to hire individuals from Rural Utah and offer incentives up to $6k for each new job they create by hiring rural folks to work online for them.

Education 
State dollars dedicated to education have grown at historic levels, since 2015. Education clearly is and has been a priority for the Utah State Legislature, so much so that in the past three years, K-12 funding has increased by more than $800 million – nearly 20 percent. In addition, the past two years, education spending accounted for the most significant portion of new money appropriated by the Utah Legislature.
This year is no exception; we will continue to prioritize education funding and aspire to do it without increasing the taxes of hard-working Utahns.
HB299 aims to dedicate approximately $700 million to public schools over the next three to four years, and do it in a way that directly and positively impacts teacher pay. This legislation would also prioritize funding for improved teacher training, metrics to ensure children meet reading standards by third grade and technology in the classroom.

Utah Represented at the White House Roundtable 
Speaker Greg Hughes represented Utah at the roundtable discussion on infrastructure, held at the White House, with President Donald Trump and governors, mayors and legislative leaders from around the country.
During the meeting, President Trump shared his initiative to rebuild our nation’s infrastructure by increasing local authority, eliminating unnecessary regulatory barriers, investing in rural economies and better preparing our workforce.
Utah will benefit from the proposal, as it assists in effectively and efficiently planning for future needs. Leaders in our state have routinely looked ahead to plan for the future, and we will continue this path moving forward as we prepare for growth and anticipated expanded infrastructure needs.

New House Member
Rep. Travis Seegmiller was administered the Oath of Office on February 14, becoming the newest member of the Utah House of Representatives. He was selected in a special election to fill the vacant seat in House District 62.