Tuesday, January 29, 2008

MORNING COMMITTEES

Bills in the HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE Tuesday include HB86, which appropriates $1.5 million for institutions of higher learning who provide post-secondary education to prison inmates. Inmates would pay some tuition to help offset costs. HB241 would repeal the exemption from nonresident tuition for
undocumented students who enter state institutions of higher education after May 1st. Currently, to be eligible for the exemption the student must have attended high school for three or more years in Utah and graduated or received the equivalent of a high school diploma.

HOUSE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES are looking at HB17, which would expand the Health Department's breast cancer screening program to include cervical, colorectal and other cancers. An appropriation of $2.3 million would subsidize screening and education. Also in HHS, HB119 proposes a pilot program to allow pharmacies, pharmaceutical facilities, and physicians to enter and access information in a controlled substance database in real time. This would help them track substance abusers who get controlled substance prescriptions from multiple sources.

THIS AFTERNOON

HOUSE REVENUE AND TAXATION meets at 3:30 to review proposals for property tax relief.

HOUSE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE will debate HB239, which would expire all driving privilege cards on December 31, 2008 and prohibit the Driver License Division from issuing any more of them.

HOUSE NATURAL RESOURCES, AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENT will debate HB40, which authorizes cities and counties to adopt ordinances to protect drinking water sources. HB104 appropriates $500,000 to plan and develop urban trails. And HB117 authorizes a fishing group to temporarily change
a water right for instream flow to protect trout habitat. HB143 would authorize the State water Engineer to enter into an agreement with another state regarding an interstate surface water source.

HOUSE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS will consider HCR2, a resolution declaring February 6, 2008, Ronald Reagan Day, and HB283, which enacts a compact between the states to elect the president and vice president of the United States by popular vote. Under the U.S. Constitution, States control their
electoral votes and could agree to cast them for whichever candidate received the most popular votes nationwide. The compact would not take effect until enough states representing a majority of all electoral votes signed on.

For more information, visit your legislature — in person or online at
www.le.utah.gov/

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

Yesterday the HOUSE REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE passed HB106 - Clean Air and Efficient Vehicle Tax Incentives - by a vote of 10 to 2. Now Representative Roz McGee's bill will go to the House floor, where it passed last year but then got stuck in the Senate Rules Committee. It often takes more than one legislative session to pass good bills.

As we mentioned yesterday, the bill authorizes a $1,000 tax credit for new vehicles (including hybrids) that meet air quality and fuel economy guidelines set by the EPA. A credit of $2,500 for conversion of a vehicle to run on clean fuel such as natural gas is also in the bill.

The SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE passed SB61, a plan to improve financial literacy education for high school students. Skills such as budgeting, balancing a checkbook, saving and investing, rights and responsibilities of buying a home, loans and borrowing money, insurance and taxes would be studied. The program would be optional, but student mastery would be tracked and reported back to the Education Interim Committee. The need for more financial literacy is recognized by most people in this time of
sub-prime loan scams, costly health insurance and identity theft. Unfortunately not all kids learn much about financial matters at home and the schools are being asked to fill in.

SENATE BUSINESS AND LABOR passed SB132, which should strengthen the Attorney General's ability to enforce protection of consumers' credit records against the loss of personal information such as Social Security numbers, account numbers and passwords. Businesses are required by law to protect those records but sometimes fail to do so. The Attorney General's subpoena power and access to company records would be increased by SB132. Alleged violators would have to pay $500, or more if needed, to cover the cost of copying and providing records to the AG. If they failed to pay they could lose their license to do business in Utah.

Energy and environmental bills are gradually beginning to show up on Committee agendas. Today the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee considers HB104, which appropriates $500,000 to plan and develop urban trails. HB117 would authorize fishing groups to
temporarily change a water right to allow instream flow, keeping water in the stream to protect trout habitat.

Sandy Peck
League of Women Voters