Today, the Utah House of Representatives passed S.B. 57 - Police Service Animal Amendments sponsored by Senator Jani Iwamoto. This bill increases the penalties for knowingly and intentionally killing a police service animal from a third-degree felony to a second-degree felony. The House passed the bill with a 43-24 vote. The Senate passed the bill 20-6. This bill addresses an inconsistency in Utah Law that makes the penalty for stealing a police service animal greater than t

Today, the Utah House of Representatives unanimously passed S.J.R. 6 - Joint Resolution Encouraging the Reduction of Pediatric Deaths from Injury and Illness, sponsored by Senator Jani Iwamoto. The resolution highlights the impact of pediatric deaths and injuries on the state of Utah, emphasizes the importance of reducing pediatric deaths and injuries, and encourages the creation of a a multi-stakeholder Pediatric Trauma and Quality Assurance Network. The ultimate goal is to

Today, the Utah House of Representatives passed Senator Dabakis' S.C.R. 3 - Concurrent Resolution on the Importance of Civil Liberties for Students. This resolution encourages state institutions of higher education to "vigorously defend the civil liberties of students through policies that ensure the protection of constitutional rights. The resolution previously passed the Utah State Senate previously passed the S.C.R.3. The resolution will now be sent to Governor Herbert for

Senator Luz Escamilla passed two bills out of committee today. Both bills address the needs of Utah's families. The first bill, S.B. 181 - Infertility Insurance Coverage Pilot Program, requires the Public Employees' Health Plan (PEHP) to create a 3-year pilot program to cover a portion of the cost of using an purpose of the pilot program is to study the efficacy of providing coverage for the use of an assisted reproductive technology, such as in vitro fertilization. The purpo

Today Senator Jani Iwamoto passed SCR6 - Concurrent Resolution Recognizing Utah Honor Flight Program with a unanimous vote in the Utah State Senate. This resolution recognizes the remarkable efforts of Utah's Honor Flight Program, non-profit organization with the motto: Their Memorial, Our Mission. Each year, Utah Honor Flight arranges for veterans to visit the memorials to the wars in which they served. These life-changing flights allow these heroes to gather in our nation'

The Utah State Senate has unanimously passed S.B. 74 - Voter Privacy Amendments, sponsored by Senator Karen Mayne. This bill protects your identity by restricting access to the day of your birth in your voter record. This legislation arose from privacy concerns raised after a massive voter data request made by the President Trump’s now-defunct Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Many states rejected the commission's request as a major intrusion into the states' role in

Last fall, KSL-TV in Salt Lake City ran an investigative piece on improper disposal of pharmaceuticals by some medical facilities. In one case, officers located a dumpster that included 29 pounds of prescription drugs, along with patient information. KSL brought the issue to the attention of Senator Karen Mayne, who agreed to look into it. Senator Mayne spoke to the Utah Health Care Association who indicated that the association has best practices for disposal of pharmaceutic

Senator Jani Iwamoto's February Newsletter is online. Check it out for the latest updates on what she's been doing this session.

Today, the Senate passed SB40, introduced by Senator Karen Mayne. This bill increases the benefits paid to one or more dependents of an employee with a disability under the Workers' Compensation Act. This is the first increase in many years and mirrors legislation passed last year by Senator Mayne that provided the same benefit increase to the employees themselves. SB40 now goes to the House for consideration. #WorkersCompensation