June 2025 with Rep. Melissa Ballard

CHECKING IN AT THE LEGISLATURE:
JUNE 2025

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

As we mourn the loss of 4 Utahns killed in senseless shootings this weekend, and the loss of Minnesota legislators being gunned down in their homes, my heart goes out to the victims’ families and friends who have lost their loved ones. I condemn violent acts associated with political protests and rallies, and gang-related activity. During the 2025 Utah legislative session, we enhanced gang-related felonies, even holding adults responsible for pressuring and organizing youth to engage in crime, through HB38.

As your representative in the Utah House, I have made multiple public statements that criminals are not welcome in Utah: we don’t want their drugs, their violence, and any crimes against children are inexcusable. 

Thanks to all of our active-duty soldiers, sailors, and airmen serving around the world to protect and fight for the liberties we hold dear. We especially appreciate their families who support them.

Thanks to our local and state law enforcement for the work they do to keep us safe!! 

And God Bless America

UPCOMING EVENTS:

  • Tue, June 24 (5-7pm): FrontRunner 2X Neighborhood Meeting
    • Wood Cross City Hall Community Room
  • Sat, June 28 and July 2-3: North Salt Lake Liberty Fest Events 
    • Includes volleyball tournament and races at Legacy Park, a car show, and fireworks at Eaglewood Golf Course
    • Click here for more details!
  • Fri, July 25 (5-9pm) and Sat, July 26 (10am-4pm): Bountiful Handcart Parade and Events
    • 400 N 200 W, Bountiful City Park
  • Woods Cross City Summer Rec program
    • Click here for more info!

QUICK LINKS

IN THIS ISSUE

1. Recent Legislation enhancing public safety
2. Utah’s Newest State Park near Moab- Utah Raptor State Park 
3. D-Day events with WWII Vets from the USA in Normandy, France
4. A visit to the White House and US Senate
Enhancing Public Safety and Opioid Settlement Update

Here’s an update on Utah's use of Opioid Settlement funding to help those impacted by addiction: https://budget.utah.gov/dont-just-settle-leveraging-opioid-funds-for-lasting-impact/.

We enhanced penalties for crimes against children through HB148 and increased school safety protocol and resources. 

The Utah Legislature has supported enhancing public safety for a number of years. Just in the 2025 legislative session here’s a sample of what we did for you: 
Utah’s Newest State Park, 100 Million Years in the Making

Utah Raptor State Park is officially open, welcoming visitors to explore 6,500 acres of stunning red rock desert just outside Moab. Named after the fierce dinosaur whose fossils were discovered in the area, the park offers something for everyone—mountain biking, off-roading, hiking, and a brand-new campground with 67 campsites. History buffs can also visit the Dalton Wells Quarry, a major fossil site with a layered past that includes ties to the Civilian Conservation Corps and WWII-era internment. visit the Utah State Parks website.
D-Day 81st Anniversary with USA WWII Veterans
It was an honor to attend D-Day celebrations in Normandy with our heroic WWII Veterans from the USA, ages 95-104. 

"These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war." — President Ronald Reagan, on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day

"Lieutenant Welsh remembered walking around among the sleeping men and thinking to himself that 'they had looked at and smelled death all around them all day but never even dreamed of applying the term to themselves. They hadn't come here to fear. They hadn't come to die. They had come to win.'" — Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest

"At the core, the American citizen soldiers knew the difference between right and wrong, and they didn't want to live in a world in which wrong prevailed. So, they fought and won, and we, all of us, living and yet to be born, must be forever profoundly grateful." — Stephen Ambrose, Citizen Soldiers

"I took chances on D-Day that I never would have taken later in the war." — First Sergeant C. Carwood Lipton, 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division

"Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity." — President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Visiting the White House and US Senate
Invited by the Rainey Center, I attended a Latinos for America First briefing with multiple White House officials, including Kassandra Dulin, the Special Assistant to the President and Policy Advisor in the White House Faith Office, and Lynne Patton, Deputy Assistant to the President for Minority Policy and Outreach. Attendees included Utah House District 58 Legislator David Shallenberger, Salt Lake County Council member Carlos Moreno, Utah County Commissioner Amelia Gardner, Rainey Center President Sarah Hunt. 

The Rainey Center scheduled meetings for us to meet with US Republican Senators to discuss conservative energy policies and supporting Utah Energy businesses. We appreciate the work of the Rainey Center whose focus is “Making change through policy research and leadership development to advance freedom, equality, and a more perfect union where the American dream is for everyone.”
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Paid for by the Committee to Elect Melissa Garff Ballard

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