Democrats praised Herbert for his emphasis on education funding and air quality, but said other parts of his remarks sounded like a campaign speech.
“That was fifty-fifty, policy speech and campaign speech,” said House Minority Leader David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City. Portions were aimed at the broader state, but “there were parts that were speaking to a conservative constituent base.”
Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero said Democrats were proud to stand with the governor when it comes to the state’s economic record. But the governor failed to lay out specifics on how to improve education, protect the environment or meet health and human service needs. And the anti-federal tone seemed excessive, he said.
“We are in a relationship with our federal government and having a good working relationship is critical,” Romero said
Senator Ross Romero, Democratic Leader in the Utah Senate
Good evening. I’m Senator Ross Romero, Democratic Leader in the Utah State Senate. Thank you for your civic engagement, and for tuning in tonight to learn about the important issues and unique challenges that we face as a state. I want you to know that Utah Democrats are working on behalf of you and your families. We recognize the struggles so many of us have had to endure during the economic downturn of the past few years. But, there is good news and opportunity on the horizon. We are pleased that Utah’s economy is now headed in a positive direction. For the first time in several years, our state is beginning to once again see a surplus in our state budget. Utah Democrats are excited for what the future holds, and we look forward to working with you over the next 6 weeks as we propose and pass legislation that will strengthen Utah’s economy and prepare us for the future.
At this time I’d like to introduce you to my colleague, Representative David Litvack, your Democratic Leader in the Utah House of Representatives, who will discuss some of the Democratic proposals for the 2012 Legislative Session.
Representative David Litvack, Democratic Leader in the Utah Senate
Thank you Senator Romero. Tonight, I’d like to speak with you about some proposals from my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate, proposals that we believe will lead to a brighter future – a future where Utah will again realize the promise of economic strength and prosperity.
This year Democrats will introduce legislation to help Utah’s growing veteran population through increased access to higher education. We will assist working families by protecting your consumer rights. Utah Democrats will also present measures to keep all of us healthy through better cancer screening and prevention, and we will make proposals to address the poor air quality we face in our state.
Utah’s strong economy has always depended on an educated workforce. For Utah to attract further high-paying jobs, we must double our efforts to provide a highly-educated workforce. From our neighborhood schools, to higher education and career programs, Democrats recognize this vital importance and renew our pledge to provide a better future for our children. No less than the success of our economic development depends upon our efforts now.
I will now turn the time back to Senator Ross Romero, who will talk more about our plan for Utah’s public schools.
Senator Romero
Thank you, Representative Litvack.
For many years, the state of Utah has been #1 in business, economic development, tourism, and even #1 in science, technology and research. In many ways, we’re doing very well as a state. So why is it that our schools continue to rank 42nd in the nation? This must change! Our schools should be the very best in the nation.
This year Utah Democrats are introducing legislation designed to put Utah on a path to make Utah’s schools #1. Utah Democrats believe that every Utah child deserves four things:
An excellent teacher
Individualized attention
World-class curriculum
Neighborhood and family support
If we can reduce classroom sizes in the lower grades or give teachers a little extra help in the classroom, it can do wonders to help our students succeed. Educating Utah’s children has been and will always be our top priority.
Utah Democrats understand that while our economy is recovering, family budgets are recovering, too. But let me be very clear: we do not believe it is fiscally wise to raise taxes for Utah’s working families.
That’s why I’m pleased to announce that the “Best Schools Initiative” includes a funding plan which reprioritizes our resources and does NOT raise taxes. We simply need to change our focus in order to do what’s best for Utah’s kids.
During the economic downturn of the past several years, we have worked diligently to streamline our state budget. Due to Utah’s wise fiscal management, we are now seeing more funds coming into our state revenues. Utah Democrats believe in using these increased revenues for the long-term security of our future. The Best Schools Initiative is designed to wisely plan for Utah – to give our children the very best opportunities, to create new jobs and new businesses, and to secure our economic strength and prosperity.
