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Look Ma, No Hands

The Legislature literally took their hands off the wheel (or at least off the handlebars) with HB154 by modifying an old statute that required at least one hand on the handlebars at all times. So while the operator of a bike is still required to “maintain control and safe operation at all times”, it’s no longer a crime to show off your bike skills in Utah.

In more serious news, we are nearly halfway through the Legislative session and moving fast. I am proud of the meaningful things we have been able to accomplish for Utah, like expanding access to mental health care in rural Utah and increasing accountability in our government agencies. In the House we also passed HB29 dealing with library books and other “sensitive materials” in schools. I discuss my thoughts on it in more detail below.

I invite you to keep following along over the next four weeks as we debate important legislation, in person or online at le.utah.gov.

District 18 Prayer and Pledge

It was a pleasure to have our district provide the prayer and the pledge on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. I received a number of grateful comments on the heartfelt, sincere, thoughtful prayer from Shelley Davies, founder of the CenterPoint Theater Friend to Friend program that gives those with special needs opportunities to perform. It was also fun to have my son Taylor lead the pledge.

Visitors on Capitol Hill

It’s always fun to have visitors from our area join me at the Capitol. This week I enjoyed giving a tour to a youth group, visiting with local insurance agents during their annual visit to the legislatures, and having a Farmington High School teacher join me on the house Floor. If you are visiting the Capitol, or have a group that would like to visit, please reach out and I’ll try to accommodate you.

In the News

One of the bills I am sponsoring, HB272, Om’s law, which is focused on recognizing child abuse and protecting kids in family court has been getting some press coverage lately. I’ll likely write about it in a future newsletter. Here are some links to news stories from Fox 13, ABC4, and KSL. In addition, I touched briefly on it as part of a guest appearance on Senator Weiler’s “Political as Heck” podcast.

Utah is Ready to Play Ball

This week, we were joined by baseball legend Dale Murphy as we passed a joint resolution in support of Major League Baseball in the Beehive state. Dale was kind enough to autograph a baseball for my son—who didn’t know who Dale Muphy was (I had to educate him the greatness of the Atlanta Braves MVP and hero of all Utah little league baseball players in the 80s)

The effort, led by the Miller Family, is to attract an expansion team and build a new ballpark near the State Fairpark, west of downtown SLC. From little league to the collegiate level, Utah has some of the most passionate sports fans in the country and we are eager for the opportunity to bring a major league team to Utah.

HB29 Deep Dive

HB29 Sensitive Material Review Amendments

Background:

In my experience, individual members of the legislature have sincere good intentions and believe that the bills they propose will make life better for Utah. However, sometimes the legislature’s efforts to make things better can cause unanticipated problems that create other challenges. In my opinion, previous efforts around sensitive materials or “book bans” fall into that category.

My understanding is that in 2022, in response to some complaints, the legislature passed a bill that directed the State Board of Education to give guidance and training to local districts, and to have each school district to set up a review process for pornographic & sensitive materials in schools. The implementation of that bill did not go as the bill sponsor envisioned it would, and as we know here in Davis County School District, people leveraged that process to try and ban the Bible among other books.

There is evidence that a small number of inappropriate books that have found their way into our school libraries & classrooms. In my opinion, there was broad agreement by folks on both sides of the issue that the process & policy needed improvement. HB 29 is the 2024 attempt to improve that process.

What I liked about the bill:

1. The bill gives clear references to the state law around pornography and other materials harmful to minors. It also gives more guidance on a review process without micromanaging every school district or charter school.

2.The bill creates a streamlined process for “Objective sensitive material”, which I interpret as media that clearly meets the state law standard of pornographic or indecent.

3.The bill creates another process for “Subjective sensitive material”, which to me means material that is age-inappropriate or does not meet community standards. I like this because elementary schools, high schools, and even different communities in our state have different standards they are comfortable with.

What I didn’t like about the bill:

1. The bill has a clause that if 3 school districts or 2 districts and 5 charter schools find that specific material is “objective sensitive material” then all schools statewide must remove it. While that is very efficient, it clearly violates the principle of local control. For example, districts in Beaver, Panguitch, and Blanding could deem material sensitive, and every public or charter school in Davis County would be required to remove it, despite no elected or appointed officials agreeing with the decision. I can’t think of any other scenario where officials in one jurisdiction make similar decisions for other jurisdictions without any state or local oversight. I was unable to get support from my House colleagues to amend this portion of the bill, but I’m hoping that the Senate will adjust it.

2.The bill allows any student, parent, employee of the district, or any elected official for the area to request a sensitive material review. I like the student, parent and employee options, but I’d prefer to have that elected official designation limited to school board members, as I don’t want to have activists trying to convince a local city council member, water board member or especially their legislator to make a claim against a book.

How did I vote?

After consulting with district officials, who agreed the new bill is an improvement to the current process, I voted yes on the bill. I hope this will allow our teachers, librarians and administrators to get back to focusing the mission of educating kids, and minimize the distraction.

My personal opinion is that the dangers of online pornography and distracting social media on phones is a problem that is many orders of magnitude greater than what our kids are facing from books. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t address inappropriate books and other material. If the book meets the objective criteria of pornography set by State Law, then it should absolutely not be in our schools. If the book does not meet that criteria that violates state law -- then the community can and should have a mechanism to decide for themselves whether the book meets their community standards. In my opinion, books that challenge our ideas and introduce new concepts and experiences that we may not be familiar with have tremendous value.

