Following the Utah Legislature 3/05/09

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Thursday, March 5, 2009

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY

Just one more week to go in the session. Committee meetings are over, with a couple of exceptions. So today House floor time will be 8 AM to noon and 2 to 5 PM. Senate sessions are from 9 AM to noon and from 2 to 5 PM.

TWO COMMITTEES meetiat 7:30 THIS MORNING in Room 20:

The RETIREMENT AND INDEPENDENT ENTITIES INTERIM COMMITTEE meets to review a proposal to create a new independent entity: the Utah-Generated Renewable Energy Electricity Network Authority.
The SENATE RETIREMENT AND INDEPENDENT ENTITIES COMMITTEE will consider Second Substitute SB 76 and Substitute HB 211. SB 76 amends definitions and provisions regarding energy production in the Public Utilities section of Utah law.
HB 211 requires an annual report of investment of Utah retirement funds in Iran’s petroleum sector. Some of those companies are subject to sanctions under the federal Iran Action Act of 1996.

ON THE FLOOR: On Thursdays, to start off, the House works on Senate bills while the Senate works on House Bills.

IN THE HOUSE
Two circled bills are on its Senate list. SB 64 would give the Administrative Rules Committee new power, in addition to its oversight of state agencies to be sure that the rules they make to administer a law comply with the intent of the law. Under SB 64 it could also review any legislative appropriation to see if the state agency that received the money was spending it as the Legislature intended.
Substitute SCR 3 is a resolution expressing support for the work of the Utah Council on Financial and Economic Education towards increasing financial literacy of the citizens of the state.

Later the HOUSE may continue debate on two bills they voted down once but decided to reconsider. One is Second Substitute HB 187 which is about use of streams on private property by fishermen and other sportsmen. Substitute HB 145, concerning the accuracy of workplace drug testing programs, was also recalled for reconsideration.

IN THE SENATE
The Senate votes twice on every bill. House Bills it approved once yesterday are on what’s called Third Reading for another vote today. On the list are HB 222 ,the Unborn Child Pain Prevention Act ,and HB 122. HB 122 is a GRAMA bill that requires requests for access to public records to show by a "preponderance of the evidence" that the public interest favoring access outweighs the interest in favoring restriction of access, a much more difficult standard for citizens to meet than simply balancing the interests of the two sides.
When the Senate turns to the Second Reading calendar, they’ll find HB 140, which would increase vehicle registration fees by $2 to avoid losing Highway Patrol troopers to budget cuts, and Substitute HB 126, requiring voter ID on Election Day.


WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

IN HOUSE WORKFORCE SERVICES AND COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, Rep Garn presented HB 430, which creates Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) with the approval of local government, which would provide property tax incentives, and the state, which would provide tax credits. The projects must generate Utah jobs and tax revenue. All tax credits must be based on performance.
Derrick Miller, Managing Director of Corporate Recruitment and State Incentives in the Governor's Office of Economic Development, explained that the bill is important to maintain Utah's competitiveness. The focus is on manufacturing within the growing renewable energy (RE) sector, including manufacture of wind turbines, solar panels, etc. Companies would have to be approved by the Governor’s office.
He said our current incentive program is not competitive with other states. We've been losing jobs to Colorado and Oregon. There are companies at the door waiting for Utah to pass this bill. HB 430 passed unanimously and is # 20 on the House debate calendar.

HOUSE REVENUE AND TAXATION gave unanimous approval to HB 378, a bill that increases the property tax “circuitbreaker.” That’s the sliding scale property tax credit available to renters and homeowners with household incomes below $26,941. People who claim the credit could increase it by subtracting from their household income $1000 for each of two dependents. The cost to the General Fund would be about $121,300 in 2010.

IN THE HOUSE and SENATE

The House added their approval to two Senate ethics bills. SB 156 by Senator Bell will increase the number of gifts to legislators worth more than $25, including meals and sporting events, that lobbyists will have to report, making them more transparent to public view. SB 162 by Senator Valentine will disallow personal use of leftover campaign funds by elected officials after they leave office.

To return the favor, the SENATE approved three House Health Care Reform bills, Substitute House Bills 165, 188, and 331. Senators highly praised them as a first step that increases flexibility and transparency in the health insurance market, with more choice for consumers including portable, lower cost policies that cover less. They said the next steps should be to make provider costs and outcomes transparent in order to put consumers in the driver’s seat. Cost control and integrating Medicaid, Medicare and self-insured large companies into the reforms were on their “to do” list as well.

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