June 2019 — MELISSA BALLARD

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Checking In At The Legislature: June 2019

Summer has arrived!

Highlighted in this issue:

An update on our legislative committees and how to stay up to date
Bountiful Rotary Burn Out competition on Main Street
A visit to Navajo Reservation in Monument Valley with legislators
Code to Success and Build to Success for Jr. and High School youth across the state
Stand and Fight Podcast with Rob Eastman on suicide, mental illness, schools, and everything
Riding the Frontrunner and UVX in Orem/Provo
Martha Hughes Cannon celebration leading up to Better Days 2020
Faith Baptist Church of Layton honoring elected and appointed state officials for the 4^th of July

Thank you for your continued support. I am grateful for the opportunity I have had to be your Representative.
-Melissa Garff Ballard

Upcoming Events

A couple of upcoming events to keep an eye on are:

Every Thursday 3-8pm Farmer’s Market, Main St 400N Bountiful
Every Friday night concert in the park 6-7pm 400 N 200 W Bountiful
Starting in August: Saturdays 9-2 Farmer’s Market, NSL Legacy Park 1140 W 1100 N
Monday, July 8^th TAX RESTRUCTURE TOWN HALL https://strongerfutures.utah.gov Open House – 6:00 pm, Town Hall Meeting – 7:00 PMDavis Tech Business Resource Center, Main Conference Room 450 S. Simmons Way Kaysville, UT For information and to submit suggestions regarding Utah Tax Restructuring, please visit https://strongerfutures.utah.gov
Tuesday, July 9^th, OPEN HOUSE 6-8pm Eaglewood Golf Course Reception Center, 1110 E. Eaglewood Drive NSL re: Proposed operating agreement with Greatlife, Utah
Saturday, July 13^th 7am-9am, Foxboro Wetlands Trail Hike. Info on Foxboro Wetlands Trail
Friday, July 19^th 6 pm Grand Parade Bountiful Handcart Days

Interim Session

During the interim, we are discussing and studying many important subjects. A few of these are the regulation of e-cigarettes, tax reform, medical cannabis, and election laws. If you would like to learn more, a list of the proposed study and discussing items can be found here. To listen to any legislative committee meeting or floor time during the session log on to le.utah.gov, or you can click here to visit the interim committee page.

Bountiful Rotary Burn Out and Street Fair

The event on June 14^th brought 3500-4000 people on Friday night. All the funds raised will provide winter clothes to about 900 Davis County school kids this coming school year. I was a judge for the Burn Out competition with Senator Weiler and City Councilwoman Kate Bradshaw. Thanks to Chief Tom Ross for keeping everyone safe!

Monument Valley on the Navajo Reservation

We observed the effects of the Utah Weatherization Assistance Program on the Navajo homes. Wow. Most abandon their homes when they become uninhabitable. Some properties had 3-4 uninhabitable homes next to each other adjacent to their current home that was 40 years old, falling apart, and made out of inexpensive material that looked like plywood. I was especially impressed with the Christian Church groups who come from 4 states with youth and adults to help work on these home for an entire week. The organizers volunteer all over the country with the Weatherization Assistance Program - they said that Utah’s is the most efficient by far for 2 reasons- we repair and create a home instead of just fixing a leak, and we have exceptional personnel and skilled contractors who spend their time building these homes. It was nice to see that Utah is spending Federal and State dollars well!

Thanks to NSL resident Jonathan Hardy Division Director of Housing and Community Development for the state of Utah, who hosted legislators and our very own North Salt Lake new Majority Caucus Chief of Staff, Abby Osborne,https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/05/20/top-utah-house-staffer/

Code To Success

We heard a great presentation at the Capitol regarding Code To Success and the Success in Education Foundation that my family runs with Rick Folkerson and Keys to Success. High school students are learning how to code in the summer in a free 6-week program, get certifications, and often land jobs or college scholarships before leaving high school. Find the CODE TO SUCCESS high school and JR high school program near you! Code to Success: https://www.ctsutah.com/

Build to Success

Any high school student taking tech classes at the DATC gets free tuition! I spoke to this group of students in a week-long “Build to Success” through Keys to Success with Rick Folkerson. It’s a week-long camp to try their hand at multiple construction skills. The starting wage of construction salaries has gone up 20% in the last 3 years! Salaries often start at $20 an hour. Salaries then go up to $40 an hour at year 4 and $60-90 an hour at year 8. This program provides these students with the opportunity to own their own business. Wow, get your kids involved in a great career! Find Build to Success near you: https://www.btsutah.org/

Stand and Fight Podcast

I had the opportunity to go on the Stand and Fight Podcast with Life Coach Rob Eastman . You can listen to the podcast here. We discuss addiction, mental illness, suicide, strengthening families, and supporting our community. Thanks for the great work you do in our community, Rob!

Riding The FrontRunner

My two daughters and I had a great FrontRunner and UVX tour- taking the FrontRunner from SLC to Orem, then the free UVX rapid bus shuttle from UVU to BYU, then on the FrontRunner back to SLC with two of our three new UTA Directors: Carlton Christensen and our very own Bountiful neighbor Beth Holbrook. It’s great to see Utahns using mass transit!

Martha Hughes Cannon Celebration

Martha Hughes Cannon was the first woman from all of the United States and territories to become a State Senator. Text first2vote to 41441 to get more information about our opportunity to participate in the celebrations over the next year. I was joined by Representatives Jeff Stenquist, Karen Kwan, Elizabeth Weight, Susan Duckworth, and Angela Romero.

Faith Baptist Church Service

Thanks to the Faith Baptist Church of Layton who honored elected and appointed officials today in their church service as we celebrate the 4th of July and the many men and women who continue to serve our country. God Bless America!

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