2024 - My Legislation
SB2 - Public Education Budget Amendments - This bill is for funding Utah’s Public Education. It is the main budget appropriations bill for K-12 Public Education. As Senate Chair of the Public Education Appropriations Sub-Committee, I am the Sponsor. - Passed the Senate 25-1-3, Pass House 66-3-6, Signed by Governor
SB12 – Property Tax Deferral Amendments - Makes minor changes to the property tax deferral program that will roll out statewide this year to address ease of administration. - Passed Full Senate 27-0-2, Passed House Revenue and Taxation Committee 10-0-3, Passed Full House 71-0-4, Signed by Governor
SB13 – Education Entity Amendments - Creates standards for cities and counties to set fire, food, safety, and parking requirements for "Micro Schools," which are small groups of home schools who cooperate in a home or storefront. - Passed Senate Education Committee 5-0-4, Passed Full Senate 23-5-1, Passed House Education Committee 10-0-5, Passed Full House 63-6-6, Signed by Governor
SB37 - Election Law Revisions - The Office of Legislative Reseach and General Council is the Legislature’s non-partisan legal council. This bill clarifies that heir assessment of current law is that they cannot talk to any of the legislators regarding the wording of a Constitutional Amendment which the Legislature has voted to place on the ballot. Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 6-0-2, Passed Full Senate 20-6-3, Passed House Business and Labor Committee 10-1-5, Passed Full House 54-15-6, Signed by Governor
SB44 – Alternative Education Scholarship Combination – Consolidates the two state scholarship programs for students with special needs into one and matches the standards with other scholarship program. - Passed Senate Education Committee 5-1-3, Passed Full Senate 20-8-1, Passed House Education Committee 10-0-5, Passed Full House 64-7-4, Signed by Governor
SB54 – Property Tax Refund Amendments - When property tax is disputed and then sold before the dispute is resolved, this addresses who gets any tax refund--the person who paid the tax. - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 7-0-1, Passed Full Senate 28-0-1, Passed House Revenue and Taxation Committee 9-0-4, Passed Full House 71-0-4, Signed by Governor
SB59 – Government Leased Property Tax Exemption - When government leases an entire building, rather than buying it, it will treat that as owned property for purposes of taxation for the period of the lease. - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 4-0-4, Passed Full Senate 25-0-4, Passed House Revenue and Taxation Committee 8-0-5, Pass Full House 58-9-8, Signed by Governor
SB62 – Dog Related Liability Amendments - Extends by one year the sunset date for legal action in the event of a dog bite that results in injury to make it consistent with other similar laws. - Passed Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee 3-0-3, Passed Full Senate 29-0-0, Passed House Judiciary Committee 9-0-3, Failed Full House 15-60-0
SB64 – Effective Teachers in High Poverty School Incentive Program Amendments - Provides additional incentive for Utah's best teachers to teach Utah's most vulnerable students. - Passed Senate Education Committee 5-0-4, Passed Full Senate 29-0-0, Passed House Education Committee 8-0-7, Passed Full House 72-0-3, Signed by Governor
SB65 – Online Student Funding Amendments - Fixes a loophole in state law exposed by the growth of online students, so that such students, who attend virtually, do not generate matching funds that are designed to pay for school buildings. - Passed Senate Education Committee 8-0-1, Passed Full Senate 27-0-2, Passed House Education Committee 10-0-5, Passed Full House 68-0-7, Signed by Governor
SB86 – Local Government Bond Amendments - Ensures that local governments follow the Constitution when issuing long-term debt, closing a loophole that many have used by creating a separate entity to get around the legal requirement that voters approve long-term debt. - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 8-0-0, Passed Full Senate 19-5-5, Passed House Revenue and Taxation Committee 8-1-4, Passed Full House 43-23-9, Signed by Governor
SB93 - School Climate Data Amendments - The current school climate survey asks questions that do not provide good data for school boards and parents. This bill will change the approach so that we get actually useful data that regulators, educators, and parents can use.
