(cross-posted to Utah Legislature Watch)
Today’s opening of the Utah Legislature will bring a variety of issues in the spotlight, among them being:
The Budget- addressing the “shortfall” and how/if to use the “rainy day” fund and other measures to generate revenue – and within the budget debate are the hot topics of public and higher education, state retirement system, transportation and taxes on food, as well as the overall raising of taxes issue.
Ethics Reform – including a controversial citizen’s initiative and a package of proposed ethics bills by legislators, inlcuding establishing an independent commission to hear complaints from citizens and putting limits on campaign contributions.
Fair Housing and Employment practice for gays and lesbians – a bill proposed that will afford the GLBT population protection from discrimination in employment and housing
Health Care Reform – an overhaul of Utah’s health care system through a package of bills that intend to divert the current sick care system to a more preventative health care system.
Sex Education – measures to determine how much information students should have access to when it comes to using contraception
Be sure to connect to the Utah Legislature’s website which has a multitude of resources including bill tracking, archived videos of the various sessions and a children’s page. See also Utah Legislature Watch’s post on resources and the various news feeds along the sidebars of our site.
And awaayy we go!
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 