Legislation passes bills to raise salary for governor; find common ground on phone law

Legislation passes bills to raise salary for governor; find common ground on phone law

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SALT LAKE CITY — State Legislature met and passed a bill to raise the salary of the governor, which will trickle down to other elected officials. Lawmakers also started finding common ground on updating cell phone laws while driving.

Here are pieces of those stories along with highlights of other stories from the Legislature:

House approves pay raises for governor, other elected executives ================================================================

The House approved a bill Tuesday giving Utah's governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, auditor and treasurer their first significant pay increase since 2001.

HB368, sponsored by House Majority Assistant Whip Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, would boost the governor's salary from $109,900 to $150,000. The attorney general earns 95 percent of the governor's salary, and the other elected executives earn 90 percent.

Wilson said the increase, recommended by a state commission, is intended to ensure the salaries don't deter potential candidates in the private sector from running for office.

Lawmakers find common ground on changes to cellphone bill =========================================================

Lawmakers who have been engaged in a tug of war to either slacken or stiffen a texting and driving law passed last year have reached middle ground.

A Senate committee approved a legislative compromise Wednesday that would allow only single-touch or voice command cellphone use while driving. The bill would prohibit drivers from talking on hand-held cellphones.

Rep. Jacob Anderegg, R-Lehi, said he worked with Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, to reach agreement on competing bills that would alter last year’s distracted driving law, which prohibits manipulating a cellphone while operating a motor vehicle.

Urquhart initially sponsored a bill this year to allow only hands-free cellphone use, countering Anderegg’s attempts to pull back on parts of the 2014 law. But Anderegg said they’ve collaborated on HB63 and have agreed upon a bill that would tighten some elements of last year’s law, but also outline some exceptions to allow single-touch use.

Utah Senate narrowly endorses medical marijuana bill ====================================================

Though it raised serious questions, the Utah Senate narrowly endorsed a bill Tuesday that would legalize marijuana for medicinal use.

Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, touted SB259 as a measure for "freedom and compassion" during a late-evening Senate debate. He called medical cannabis a less toxic alternative to addictive opioids and said it would save lives.

Madsen had to withstand a barrage of body blows from his colleagues before they passed the bill 16-13 in a preliminary vote. It will be up for a final vote later this week.

Some senators said they sympathize with people who suffer from illnesses that marijuana might ease, but making it legal is too big of a policy change for the state.

"I can't really believe were even discussing this in Utah," said Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden.

Pilot program would allow teachers to work year-round =====================================================

Lawmakers approved a bill Tuesday to create a pilot program that would allow Utah teachers to teach year-round instead of being unemployed each summer.

Schools and teachers that choose to participate in the pilot program outlined in SB285 would operate on three semesters instead of two. Students would be able to choose which two semesters they would like to attend school.

The bill also proposes to increase salaries for teachers in participating schools by 50 percent because they would be working 50 percent more of the time. But the change would save the state money on teachers' health insurance benefits, which are paid even when the teacher isn't working, according to bill sponsor Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper.

Bill clarifying parental rights in education gets OK from Senate ================================================================

A bill giving further clarity to parents' right to opt their children out of testing and excuse them from school was approved by the Utah Senate on Wednesday.

SB204 would allow parents to excuse their children from "any summative, interim or formative test that is not locally developed," as well as any federally- or state-mandated test by only submitting a written request to school leaders.

The bill would also allow parents to excuse their student from school for family or medical reasons so long as they notify the school one day in advance and that the student agrees to make up the coursework that is missed.

Utah Senate panel approves bill restricting young people from smoke shops =========================================================================

A Senate committee gave preliminary approval to a bill Monday to prohibit Utahns under age 19 from entering specialty smoke shops without a parent or legal guardian.

HB131, sponsored by Rep. Kraig Powell, R-Heber City, advanced through the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee with little discussion and a 5-0 vote.

Senate advances bill to improve juvenile drug and alcohol correctional system =============================================================================

A Utah lawmaker says while there’s no doubt drugs and alcohol can set youths on a spiraling trajectory, the state’s laws don't help as much as they should.

Kayla Memmott, a University of Utah graduate student studying social work, said she’s seen how Utah's criminal system hinders minors who are snared by alcohol or drugs.

Rather than encouraging a better path, the current system instills hopelessness in these youths' minds, Memmott said.

“Getting that label of a criminal very early on is huge,” she said. “It impacts their personal lives, it impacts their way of thinking, and it almost traps them in the criminal system.”

Bill proposing more math for high school students moves to House ================================================================

Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, wants to see fewer students taking remedial math courses in college.

The former president of Weber State University said 40 percent of students have to take a refresher course before entering college-level math, and Utah has 12,000 students enrolled in those remedial courses each year.

"After financial issues, math is probably the second-biggest reason that our students don't stay in college and don't complete college," Millner said. "This is an issue we need to address, and I think we need to build a partnership between the (Utah State) Board of Regents and public education in order to be able to do this."

[Bill to allow voting 'selfies' passes Utah Senate, awaits governor approval ===========================================================================](<http://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=33700713&nid=757&title=bill-to-allow-voting-selfies-passes-utah-senate-awaits-governor-approval target=>)

The Utah Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would grant Utahns the lawful right to snap “selfies” with their voting ballots.

While current Utah law prohibits people from photographing marked ballots, HB72 would eliminate the provision that makes it a crime to take pictures of a person’s own ballot.

If signed into law, it will allow individuals to take and distribute photographs of their own marked ballots.

Lawmakers support move of Utah Air National Guard to Hill Air Force Base ========================================================================

A House committee approved a resolution Monday that urges support for moving Utah Air National Guard operations to Hill Air Force Base.

Moving operations from the east side of Salt Lake City International Airport to Hill Air Force Base would allow opportunities to expand and better fulfill state and national security missions, said resolution sponsor Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem.

“This could create greater efficiencies and make Hill Air force Base an even stronger member of our national defense,” Peterson said.

Lawmakers charged the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force in 2012 to compile a study of the Air Force to decide how to best fulfill its current and future tasks, and Peterson said HCR10 resulted from the study’s recommendations.

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