Thank you again for being with us tonight. We look forward to working with our colleagues in both the House and Senate to meet these important goals. And, as always, we look forward to seeing you and working with you at this year’s legislative session and beyond.
On Monday, fulfilling its redistricting responsibility, the Utah Legislature passed SB3002, 19th Substitute, a new four-district congressional map for the next decade. It was a disappointing finale to a six-month process.
Some unfortunate results of the congressional map are that four counties (Davis, Utah, Juab, Sanpete) are split two ways and Salt Lake County is split three ways, with no concern for maintaining the integrity of communities. Several cities/communities in Salt Lake and Utah Counties were split. (Salt Lake County: Salt Lake City, West Valley City, Kearns, Sandy, Draper, Bluffdale, South Jordan, Cottonwood Heights, Millcreek. Utah County: American Fork, Springville, Spanish Fork, Payson, and Santaquin.) The Daily Herald stated about the map,Opinion: Utah Legislature Commits Crime Against Humanity.
Keeping communities of interest together should have been the guiding principle. Instead, roads form the boundaries of the four districts–nothing logical like city boundaries, school district boundaries, county boundaries, or geographical boundaries.
Contrary to the claims by some of an open and inclusive process, the process must be judged by the final results. Ultimately, the lines of the final congressional map were drawn behind closed doors at the eleventh hour.
In addition, there was no need for all four congressional districts to have an urban/rural mix since that was not an adopted redistricting standard, and looking after all the state’s differences is the job of our United States senators. By passing what we did, we failed to make our representatives experts in any particular issues and generalists in all. We failed to honor the requests of many participants who gave testimony this summer who asked that rural Utah have its own representatives and urban have its own representatives. In our haste to complete the redistricting process, while we got it done, we failed to get it right.
In the floor debate on the bill (35:15 minutes into recording), I called on Governor Herbert to veto the bill. Apparently, the Daily Herald agrees with my call for a veto, Opinion: Governor should veto the map.
Senator Ross Romero just learned of Governor Gary Herbert’s decision to authorize the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to reassign $1.4 million in agency funds to keep nine of ten state liquor stores open that were originally slated for closure. He commends Governor Herbert and DABC for their efforts in finding a preferred solution to DABC’s budget shortfall.
Senator Romero is aware of the public’s concern about closing state liquor stores. He shares the expressed concerns of over consumption and prevention of under-age drinking, but that is not what the closing of stores was addressing.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, along with other state agencies, was ordered to cut their budget by 7.5%, or $2.2 million. In order to meet those cuts, the DABC was going to close 10 stores that make a profit for the state of nearly $20 million annually.
During the past few months, Senator Romero has questioned the wisdom in closing 10 stores that make $20 million in profit annually in order to save just over $2 million this year. In addition to the unfortunate monetary loss, about 100 Utahns would have lost their jobs, workers who may have turned to state assistance to make ends meet.
Senator Romero has been exploring other sensible solutions to avoid the store closures, and he is pleased to now learn that nine stores will remain open for business.
Thank you to the legislative staff members who spent countless hours researching legislation, writing bills, preparing the budget and making sure all of the behind the scenes work got done. A special thank you to Janeen Halverson, Minority Executive Assistant, who is a great help to our caucus.
I am pleased to be the Senate sponsor of the Citation recognizing Latino/Hispanic armed service members who defended our country. Although much of the discussion on the Third Annual Latino Day on Utah’s Capitol Hill (February 16, 2011) focused on new Latino immigrants into our country, many Latino/Hispanics have historically been making contributions to our country day in and day out. I appreciate this opportunity to celebrate the contributions Latinos/Hispanics have made to and for Utah and the United States.
House Minority Leader David Litvack and Senate Minority Leader Ross Romero deliver the Democratic response to the 2011 Utah State of the State Address.
Standing room only in the Senate Gov't Ops Committee. 5th on the agenda is statewide anti-discrimination from Sen. McAdams. #utpol #utleg February 3, 2012