SB97 - Process and Facilities Amendments - Ensures that publicly viewed portions of the State Capitol remain politically neutral. It's the people’s house, not the legislators'. - Passed Senate Rules Standing Committee 6-0-3, Passed Full Senate 29-0-0, Passed House Rules Committee 6-0-1, Passed Full House 72-0-3, Signed by Governor
SB121 - Long-term Educational Achievement Program - Creates a pilot program modeled after a successful program in Granite School District. It aims to remove barriers that student behavior and government/bureaucracy impose that make teachers less effective and less willing to continue teaching. It does a few important things: 1 - Creates a process for high schools with less than 85% graduation rate and their feeder schools with over 50% low-income students where schools can partner with a city and/or non-profit (most are non-profits) to help students with issues hindering their success. This allows educators to concentrate on education while other organizations that already exist concentrate on other factors affecting their education success. 2 - It introduces an alternative teacher evaluation process that engages educators, prioritizes their professional development, and removes one factor over which they have no control by removing chronically absentee students from evaluation. 3 - It provides teachers with more autonomy in how they spend their training dollars. 4 - It removes barriers to dealing with classroom behavior issues by removing the threat of action from the federal government based on federal guidance rather than actual legal limits. - Passed Senate Education Committee 6-1-2, Passed Full Senate 22-0-7
SB137 - Teacher Empowerment - Empowers teachers in their classroom when it comes to student behavior in classrooms and remove bureaucratic burdens that get in the way of their teaching. - Passed Senate Education Committee 6-0-3, Passed Full Senate 26-0-3, Passed House Education Committee 10-0-5, Passed Full House 70-0-5, Signed by Governor
SB168 - House Affordability Amendments - Setting policy and funding related to housing and land-use. - As Chair of the Commission on Housing Affordability, I carry two bills each year, one policy related and one funding related. - Passed Seante Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee 25-0-4, Passed Full Senate 25-0-4, Passed House Government Operations Committee 9-0-4, Passed Full House 66-1-6, Signed by Governor
SB173 - Market Informed Compensation for Teachers - Creates a program to pay our best teachers bonuses. The bonuses would be tiered with $10,000 going to the top 5% of teachers, $5,000 for the next 6% to 10%, and $2,000 going to the next 11% to 25%. Teachers in high poverty schools would receive double the bonus. School Districts will define the criteria for use in their schools. - Passed Senate Education Committee 5-1-3, Passed Full Senate 21-6-2, Passed Full House 40-32-3, Signed by Governor
SB217 - School District Bonding Amendments - Requires school districts to disclose the amount of outstanding debt each year and anytime they are seeking to borrow additional money. (Currently, there are no timelines for disclosure.) - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 4-0-4, Passed Full Senate 21-1-7, Passed House Education Committee 9-0-6, Passed Full House 70-0-5, Signed by Governor
SB245 - County Sales and Use Tax Amendments - Salt Lake County voters have imposed a ZAP tax on themselves in 2014. That tax will soon be up for renewal or defeat. The legislature is the one tasked with allocating those taxes between Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary, and the Living Planet Aquarium. The zoo currently gets 62% of that tax, while the aquarium only gets 28%. The Living Planet Aquarium has grown significantly both in size and attendance, so this bill allocates the growth in the ZAP tax to the aquarium to more accurately reflect that difference. - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 5-1-2, Passed Full Senate 26-0-3 Passed Full House 73-1-1, Signed by Governor
SCR1 – Concurrent Resolution Recognizing School Support Staff - The legislature has dedicated funding and praise for teachers in recent years. This resolution will provide recognition for school support staff (lunch workers, custodians, teachers aides, etc.) and encourage districts to ensure that those positions are properly supported and compensated. - Passed Senate Education Committee 6-0-3, Passed Full Senate 29-0-0, Passed House Education Committee 9-0-6, Passed Full House 71-0-4, Signed by Governor
SCR3 – Concurrent Resolution Supporting Major League Baseball in Utah - Supports efforts to bring a Major League Baseball team to Utah. - Passed Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee 6-0-0, Passed Full Senate 26-3-0, Passed House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee 9-0-1, Passed Full House 68-2-5, Signed by Governor
SJR3 – Joint Resolution Concerning the Success Sequence - Asks the State Board of Education to find where "The Success Sequence" can fit in the secondary school curriculum so that students learn repeatedly the steps they can take to live a life out of poverty - Passed Senate Education Committee 5-0-4, Passed Full Senate 21-4-4, Passed House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee 7-2-1, Passed Full House 64-5-6, Does not require signature of the Governor
