Posted on Flagged Bills - 2013 Session In the House

FLAGGED BILL: HB 14 – Requirements to Change Form of County Government, Rep Keith Grover

One should always be wary when a legislator is trying to increase or decrease the number of people necessary to make a petition appear on a ballot. When they are trying to reduce the number, it is generally because they have some form of pet project that they wish to push through, but also want to avoid the messy work of actually having to create legislation and be on the record. Lately, the trend has been to increase requirements to have a successful petition request show up on the ballot. Sure enough, it would appear that Representative Keith Grover (R – Provo, District 61)...

Posted on Flagged Bills - 2013 Session In the Senate

FLAGGED BILL: SB 20 – State Security Standards For Personal Info, Sen Stuart Reid

Last March, it was estimated that nearly 280,000 Utahns had their Social Security Numbers stolen from the state’s data banks, with an additional 500,000 having less sensitive personal data taken as well. This massive security breach stunned nearly everyone who paid attention, if only because we soon came to find out that the states security systems were sub-par. Since then, the state has all but been forced to scramble as it provides credit monitoring services to any and all Utahn’s to ensure that they are properly protected. In an attempt to prevent problems such as this in the future, Senator Stuart Reid...

Posted on Flagged Bills - 2013 Session In the House

FLAGGED BILL: HB 38 – Anonymous Cash Donations To Campaigns, Rep Kraig Powell

When a candidate for office receives a donation, the laws regulating the reporting of that money should never be vague. But in many instances, different scenarios slip through the cracks and leave the system open to abuse. According to current election laws in Utah, a candidate is prohibited from accepting anonymous cash contributions over $50. However, if someone were to donate higher than that amount, the law is rather unclear as to what happens next. If that candidate were to be approached by a constituent in the grocery store, and that constituent tries to hand them $75 for their campaign,...

Posted on Flagged Bills - 2013 Session In the House

FLAGGED BILL: HB 44 – Election Polling, Rep Greg Hughes

There are many dirty and underhanded things that take place during an election year: campaign flyers that don’t tell *ahem* shall we say the whole truth, campaign donations that are less than above board, and campaign workers being less than forthright with the public in their attempts to gain more votes. One classic example of campaigns being less than honest is when it engages in what is known as a “push poll.” Many of you reading may have been a victim of one of the push polls without even knowing it; for example, if you have ever been asked a...

Posted on Flagged Bills - 2013 Session In the House

FLAGGED BILL: HB 13 – Smoking In Cars With Children, Rep Patrice Arent

I admire many things about Representative Patrice Arent (D – Salt Lake City, District 36), of note is her tenacity, political acumen, and concern for those who can not defend themselves. This is why I was pleased (and not at all surprised) to see that Arent is proposing HB 13, Protection of Children Riding in Motor Vehicles. Two years ago, I wrote about HB 89, also conveniently titled “Protection of Children Riding in Motor Vehicles.” Back then I supported the bill, and I wholeheartedly repeat that support. Now, before I dive into why, let me tell you similarities and differences between this year’s HB 13 and 2011′s...

Posted on Flagged Bills - 2013 Session In Committee In the House

FLAGGED BILL: HB 17 – Personal Use of Campaign Funds, Rep Keith Grover

I would like to focus on a bill that is good in principle, yet still manages to miss the point of what the public has been calling for. I have worked on many campaigns in my life, and one of the things I have always found shocking was the fact that candidates running for statewide offices could spend their campaign funds on whatever they pleased. As shocking as it may seem, I have heard stories of candidate’s wives spending campaign funds on a new dress or donations being turned right into car payments. In many ways, the system is rife...

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Legislación Crítica: HB253 – Modificaciones De Verificación De Empleo, Rep. Pitcher

For English click here El programa de E-Verify ha sido un tema muy polémico en el estado de Utah durante los últimos años, ya que los legisladores se han visto un y otra vez si es que se debería obligar a las empresas locales a utilizar este programa, que en teoría, verifica la elegibilidad laboral de los que buscan empleo. La sesión del 2013 no será nada diferente que años pasados, ya que un legislador está tratando de pasar este requisito de manera obligatoria. HB253 – Modificaciones de verificación de empleo – por el Representante Dixon Pitcher (Republicano de Ogden), la cual obliga a las empresas...