Wednesday, March 9, 2011


This morning FLOOR DEBATE has already started in the SENATE . They’ll be voting on nonresident tuition waiver rules, regulation of mining operations, more convenient voting centers, and protecting children in cars from second hand smoke.  

Floor sessions will be from 8 to noon, 2 to 4, and 5 to 7 today.   

Caucus lunch is at noon and EXECUTIVE APPROPRIATIONS meets at 4:10.



BILLS ON SENATE SECOND READING

HB 191 Non Resident Tuition Waiver Amendments says that to qualify for resident rather than non-resident college tuition - which costs about 3.5 times as much - a student or the student’s parent or guardian must have paid Utah income taxes for the previous three years. At issue are the economic downturn and the fact that many low-wage students and  parents do not file income tax returns.

HB 400 changes the law that permits state and local government to coordinate regulation of reclaiming mined land.  Instead it flatly prohibits local government from regulating mining operations on state or federal land

 
ON SENATE 3RD READING

Thirty bills that got preliminary approval yesterday should receive final votes today, including HB 451, which transfers $14 million from tobacco settlement money to the General Fund.

ON THE HOUSE SENATE CALENDAR

House work on bills sent over from the Senate is continuing.  Near the top of the list is SB 44 which would allow the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission to study, hold public hearings and make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature, but only when requested by the Governor or a Joint Resolution of both House and Senate.  Currently any legislator can consult the Commission.  

Second Substitute SB 180 proposes extensive changes to Medicaid services that would reward health care providers for delivering the most appropriate evidence-based care at the lowest cost, such as packages of services over an entire illness rather than individual services delivered at each patient encounter.

Substitute SB 73 would prohibit school districts from using a last-hired, first-fired teacher layoff policy and study with the State School Board during legislative interim how to evaluate teacher performance for hiring and firing.

Sandy Peck
sandypeck@xmission.com