2024 Legislative Session Week 5

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CHECKING IN AT THE LEGISLATURE: 2024 LEGISLATIVE SESSION WEEK FIVE

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat, I encourage you to attend Caucus Night for your party on March 5th, at 7 P.M. Here is some helpful information:

Republicans: PRE-REGISTER, then choose to attend in person, or give a copy of your online presidential primary ballot, a copy of your driver’s license, and GOP caucus pre-registration to someone who can bring it that night. To register for in-person or a ballot drop off click here.
You can learn more about what Caucus Night is here.
Make sure you are registered as a Republican for Caucus Night! Register here. You can also change your “non-affiliated” status to “Republican” on this site, guaranteeing your eligibility to attend and vote on caucus night, March 5th, at 7:00 pm.
Make sure to PRE-REGISTER for CAUCUS night here.
After you pre-register, your caucus location will be shown—I believe all of us will be at Woods Cross High School but confirm this by pre-registering!
March 5th, 7:00 pm is the night for both GOP and Democrat caucuses.

Thanks again for all of your participation and support during the session. It's an honor to serve each of you!

Warmest regards,

Melissa

HELPFUL LINKS

To look up bills or watch committee and House voting live, click here

UPCOMING EVENTS

Caucus Night: March 5th at 7 P.M.

You can watch us live on Saturday mornings for legislative updates on my Facebook page or the South Davis Community page.

IN THIS ISSUE

AN UPDATE ON MY BILLS
JOINT RESOLUTION CENSORING NATALIE CLINE
RFAS, BILLS, AND GRATITUDE FOR OUR VETERANS
FRIENDS ON THE HILL
BILLS PASSED BY THE HOUSE THIS WEEK

AN UPDATE ON MY BILLS

#1: H.B. 248 Inmate Amendments passed the Senate 2nd reading calendar on Thursday! This is a bill that I am especially proud of. It changes the culture of corrections by facilitating education opportunities, coordinating medical care, and creating a reentry division. This will help reduce recidivism in Utah.

#2: H.B. 192 Local Education Agency Employee Paid Leave passed unanimously in the House! I’m grateful to so many school employees who helped garner support for this bill. Click here to see when it will be heard in the Senate Education Committee. Watch the House Chamber presentation here.

#3: The next two bills passed House committees this week. H.B. 412 Legislative Auditor General Amendments creates processes where every government agency is required to complete a self-audit every five years and report it to their legislative appropriations committee.

#4: H.B. 408 Ride-share Amendments allows riders to notify a ride-share app that they have a child restraint device or that they have oversized luggage such as skis or snowboards. If you are an Uber/Lyft driver or know an Uber/Lyft driver, take this survey or pass it on.

L-R: 1- HB248 with Senate sponsor Derrin Owens. 2- HB192 with UEA supporters. 3- HB412 With our Legislative Auditor General, Kade Minchey. 4- HB408 with NSL Police Chief Black

CENSORING NATALIE CLINE

In response to the abhorrent and unacceptable actions of Utah State School Board member Natalie Cline using her social media to recklessly target and violate the privacy of a minor, the Legislature passed a concurrent resolution censuring member Cline. This is the first time in state history that the Legislature has censured an elected public official. A public figure should never use their platform to bully a child. I send my love and support to the student-athlete who was targeted and her family. Click here to read the full censure. Click here to read a news article about our Resolution.

RFA, GRATITUDE FOR VETERANS AND LEGISLATION BENEFITING VETERANS

1. On Monday, we presented a Request For Appropriations (RFA) for The Best Defense Foundation (top left photo). This Foundation honors, celebrates, supports, and serves veterans, those who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and those who have recently retired. The Foundation has taken over 100 WWII on Battlefield Return Programs to help veterans remember the fallen and find closure. Thank you to Mike Busticker (Military Veteran and former announcer at WXHS stadium), Matthew Hill (Combat Veteran), and Nik Pino (Military Veteran) for sharing their stories at the committee meeting.

Learn more about the Best Defense Foundation here.

Watch the presentation here.

Click here to view the Veterans and Military bills for this session.

2. Thursday, we recognized on the House Floor several veterans, some of whom are in town for the Hunting Expo. The Hunting Expo in Salt Lake brings people to Utah from all over the world!

Captured in the bottom left photo is 4-Star General Robert Oaks, a North Salt Lake resident with a distinguished military career, including commanding the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe; Representative Bridger Bolinder of House District 29; Keith Mark, Attorney and CEO of Hunter Nation; Don Peay, a fellow North Salt Lake resident associated with Hunter's Nation; Rock Bordelon, Chairman of the Board for Hunter Nation; Doug Hurley, an accomplished Top Gun fighter pilot and former Space X pilot; Jordan Christensen, an Iraq War veteran known for his exemplary leadership; and Representative Carl Albrecht from House District 70.

3. Friday, the families of the 23 fallen military members joined us on the House Floor. This is a great loss for Utah families. We thanked them for their sacrifice and incredible service to our country. Our love, gratitude, and support from them is one of the most important things we do in the legislature. We took a moment of silence to honor those whose lives were lost and express love to their families.

To see numbered bills in the house regarding veteran affairs click the link here.

Some other people in these photos include Nik Pino, Matt Hill, and Mike Busticker, General Bob Oaks, Representative Bolinder, Keith Mark, Don Peay, Jordan Christensen, Doug Hurley, Representative Albrecht.

FRIENDS ON THE HILL

Thank you South Davis Fire Metro (top photo). We are grateful for the work these heroes do for our community!

Thank you to our NSL neighbor, Cedric Smith (bottom photo) (Weber School District Teacher, Ethnic Minority Director, and UEA Board of Directors), who visited me on the House Floor on Friday.