I believe that our Librarians are professionals who are dedicated to their jobs. We should all treat our librarians with the professional respect they deserve. I’m hopeful that with some modifications in the Senate we can find a way to 1) remove pornographic material that clearly violates state law, 2) create a reasonable way to allow parents to express their concerns about books they feel don’t meet community standard, and 3) maintain a level of local control that will enable, each district agree on an efficient process for limiting or removing age-inappropriate material while, still showing respect for our professional librarians.

Teacher Retention and Recruitment

Over the last several years, both new teachers and those with decades of experience have been spread thin with growing and unmanageable workloads. The Legislature has provided teachers with a $6000 pay raise, paid professional hours, and other resources to make teaching a more desirable and rewarding career. Click here to learn about the bills we will be considering this session to empower teachers. 

Upcoming Legislative Updates

Each Saturday 8:30-9:30AM a group of your Davis County Legislators will be holding updates via Facebook live on the South Davis Community Page. Please tune in for the latest updates.

Click Here to Join the Facebook Live!

Reliable, Affordable, Dispatchable Energy

Utah’s all-of-the-above approach to energy has provided reliable, affordable, and dispatchable power for decades. Investing in the state’s energy capabilities is a top priority this session, and I am committed to fighting back against the federal government and passing policies that ensure Utah’s current and future needs are met. Learn about the energy policies we’re debating here. 

For Utah Students and Teachers

Utah is proud to be home to the best teachers and the brightest students in the nation. Investing in education is the best way to invest in the future generation and future prosperity of our state, which is why the Legislature is putting students, parents, and teachers first. 

You can learn more about the Legislature’s plans for education by listening to my friend, education specialist and fellow Davis County Representative Karen Peterson, on this week’s episode of our House podcast.

Bills Passed by the House this Week

H.B. 15 Criminal Code Recodification and Cross References

H.B. 18 Mineral Production Tax Withholding Amendments

H.B. 20 Parental Rights Amendments

H.B. 21 Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments

H.B. 27 Criminal Code Amendments

H.B. 29 Sensitive Material Review Amendments

H.B. 31 Agricultural Tourism Amendments

H.B. 35 Metro Township Modifications

H.B. 55 Employment Confidentiality Amendments

H.B. 59 Federal Funds Contingency Planning

H.B. 62 Utah Water Ways Amendments

H.B. 63 Consumer Review Fairness Amendments

H.B. 71 Behavioral Health Crisis Response Modifications

H.B. 78 Motion Picture Incentives Amendments

H.B. 83 Criminal Threat or Interference Amendments

H.B. 94 Civil Commitment Examiner Requirements

H.B. 95 Liability of Relative Amendments

H.B. 99 Consumer Credit Protection Amendments

H.B. 104 Property Owner Association Amendments

H.B. 107 Recycling Facility Transparency Amendments

H.B. 111 Employment Training Requirement Limitations

H.B. 113 Rural County Jail Facilities Tax

H.B. 115 Cultural and Community Engagement Amendments

H.B. 128 Tobacco Cessation Amendments

H.B. 132 Pharmacy Amendments

H.B. 152 Residential Construction Amendments

H.B. 160 Campaign Funding Amendments

H.B. 164 Digital Currency Modifications

H.B. 171 Death Certificate Amendments

H.B. 172 Immigrant Student Athlete Participation Amendments

H.B. 174 Automatic Renewal Contract Requirements

H.B. 176 Elected Official Vacancy Amendments

H.B. 181 Criminal Offenses Amendments

H.B. 182 Student Survey Amendments

H.B. 188 Building Permit Requirements

H.B. 207 Utah Homelessness Council Amendments

H.B. 211 Penalty for False Statement During Drug Arrest

H.B. 212 Vital Records Amendments

H.B. 234 Vital Record Information Modifications

H.B. 244 Office of Legislative Auditor General Requirements

H.B. 249 Utah Legal Personhood Amendments

H.B. 256 Military Compatible Land Use Amendments

H.B. 318 Decentralized Autonomous Organization Act Amendments

H.B. 333 Fireworks Modifications

S.B. 11 Sex and Kidnap Offender Registry Access

S.B. 12 Property Tax Deferral Amendments

S.B. 15 Concealed Firearm Review Board Amendments

S.B. 16 Motor Vehicle Act Amendments

S.B. 17 Safe Drinking Water Act Sunset Extension

S.B. 19 Utah Communications Authority Modifications

S.B. 20 Agricultural and Wildlife Damage Prevention Board Amendments

S.B. 21 State Tax Commission Public Meeting Requirements

S.B. 29 Truth in Taxation Modifications

S.B. 32 Caregiver Compensation Amendments

S.B. 34 Utah State Retirement Systems Revisions

S.B. 38 Property Tax Appeals Modifications

S.B. 42 Health and Human Services Reporting Requirements

S.B. 74 Port of Entry Amendments

S.B. 99 Public Service Commission Amendments

H.C.R. 1 Concurrent Resolution Recognizing the U.s.s. Utah

H.C.R. 7 Concurrent Resolution Encouraging Repeal of the Jones Act

S.C.R. 3 Concurrent Resolution Supporting Major League Baseball in Utah

During the session, given all the meetings, committee hearings and floor time, it’s sometimes a challenge for me to respond quickly. If I don’t respond quickly to you, or if you would like to schedule a call or meeting with me, please contact Brynn (bbennett@le.utah.gov, 385-420-3086) who is very capable and happy to help.