2018 Utah Legislative Session
Week 3 Summary
Week 3 of the 2018 General Session of the Utah State Legislature is in the books. Thank you so much for all of your support. It is truly an honor to represent the great residents of District 33. Just a few highlights from the week:
Special Events at the Capitol
- Granger SBO President and Pastor Vinetta Giving the Pledge and the Prayer at the House of Represenatives
Every couple of years, the Representatives have a chance to choose a member of their local community to lead the Pledge of Allegiance and give the prayer to open the day.
Granger High School Student Body President Joseph Alvarez led us in the Pledge and Pastor Vinnetta Golphin-Wilkerson, from Granger Community Christian Church, gave an amazing prayer. Thanks to the two of them for being willing to do this! They were amazing.
- Aerospace Day on the Hill
Almost every day, we have different groups and industries visit us on the Hill. This week many of the aerospace companies from throughout the State came to visit. Thanks for coming!
- Bipartisan Clean Air Caucus
I am part of a bipartisan group of legislators (both democrats and republicans) that is extremely concerned about our air quality. We are actively searching for ways to make a difference. As a group, we have proposed about a dozen air quality bills ranging in proposals from reducing car emissions to funding more research. There's obviously much more work to be done in this regard. Thanks to everyone who has reached out to me on this issue. Here are some photos from the press conference this last week. See articles here:
2018 Legislation
This last week we continued the process of voting on non-budget bills. Of course, you can always watch the new reports. But the best way to track any legislation is at the Legislature's website at
http://le.utah.gov. Here are a few of the more interesting bills that were discussed this last week:
- The Senate gave final approval to a measure seeking to cut back on the number of days Utahns can set off fireworks. The bill now goes to the governor's desk. [Trib]
- A bill that would make it clear that it's legal for mothers to breastfeed in public advanced on Thursday. [Trib]
- Proposed legislation would ensure that police officers could not have arrest or ticket quotas. [Trib] [KUTV]
- Utah lawmakers passed a bill that says parents are not neglectful if they allow mature children to do things by themselves, such as walk to school or play at the park. [Trib] [DNews]
- The Utah House Revenue and Taxation Committee endorsed a bill Wednesday that would get rid of the state sales tax on unprepared food. [Trib] [DNews]
- Legislators have proposed about a dozen air quality bills ranging in proposals from reducing car emissions to funding more research. [Trib]
- Lawmakers passed a resolution backing another bid for Utah to host the Winter Olympic Games in either 2026 or 2030 [Deseret News]
Visits to the Capitol!
One of our State's treasures is the State Capitol building. And visiting during the legislative session is the best time of year to visit. Lots of action happening every day. I would love to give your family / school group / church group / etc. a behind-the-scenes tour of the State Capitol. Give me a call/email and we'll make it happen.
Rep. Hall's Legislation
I have several bills this session, here are a few:
- HB43 - Blood Testing Amendments - PASSED! - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House 72-0 and passed the Senate 26-0.
This bill was prompted from the encounter we saw over the summer between a law enforcement officer and a University of Utah nurse. The bill was worked on extensively over the last several months and would require a law enforcement officer to secure a warrant before they get a blood draw. Here's an article regarding this bill: [
SLTrib]
- HB92 - Utah Vital Statistics Act Amendment - PASSED! - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House Health and Human Services Committee 13-0. Passed the floor of the House 74-0 and the floor of the House 24-0.
This was a bill brought to me by the Utah Health Department. If an out-of-state individual dies in Utah, a Utah death certificate must be issued. However, if that out-of-state family uses an out-of-state funeral home, there have been some difficulties getting the death certificate signed. This bill resolves this issue.
- HB113 - Candidate Filing Amendments - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House 67-0. Should be heard in front of the full Senate sometime this next week.
This bill fixes the situation we saw in the race for Congressional District 4 this last fall. One candidate wanted to file for office, but he was in China teaching a class during the filing period. He called the Lt. Gov's office and asked how he could file. He was told he could not file because the statute says he must file "in person."
This bill allows an individual who is out of state to file remotely through the use of a audio/video connection. This is a no-brainer bill that provides more access to the ballot.
- HB133 - Employment Amendments - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Has been assigned to the House Business and Labor Committee.
Think it's a good idea for government employees to hire and/or supervise their dating partner? Me neither. This would prevent such situation. See story
here. Should be heard in committee sometime this week.
Government employees who commit a crime in the course and scope of their government employment lose retirement benefits starting the inception of their crime. Occasionally, it's not the employer who catches this conduct, but rather an investigation by law enforcement or an audit by an outside agency.
This bill simply makes clear that the outside agency can notify the Utah Retirement System of the employee conduct and participate in any further investigations.
In addition to the federal Constitution, the Utah Constitution protects "persons, houses, papers and effects" from unreasonable searches and seizures. My proposed constitutional amendment would specifically add the same protection for "electronic data and communications." It would simply ensure that such information is protected unless law enforcement shows probable cause and obtains a warrant.
Town Hall Meetings!
We have held two Town Hall meetings so far this year (January 27 and February 6). Thanks to those who attended!. I have one more Town Hall meetings scheduled during the legislative session. The third Town Hall meeting will be at West Valley Library (2800 West 3650 South).
- Saturday, February 24, 2018, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Hope to see you there!
Please return your survey!
I have mailed a survey to constituents within District 33. The answers you provide to these survey questions are invaluable. Please, please, please fill it out and return! (Below is a photo of some of the paper surveys that have been returned!). I am very interested in your perspectives. Your comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated. You can also take the survey online at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RepHall2018 if you prefer that method. Thank you so much!
Ways to Contact Representative Hall
I make a concerted effort to reach out to all of my constituents. For that reason, I use as many different forms of communication as possible. Most of you have received mail from me. I also have frequent town hall meetings (more on that above). You can follow me online at
www.votecraighall.com. For even more frequent updates, you can follow me on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/votecraighall and/or on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/hcraighall. You are also welcome to call my cell phone anytime. (801) 573-1774. I will be in many meetings throughout the legislative session, so if I don't answer right away, feel free to leave me a message and I'll try to call back as soon as possible. I will also be sending out regular updates via email. Probably the quickest way to get ahold of me is by email. My legislative email address is
chall@le.utah.gov.
Thanks for your support. Contact me anytime.
Read all previous email newsletters here:
http://bit.ly/YJCYy1
Representative Craig Hall
Legislative email:
chall@le.utah.gov
Personal email:
hcraighall@yahoo.com
Website:
www.votecraighall.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/votecraighall
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/hcraighall
Cell phone: (801) 573-1774
