Monday, February 1, 2010

WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY

Today, legislative Standing Committees meet from 8 to 10 a.m., floor debate in the House and Senate is from 10 to Noon, and Appropriations Subcommittees study budgets from 2 to 5 p.m.

IN MORNING COMMITTEES

HB 242, before HOUSE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, would permit marriage license applicants to opt out of an extra $10 fee for domestic violence shelter operation. Currently applicants opt in.

SENATE EDUCATION will continue discussing SB 87, considering whether Jordan District buildings should be partly paid for by other Salt Lake County school districts.

And at 12:10, the HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE will propose five long-awaited ethics bills:

HJR 14 expands House and Senate conflict of interest disclosure Rules, including disclosing on the Internet and disclosing new conflicts just before voting. Legislators still could vote on bills despite conflicts.

HB 270 requires candidates for statewide office, the Legislature and State Board of Education to file financial disclosures and conflicts of interest when they file to run for office and, after they take office, to disclose new conflicts.

HB 267 requires lobbyist disclosure of total daily expenditures of more than $10, including the name of the legislator or state official who receives a benefit. It prohibits a single expenditure greater than $10, with several exceptions such as food, a beverage, attendance at some meetings, and expenditures for which the lobbyist is paid back.

HJR 15 proposes to amend the Constitution, authorizing a 5-member Legislative Ethics Commission to independently review complaints of legislative wrong-doing, then refer their findings to the House or Senate for their action. Commission members could not be current legislators or registered lobbyists. Other specific commission qualifications, powers and procedures would not be in the Constitution, but decided by Legislative Rule. HJR 15 sponsors say they intend to nominate retired judges, require one commission member to have personal knowledge of a complaint, and require agreement by 4 of the 5 members before forwarding a complaint to legislators.

HB 124 prohibits a candidate, judge, or officeholder from personal use of campaign contributions and spells out exactly which expenditures would be considered personal and which for official use.

WHAT HAPPENED FRIDAY

From Kathy Van Dame:

H.B. 70 Certification of Retrofit Compressed Natural Gas Vehicles was voted out [12-0-2] of the House Business and Labor Committee on 1/29/10

This bill sets a procedure for certification of retrofit CNG vehicles that use non-certified kits. EPA has been slow to certify kits, which are only available for 5% of the current vehicle fleet. EPA kits cost $14,000, and uncertified kits are about $6,000.

Because of the widely recognized need for the air quality benefits of CNG vehicles, and to avoid a fiscal note, this bill would not make retrofits using these kits eligible for the tax credit that the certified kits receive. This is not seen as an obstacle because of the markedly lower price for the kit.

The EPA admits the problem with delay and expense of certifying kits, and doesn't object to this Utah bill, which requires inspection to verify safety and emission reductions.

From Jenn Gonnelly:

In the House Health and Human Services Committee

HB0088 Electronic Cigarette Restrictions (R. Menlove) passed out favorably and was approved unanimously to be put on the House Consent Calender. Electronic cigarettes are small battery operated devices that deliver nicotine by creating a vapor rather than smoke. Currently they are not regulated. This bill restrictsthe sale and possession of these products to minors, but doesn’t their use by consenting adults. A distributor (White Cloud Cigarettes) testified in support of the bill, although they did spend a good deal of time attempting to convince the committee that these are a safe alternative to cigarettes. American Cancer Society, Utah PTA, Utah Education Association and Utah School Board Association also spoke in favor of the bill.

HB0071 Nicotine Product Restrictions (P. Ray) Bans all flavored smokeless tobacco products including electronic cigarettes. The debate pointed to a number of new nicotine and tobacco products that look like candies or mints. The can be consumed in any public place and appear to be targeted towards children. They have no safety packaging to discourage use by even very small children. HB 71was held because of questions raised about which products it covers, such as flavored snuffs currently on the market.

HB0200 Informed Consent Amendments (C. Wimmer) passed unanimously. According to the sponsor this bill cleans up current law defining informed consent for women seeking an abortion, but also says that if an ultra-sound is performed the ultra- images must be must be broadcast for the woman to view if she chooses to. It also says that if the woman asks, a doctor should fully explain what they are seeing, dimensions of the fetus, organ descriptions, etc. Wimmer cited statistics suggesting 80% of women who view their ultra-sound images choose not to have an abortion. Eagle Forum spoke in favor. No one spoke against. Later Missy Bird (Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Action Corps) gave me the following statement:

"HB 200 is superfluous because Utah already has some of the strongest informed consent laws in the country.

"During this time of fiscal crisis, the Utah State Legislature has cut funding for many Utah Health Department programs.

"Informed consent documents are already available online for anyone who wishes to obtain abortion services and ultrasound service are offered to any woman who wants to receive that service.

"The changes proposed in HB 200 would add an additional fiscal responsibility for the Health Department at a time when they are being asked to make additional budget cuts across the board."

House Floor Debate

H.B. 12 Abortion Amendments (Wimmer, C.) passed the house 59/12/4. Rep. Seelig sponsored amendment 3 to assure that if a physician does not follow the letter of the law a woman would not be found liable for murder if she believes she is following the law as written. The amendment passed.

Rep. Riesen moved Amendment 4 to say that a woman can not be found criminally liable in the case of a miscarriage. Rep. Chavez-Houck gave an impassioned plea in favor of the amendment, which passed.

Rep. Johnson spoke to the rarity of the event for which this bill was written. She questioned whether even with Amendment 4 it would be possible for a woman who has miscarried to be the victim of unnecessary interrogation after perhaps having the finger pointed at her by a disgruntled family member. Rep. King said, "Hard facts make bad laws." Rep. J Fisher said she would not support this bill because it does not address the criminal liability of the father. It is alleged that the father in the Vernal case put undue pressure on the girl to get an abortion.

Sandy Peck