Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Teacher pay: outcomes based compensationA bill that would give teachers raises based on their performance and their students' performance was passed by Senate Education Standing Committee 4-3.
SB67, sponsored by Senator Stuart Adams provides a model on which to evaluate teachers and then increase their salaries based on their evaluation. The evaluation would include student test scores, a principal evaluation, a student evaluation and possibly a parent evaluation.
Adams says the pay system in place right now compensates all teachers the same, regardless of their effort, and it isn't fair.
"It allows us to move into what, I think, is a more fair teaching system that has the ability to compensate many people -- that passionate teacher, that teacher that really goes above and beyond -- who may not have the time or the degree," Adams said.
But the bill has garnered a lot of opposition from teachers and various education associations, and the committee said it needed more work just before they passed it. Committee this morning as the bill was presented by its sponsor Senator Stuart Adams.
"I am disappointed it came out of committee," said Kathleen Wagner, a teacher in the Washington County School District and the president of the Washington County Education Association. "There are a lot of things that haven't been thought out well."
Utah Education Association President Sharon Gallagher- Fishbaugh opposes it. She says a performance pay pilot program was conducted from 2009-2011 that showed the evaluations don't improve student learning, and that the new bill will waste money.
Several teachers also spoke out against it saying it takes money away that could be put into classrooms.
"All teachers can perform better if we had the access to the technology, to smaller class sizes, to text books, to everything that we need that we don't have because of the pay scale and the balance of where the money is going right now," said Seventh-Grade teacher June Miller of Iron County.
Those in opposition of SB67 are overwhelmingly in favor of SB64, Public Education Employment Reform, which also addresses teacher salaries. The two bills will now compete on the senate floor.
Commission required to represent drinkers
An amended bill requiring at least two drinkers serve on the state liquor commission cleared a House committee Friday, then picked up some national attention in the New York Times.
Commissioners who drink would still have to sign an affidavit verifying they consumed alcohol for at least one year prior to being appointed.
The measure now calls for two members of the current five-member commission and three members of a seven-member commission to be drinkers. The measure has a coordinating clause with SB66, which proposes to expand the commission to seven members.
"It is my opinion that when we regulate an industry, we should have representation from those who are being regulated," said Rep. Brian Doughty, D-Salt Lake.
The current five-member commission includes two drinkers, one appointed by former Gov. Jon Huntsman and one by Gov. Gary Herbert.
The bill also would say no more than three commissioners could belong to the same political party and no more than two could have the same occupation. Three of the current commissioners are attorneys.
HB193 now moves to the House floor for consideration.
The bill that amends the public records access law known as GRAMA passed the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee voted 6-0 Tuesday, moving it to the full Senate. SB177 includes provisions for online training and certification of public officials charged with responding to GRAMA requests from the public. Those officials would have to recertify once a year.
The bill would also create an ombudsman to help both those trying to make requests and the state agencies responding to them.
Some concern has been raised about the ombudsman's funding, though no other opposition has been made to the bill.
The proposal clarifies the difference between which records of public official public and which are private, Jeff Hunt, an attorney for the Utah Media Council said. It also strengthens the "balancing test," he said. That's language in the law which says that if the benefit to the public of releasing a record is "equal or greater than" the benefit to a private party, the public interest trumps private interest.
Could Utah take control of public land from feds?
According to Congressman Rob Bishop, Utah can take the lead in educating people about the uses and purposes of public land, including selling some to boost the state's public education coffers.
Bishop spoke and answered questions at the Utah Legislature on several topics, most notably public lands and national defense.
Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, has a bill calling for a Dec. 31, 2014 deadline for the federal government to transfer all public lands to the state. Proceeds of any sales would go to the state school fund. National parks and designated wilderness areas would be exempted.
Gov. Gary Herbert supports the measure even if it results in a costly court battle with the federal government.
Legislative attorneys say in a review note included with the bill that the law has a high probability of being declared unconstitutional.
Ideally, Herbert said the state and federal officials should work together to improve access and increase development opportunities on public lands, especially for energy projects. Alternatively, the state's congressional delegation would be able to work through Congress to give the state more control.
If those approaches fail, Herbert said a lawsuit to answer the constitutional question must remain an option.
College students could get tax credit
A House committee has endorsed a bill that creates a tax credit for college tuition and fees, a measure the sponsor says is an attempt to encourage more Utahns to go to college and put their know-how to work in the Beehive State.
HB299, which received a favorable recommendation Friday from the House Revenue and Taxation Committee, is an investment in the state's economic well being because it helps ensure the public's support of higher education is rewarded with more college-educated workers who elect to live and work in Utah.
Utahns who graduate from state-supported colleges and universities could seek the nonrefundable tax credit so long as they are paying taxes to the state of Utah. The credit would average about $1,100.
A Senate committee endorsed a bill that would allow the state to opt out of federal health care reform laws, despite warnings the proposal is based on "fuzzy math" and could create an unintended state bureaucracy.
The Senate Workforce Services, Community and Economic Development Committee voted 4-2 Thursday to forward SB208 to the Utah Senate for its consideration. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Clearfield, would permit the state to enter an interstate Healthcare Compact. Under the compact, the state would assume the federal funding for and oversight of programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP.
The thinking, Adams said, is the state could do a better job of administering the programs and that moving the programs closer to the people would save money that could be funneled into patient benefits and provider reimbursements.
The state would receive federal funding for healthcare programs based on federal appropriations for 2010. More money would be appropriated to accommodate population growth. Payments to member states would be adjusted for inflation, using changes in the gross domestic product as a guide.
Four states have passed legislation to become part of the compact, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Georgia. The governors of two other states have vetoed the legislation.
Contributing: Shara Park, Dennis Romboy, Marjorie Cortez, Ladd Brubaker
