Air quality, health care, guns dominate talk on Utah's Capitol Hill


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SALT LAKE CITY — This week marks the halfway point for the 2013 Utah Legislative Session.

There are hundreds of bills proposed at the Legislature this year, and already a few of them have emerged as headliners. Soon those will transition to other important business.

Air quality is one of the major issues on the Hill. There are proposals to do things like stiffer controls on emission standards, encouraging public transportation and having the state take a leadership role.


All our state agencies need to be doing all they can to improve our air quality.

–Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Cottonwood Heights


"All our state agencies need to be doing all they can to improve our air quality," said Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Cottonwood Heights. "Whether we're telecommuting, more people riding mass transit, etc."

Guns are another hot topic. Most of the bills proposed on this issue do more to strengthen 2nd Amendment rights.

Gov. Gary Herbert has said he won't support any "message bill" that inflames, rather than informs, the discussion. Many of those bills haven't come up for a hearing yet, but that will change Wednesday when at least seven firearms-related bills will be presented back to back.

It's going to be down to the wire for the state budget for those in the chamber. The governor proposed a $12.8-billion budget. Public education growth will get $300 million of that.

The question is: how much will the federal government send — or not send — to Utah.

"The real challenge we have is... we don't know if it's going to happen," said Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. "If it's going to happen, what exactly will the impact be?"


I would say (health care) is the number one issue up on the hill this year. They need to get into the debate sooner rather than later.

–Judi Hilman, Utah Health Policy Project


Unfinished bills at this halfway point include ethics reform and limits on campaign contributions. Lawmakers still haven't addressed the governor's proposal to boost college graduation rate to 66 percent by 2020.

When it comes to health care, there are bills to expand insurance coverage to kids with autism, as well as examine oral chemotherapy. Lawmakers are waiting for recommendations about expanding Medicaid coverage that could offer health care to a large portion of the state's 400,000 uninsured.

"I would say it is the number one issue up on the hill this year," said Judi Hilman with the Utah Health Policy Project. "They need to get into the debate sooner rather than later."

Between that and the budget, there are some heavy-duty issues waiting in the wings of the Capitol. Any bill that requires more money this year is subject to change since things are so tight.

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UtahPolitics
Richard Piatt

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