SJR4 – Proposal to Amend Utah’s Constitution – Effective Dates of Legislation Bill Requests - Addresses a simple inconsistency in Constitutional interpretation. Does legislation take effect on the 60th day? Or "after" the 60th day? This will clarify so that everyone has the same understanding and it's clear in the event of disputes or litigation. - Passed Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee 3-0-3, Passed Full Senate 29-0-0, Does not require signature of the Governor
SJR16 - Joint Resolution Regarding Local Government Employee Compensation - Encourages local governments to follow the state's policy of keeping employee compensation for employees in the event that the cost of the public retirement program goes down. In short, it keeps employees whole as the system's unfunded liability is paid down. - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 4-0-4, Passed Full Senate 23-0-6, Passed House Education Committee 8-0-7, Passed Full House 73-0-2, Does not require signature of the Governor
Co-Sponsored Bills
SB69 - Income Tax Amendments - Sen. Chris Wilson - Reduces Utah’s Income Tax Rate from 4.65% to 4.55%, which marks the fourth year in a row the Legislature has reduced the tax burden on Utah citizens. - Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 7-1-0, Passed Full Senate 23-6-0, Passed House Revenue and Taxation Committee 5-2-6, Passed Full House 63-11-1, Signed by Governor
Floor Sponsored Bills
HB22 - Concurrent Enrollment Revisions - Adds a qualifying apprenticeship to the Prime Scholarship program and changed the scholarship amount to divide the total amount appropriated by the number of students qualifying for the scholarship. - House Sponsor Rep. Val Peterson - Passed Education Interim Committee 17-0-3, Passed Full House 74-0-1, Passed Senate Education Committee 5-0-4, Passed Full Senate 28-0-1, Signed by Governor
HB66 - Property Tax Relief Amendments - There is currently not enough money in the Property Tax Circuit Breaker program for all the people who currently quality. This bill changes what is counted as income for applicants so the program is targeted at the people who need it more. - House Sponsor Rep. Phil Lyman - Passed Revenue and Taxation Interim Committee 13-0-5, Pass Full House 69-0-6, Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 5-0-3, Passed Full Senate 25-0-4, Signed by Governor
HB121 - Educator Background Check Amendments - In light of the difficultly in finding substitute teachers and coaches, this bill exempts them from paying for their own background check and has the District or Charter School pay it for them. - House Sponsor Rep. Trevor Lee - Passed House Education Committee 10-2-3, Passed Full House 61-9-5, Passed Senate Education Committee 4-0-5, Passed Full Senate 27-0-2, Signed by Governor
HB155 - Changes to Fireworks Provisions - Allows Utah businesses who sell fireworks to sell locally for permitted shows in Utah (like shows after a sports event) rather than purchasing fireworks out of state. It also authorized them to sell online to out-of-state customers where fireworks are legal. - House Sponsor Rep. Matt MacPherson - Passed House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee 10-0-0, Passed Full House 60-12-3, Passed Senate Business and Labor Committee 5-0-3, Passed Full Senate 24-4-1, Signed by Governor
HB167 - Education Innovation Program Amendments - Makes minor changes to this wonderful program by letting funds to be used over multiple years, changes some class size requirements that were inhibiting the program’s use in rural schools, and does some advertising through the existing ULEAD resource organization. - House Sponsor Rep. Douglas Welton - Passed House Education Committee 11-0-4, Passed Full House 72-0-3, Passed Senate Education Committee 7-0-2, Passed Full House 25-0-4, Signed by Governor
HB172 - Immigrant Student Athlete Participation Amendments - Puts in place the option for students to use alternative forms of identification to participate in sports when circumstances, for instance being unhoused, prevent access to traditional forms of identification. - House Sponsor Rep. Jordan Teuscher - Passed House Education Committee 9-0-6, Passed Full House 71-0-4, Passed Senate Education Committee 6-0-3, Passed Full Senate 22-0-7, Signed by Governor
HB208 - Teacher Licensure Amendments - Broadening teacher licensure options to give the State Board rule making authority in what training and qualifications to accept rather than the universities/colleges. House Sponsor Rep. Norman Thurston - Passed House Education Committee 10-1-4, Passed Full House 56-10-9, Passed Senate Education Committee 5-1-3, Passed Full Senate 16-10-3, Signed by Governor
HB284 - Initiative Amendments - Increases the threshold for statewide initiatives that raise taxes to 60%. House Sponsor Rep. Jason Kyle - Passed House Government Operations Committee 7-3-3, Passed Full House 54-20-1, Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 5-3-0
