Candidate Information Form: Utah House – District 24

Name: Rebecca Chavez-Houck

Registered Party: Democrat

District: 24

Address: 643 East 16th Avenue

Phone: 801-891-9292

Email: rchouck@comcast.net

Website: www.VoteRebecca2008.com

Candidate Background Information

Occupation: Public affairs consultant

Education: B.A. Journalism & Mass Communication, Master of Public Administration

Prior Experience: Former public affairs staffer for Utah Public Employees Association, Utah Museum of Natural History, Girl Scouts of Utah and Centro de la Familia de Utah

Questions

The League of Women Voters has made every effort to present accurately the candidates' responses as they were submitted.

1. If elected, what two things do you hope to accomplish as a member of the House of Representatives for the people of Utah ?
   
   First, I hope to continue the standard I set for myself in my first general session this year, when I was present for 97.4 percent of all votes. I can't promise to pass or co-sponsor a certain number of sponsored bills, but what I can do is to be present to hear debate, ask hard questions, gather information, and vote the best I can given the information I have gathered. Second, I will continue to pay particular attention to the issues currently articulated by my constituents as their priorities, which include a focus on adequately supporting public education, protecting our environment by managing sustainable growth, and monitoring a slowing economy.  I am compelled to point out possible inequities within proposed legislation that negatively impact marginalized members of our community.  I will continue to sponsor legislation -- the development of which --opens dialogue on what is fair and equitable for all Utahns (i.e., proposing revisions to Utah Adoption Law, calling for an independent redistricting commission, and ensuring that medical patients with limited English proficiency have access to high-quality interpretive services).
   
   
2. How would you address the following issues? (Please answer each question in 200 words or less.)
   - Adequate funding for education, including funding for disadvantaged populations such as non-English-speakers and prison inmates
   
   I believe that my voting and co-sponsorship records reflect my intention to support increased resources for our educational system (i.e., funding for Head Start, reduction of class sizes in K-3, assistance to prisoners who are accessing higher education opportunities).  I do have concerns when we siphon funding from research-proven practices and apply scarce resources to untested novelties.  This is one of the reasons I chose to be a plaintiff in the lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of SB2, the Minimum School Budget Program Amendments bill, which I voted against.  This omnibus bill combined needed funding for our school system with appropriations for programs for which educational experts have called into question the methodology.
   
   I believe we can be best accountable when we evaluate and support each educational appropriation on its individual merits. As a member of the Interim Revenue and Taxation Committee, I believe I must also exert necessary -- but perhaps unpopular-- political will in the area of tax reform to ensure that funding for education is not compromised.   
   
   - Energy resource development and clean air
   
   I have received a great many emails from constituents concerning this issue.   My record shows support for anti-idling legislation, tax incentives for alternative fuel vehicles, expanding use of renewable energy resources, and implementing public policy that balances our need for energy with protecting our natural environment.  As a member of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators I support the Western Climate Initiative. Contrast this to the perspective held by a number of my colleagues who continue to debate the contribution of human consumption to global warming and who oppose the WCI's call for a regional cap-and-trade system. States must step up to the plate, inventorying potential renewable energy resources and helping to make these innovations profitable. Incentives should be augmented and restrictions modified, so that private property owners, local governments and businesses are more inclined to use renewable energy sources (e.g., increasing tax rebates for installation of solar panels and expanding the amount of energy that can be net metered).  As a member of the House Public Utilities and Technology Committee, I will remain vigilant as these and other pressing issues are brought forward for discussion.
   
   
   - Water development and conservation
   
   We live in a high mountain desert.  Period.  Luckily, we have a number of non-governmental organizations (i.e., Utah Rivers Council, Nature Conservancy, Utah Open Lands, Envision Utah and Sierra Club) that try to provide guidance through suggesting effective water policy where perhaps we as legislators have failed.  Consumption-based public policy must be replaced by conservation-based public policy.  Individual property rights need to be balanced with what is in the best interests for the community at present as well as for future generations.  From expanding the use of gray water to creating a new generation of water consumers who look at water use in a different light (school-based environmental education programs), these ideas just scratch the surface of what can be achieved.  We have wonderful examples of environmentally progressive businesses that have found ways to conserve resources and save operational costs at the same time (through use of recycled supplies and building materials and installation of water-saving plumbing devices, for instance).  They should be rewarded for their conservation efforts, as should the various water suppliers who explore interjurisdictional strategies for water conservation.
   
   - Better communication between elected officials and their constituents
   
   Effective communication flows two ways and requires comparable investment by both public official and constituent.  I see great promise in the numbers of students who have undertaken lobbying efforts as part of their education (i.e., Kids for Clean Air and college students who lobbied for tax-deductible textbook purchases); making advocacy a habit is the best way constituents can communicate with their public officials. It is my responsibility to listen to constituent concerns, review related additional information on their issues, overlay what is in the best interest of the community-at-large, and then consider the constitutionality of their requests.  I need to be able to defend all votes, as well as my behavior, and communicate regularly with my constituents -- via my website, by reporting at local community council meetings, or by other means -- about issues currently facing legislative action.  Many local advocacy groups are educating community members about how to use the Legislature's award-winning website to monitor their legislators' activities, participation and votes. While I believe this could be expanded via a broader public education campaign, we also need to take into consideration that many residents may not have easy access to computers and plan imaginatively for their inclusion.
   
   
3. If the State had a revenue surplus of $100 million, how would you allocate the money? (Response should include $______________ for ________________________________.
   
   I will share what guides my appropriation decisions, although I prefer not to parse out specific line items.  Primarily, I review constituent priorities. Seeing that public education is paramount, I would like to fund continued expansion of WPU spending and reduced class sizes for K-3.  As a member of the Capital Facilities and Government Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I review many requests for improvements in facilities that are sometimes in disrepair and could jeopardize the safety of members of the public who use them (i.e., higher education institutional buildings; public buildings not conforming to ADA regulations). So, I also take these requests into consideration as we look at revenue surpluses.  Other crisis-oriented requests (funding for wildfire and landslide mitigation, protection from invasive plant or animal species, or needed funding for expanded Medicaid services) may need to be prioritized.  I also carefully research federal or private funding matches for appropriation requests that can be leveraged to maximize state funding. One thing I have learned in my first session on the Hill: without creative augmentation, $100 million doesn't really go that far.