This was the first week of the Utah Legislature. I listened at home on Monday and Tuesday while watching over Brian’s recovery, but on Wednesday it was off to the Hill. Up early, home late. I spent Wed-Fri up there talking to legislators, reading bills, listening to committee hearings, and digesting budget numbers. Same old, same old.
So far, the bills I’m following are flying through committee because several of them were worked on heavily during the interim and were passed as committee bills. This allowed them to be heard first or go straight to the board so I’ve been busy in committee and working with sponsors on details. Most of the bills don’t have fiscal notes which is also allowing them to move quickly. Because of the budget woes, fiscal note bills are being held.
Some of the bills I’m currently following would increase the statute of limitations on felony child abuse homicides, amend the definition of incest, allow a perpetrator of domestic violence in the presence of a child to be prosecuted for separate offenses for each child present, and prohibit a sex offender from requesting, inviting, or soliciting a child to accompany them. This tightens up the current statute. I have several others, as well, and you can see that I get into some interesting testimony.
The 2009 budget amendments were approved in Executive Appropriations yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a seat in the room and not in one of the two overflow rooms. $15 million was added back to public education during the meeting, making the cut there only 3%, instead of the 3.8% of other state agencies. For the most part, they were able to find money to backfill many of the vital human services in the section of the budget that I follow. So most programs will not be cut drastically in 2009. But discussions are going forward in the Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee on the fiscal year 2010 budget and programs will have to be cut.
Overall, it’s a grim year up there. One amusing note: it was really weird to be hanging out in front of the House doors yesterday waiting to speak to some legislators and find myself standing by Mark Walker. He resigned his House seat last year amidst ethics allegations in the State Treasurer race, was charged, recently plea bargained to a misdemeanor, and now is a registered lobbyist for some health organizations.
As a volunteer child advocate, I am not a registered lobbyist, which means that I do the same work but don’t get paid for it. On the up side, I have a better reputation than some of the paid lobbyists, so there are compensations. 😉