HB289 - Property Rights Ombudsman Amendments - If the City does not approve an application for a property owner to develop their property and the property owner believes the application has been denied in conflict with State Law, the property owner can go to the Property Rights Ombudsman to help solve the dispute. This bill allows a judge to award damages to a property owner if, after a favorable finding from the Ombudsman, the City still does not comply. - House Sponsor Rep. Kera Birkland - Passed House Judiciary Committee 8-2-2, Passed Full House 47-21-7, Passed Senate Business and Labor Committee 5-0-3, Passed Full Senate 28-0-1, Signed by Governor
HB331 - School and Classroom Amendments - Requires the State School Board to create rules regarding toilet training for Kindergarteners. - House Sponsor Douglas Welton - Passed House Education Committee 11-0-4, Passed Full House 65-0-10, Passed Senate Education Committee 5-0-4, Passed Full Senate 24-0-5, Signed by Governor
HB347 - Educational Rights Amendments - Works to ensure that schools are meeting their obligation to all students to provide an environment where teachers, staff, and students, are all safe from serious physical harm or sexual misconduct. It also allows for a student to be removed from a class for dangerous outbursts rather than having the rest of the class leave the classroom or have class repeatedly cancelled - House Sponsor Rep. Raymond Ward - Passed House Education Committee 8-2-5, Passed Full House 69-0-6, Passed Senate Education Committee 5-0-4, Passed Full Senate 24-0-5, Signed by Governor
HB355 - Residential Rental Modifications
HB419 - Charter School Funding Amendments
HB420 - School Code of Conduct Protections
HB465 - Housing Affordability Revisions - This bill was recommended by the Commission on Housing Affordability, where I am the Senate Chair. Our priority has been market-based solutions rather than government subsidies. We spent several months bringing a wide variety of interests together in collaboration to help align state resources, policies and tools around affordable homeownership and housing affordability, specifically focusing on owner occupied homes. It focuses RDA’s and CIA’s on home ownership, clarifies how low-income tax credit can be used, and works to rehabilitate and enhance affordable housing projects through property investments. - It House Sponsor Rep. Stephen Whyte - Passed House Government Operations Committee 7-2-4, Passed Full House 65-1-9, Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 8-0-0, Passed Full Senate 25-0-4, Signed by Governor
HB476 - Municipal Land Use Regulation Modifications - This bill also brough many diverse interests together with the focus of increasing homeownership through market-based solutions by increasing efficiency and clarifying ambiguities in current law. - House Sponsor Rep. Stephen Whyte - Passed House Political Subdivisions Committee 10-0-1, Passed Full House 63-7-5, Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 8-0-0, Passed Full Senate 20-5-4, Signed by Governor
HB499 - Education Reporting Amendments - Part of a multi-year effort to reduce the burden of administrative reporting for our schools and improve the accuracy of data, while maintaining appropriate oversight. - House Sponsor Rep. Susan Pulsipher - Passed House Education Committee 12-0-3, Passed Full House 65-0-10, Passed Senate Transportation, Public Utilites, Energy and Technology Committee 4-0-3, Passed Full Senate 28-0-1, Signed by Governor
HB562 - Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District - The Miller Family offered to pump $3.5 Billion into restore three key Utah assets: The State Fairpark, The Jordan River, and the West Side of our Capitol City. This project will transform land that is currently unproductive and home to a great deal of criminal activity into an economic, social, and cultural gem. This bill takes $0 from our budget and any taxes associated with this development are post-performance, generated by the growth in property and sales tax in the are being revitalized. The only other tax is on rental cars, which is only triggered if an MLB expansion team signs a contract with Salt Lake City. Utah residents will be able to avoid paying this tax by filling a form when renting a car. - House Sponsor Rep. Ryan Wilcox - Passed House Government Operations Committee 8-2-3, Passed Full House 51-21-3, Passed Full Senate 25-4-0, Signed by Governor
HCR7 - Concurrent Resolution Encouraging Repeal of the Jones Act - The Jones Act is a very old, very restrictive federal law that drives up transportation costs and hurts the environment. This resolution calls on the federal government to repeal it. - House Sponsor Rep. Norman Thurston - Passed House Public Utilities, Energy, and Technology Committee 9-0-2, Passed Full House 67-0-8, Passed Senate Business and Labor Committee 5-0-3, Passed Full Senate 24-0-5, Signed by Governor
HJR3 - Joint Resolution Regarding Higher Education Accreditation - House Sponsor Rep. Douglas Welton - Passed the House Education Committee 7-2-6, Passed Full House 57-13-5, Passed Senate Education Committee 4-0-5, Failed Full Senate 11-17-1
HJR14 - Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Statewide Initiatives - This would have changed the threshold to pass a statewide initiative to raise taxes to 60%. - House Sponsor Rep. Jason Kyle - Passed House Government Operations Committee 7-3-3, Passed Full House 54-20-1, Passed Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee 5-3-0