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SALT LAKE CITY — State leaders and lawmakers tackled several issues this week, including confirmation of a new Utah Supreme Court justice and unveiling a new tool to help doctors prescribing opioids.
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State Senate confirms newest Utah Supreme Court justice, Paige Petersen
Third District Court Judge Paige Petersen became the newest member of the Utah Supreme Court Wednesday with her unanimous confirmation by the state Senate.
"It's a bit of a scary process," a smiling Petersen told the Senate in a speech following the vote, as a large group of family members, including her 96-year-old grandmother and seven nieces and nephews, looked on.
"I am just so humbled today," she said, to join the high court. "That's not even the end of it. I am going to be taking the seat that's vacated by Christine Durham. I want you to know I understand the magnitude of that. That is not lost on me."
State unveils patient information tool to assist doctors prescribing opioids
The Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing on Wednesday showcased a new online patient dashboard that health providers can use to monitor opioid use before making prescription decisions.
The feature, set to go live Thursday, tracks a metric called "morphine milligram equivalents" that represents a patient's current level of opioid use; the number of prescribers the patient has visited for opioids within the last six months; and the number of pharmacies the patient has visited in that time frame.
The tool will also inform doctors whether the patient's prescriptions indicate the possibility of "an active benzo opioid combo," a mixture of drugs considered dangerous.
Ex-Gov. Mike Leavitt tells Utah House GOP to stop fighting Count My Vote initiative
Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt delivered a clear message Wednesday to Utah House Republicans about the state's controversial process for nominating candidates for elected office — stop fighting about it.
"I told them SB54 has been a divisive issue. That it’s time to unite, it’s time to let the people speak. It’s the only way we’ll have a chance to, in fact, unite and move forward," he told reporters after speaking to the GOP caucus behind closed doors.
Utah lawmaker calls lingering questions about $12M grant to U. 'darned frustrating'
A state legislative leader expressed frustration Wednesday over lingering questions about a $12 million gift to the University of Utah by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire physician.
Shortly after the university received first payments of the gift in 2014 to be used to further understanding of the genetic basis of 25 different conditions, Soon-Shiong asked that his company, NantHealth, be the sole provider of the gene sequencing for the Heritage 1K project.
A legislative audit concluded that the university did not follow state procurement laws when awarding a $10 million contract to NantHealth to sequence 1,372 genome samples from the Utah Population Database instead of seeking competitive bids.
Utah lawmaker seeks to protect freedom of speech rights
A Utah lawmaker says local governments aren't respecting the First Amendment rights of many Utahns.
And he's proposing legislation to help make some changes.
Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, said a constituent in Provo was at a city recreation center attempting to collect signatures for a petition to enforce a referendum on an initiative pushed by the mayor when that citizen was told he'd have to stop because it was annoying some of the patrons.
"People complaining about your speech doesn't entitle anyone to stop you," Thurston said Wednesday during a Political Subdivisions Interim Committee meeting.
Utah lawmakers reject anti-harassment training for lobbyists
A panel of Utah lawmakers rejected a proposal Wednesday that would have required lobbyists to undergo annual anti-harassment training in order to be licensed to lobby at the state Capitol.
The proposal, which could still be considered and passed during the upcoming Legislative session, came as waves of sexual harassment allegations have surfaced in governments and businesses around the country.
Utah already requires lawmakers and staff to undergo training about harassment based on sex, religion, race or other factors, but not lobbyists who frequent the Capitol and meet privately with lawmakers and staff.
