Lawmakers quietly discuss deal with Count My Vote to end initiative petition

Lawmakers quietly discuss deal with Count My Vote to end initiative petition

(Matt Gade, Deseret News, File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers approved several bills on Thursday, including a bill to give enrollment preference to charter school founders' grandkids and a bill requiring state officials to discuss issues regarding daylight saving time.

The House also rejected a bill that would give a $500 tax credit to families who home-school. Lawmakers are quietly discussing a deal with Count My Vote that would end the initiative petition and critics are saying that a clean air bill is "essentially a hidden tax" on people who can't afford it.

Committee approves bill to make 311 a safety tip line for students

Students would have a direct, anonymous phone line to report unsafe or violent activities under the terms of a bill that gained committee approval on Thursday.

SB232, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, would set aside the dialing code 311 for the School Safety Tip Line. The tip line would be active 24 hours a day and would immediately connect calling students with a licensed clinical social worker, Thatcher said.

Panel approves 2 election reform bills spurred by Swallow investigation

A House committee endorsed two election reform bills Thursday that grew out of the scandal that pushed former Utah Attorney General John Swallow from office last year.

HB394, sponsored by Rep. Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, would significantly expand the information that candidates and officeholders would have to disclose on campaign finance reports.

HB390, sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, would add witness tampering, altering government records, and bribery in a legislative investigation or audit to Utah's organized crime law. Three or more of the offenses taken together could be prosecuted as a third-degree felony.

Clean air bill criticized for being 'hidden tax'

A Utah lawmaker believes he has found a simple, voluntary way for people concerned about air quality problems to chip in a nominal amount and help pay for solutions.

The effort by Sen. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, however, has raised the ire of consumer and low-income advocates who agree the cause is laudable, but insist the financing mechanism is flawed.

"We have serious concerns because this is essentially a hidden tax," said Michele Beck, director of the state Office of Consumer Affairs.

SB243 would allow natural gas and electric utility customers in Utah to pay up to $1 on each bill to fund air quality initiatives. Adams said he considers it a "donation" because there is an opt-out provision for people who don't want to pay.

Bill passes giving enrollment preference to charter school founders' grandkids

Both chambers of the Utah Legislature have passed a bill that allows the grandchildren of a charter school's founder to enroll in that school without participating in an enrollment lottery.

In a unanimous vote, the Senate gave final approval to HB36 Thursday. It will now go before Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature.

Bill would block cities from creating affluent school districts

Cities would be blocked from creating a new high-revenue school district under the terms of a bill approved Thursday by the Utah House.

HB84, sponsored by Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, would stop the creation of a new school district by city leaders if the difference between the estimated revenues of the two districts over five years is greater than 5 percent.

Hall said the intent of the bill is to avoid a situation where affluent neighborhoods and revenue-generating areas are "cherry-picked" in the creation of new school district, leaving the former district cash-strapped and overcrowded.

Senate gives first approval to bill aimed to generate new tax revenue for schools

A bill that would generate new tax revenue for schools and address funding inequities between school districts earned a rare nod of approval from the Utah Senate on Thursday.

SB111, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, would freeze the basic property tax rate, allowing the state to capture new revenue as property values increase. Those funds — which the bill caps at $100 million before returning to a fluctuating, revenue-neutral rate — would then be distributed back to schools at the local level on a per-student basis.

House rejects bill providing $500 tax credit to home-school families

Lawmakers Thursday narrowly rejected a proposal to grant $500 in tax credits to parents who home-school their children.

In a 32-37 vote, members of the Utah House defeated HB77, sponsored by Rep. David Lifferth, R-Eagle Mountain.

The bill would have created a per-family tax credit of $500 for parents whose children are schooled at home. Lifferth described the proposal as a small relief for home-school families who do not receive the textbooks or other materials provided by the public education system.

House approves bill requiring state officials to discuss daylight saving time

In response to complaints about switching clocks back and forth for daylight saving time, the House voted 54-14 to pass a bill requiring the Governor's Office of Economic Development to hold a meeting on the issue.

“So my bill says, let’s have GOED host a meeting and bring to that meeting various constituent groups who are concerned about this issue,” said bill sponsor Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland.

HB197 states the office would report on the meeting to interim committees of the Legislature.

Count My Vote, lawmakers discuss possible deal to end initiative petition

The Count My Vote ballot initiative to bring direct primary elections to Utah would be scrapped under a deal quietly being worked out behind the scenes in the Legislature.

State lawmakers and supporters of the initiative have made substantial progress on an agreement in talks the past few days, according to a source close to the negotiations who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The deal would keep Utah's unique caucus and convention system for nominating candidates for public office but provide a path for candidates to get on the primary election ballot outside the convention, the source said.

Smart speaks in favor of bill allowing DNA sampling upon felony bookings

Elizabeth Smart spoke in favor of proposed law Friday that would allow police in Utah to collect DNA samples from people booked into jail on any felony charge.

"I just want to add my support 100 percent," she told the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.

"If you didn't do anything, you don't have anything to fear. But if you do have something, this is hardly an invasion of privacy. I would say being kidnapped, I would say being raped, I would say being hurt is a much greater invasion of privacy."

State law requires DNA samples to be taken upon all felony convictions and at the time of booking for 77 mostly violent felonies.

HB212 allows DNA samples to be taken at the time of booking for those arrested on any felony. The committee unanimously endorsed the bill and sent it to the Senate floor. The House passed it earlier this month.

Contributing: Madeleine Brown, Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Dennis Romboy, Benjamin Wood

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