Week 1 - Laying the Foundation
Week 1 has been both busy and productive for the Senate Democrats. On Wednesday evening, Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis joined House Minority Leader Brian S. King to lay out the Democratic vision for this legislative Session. The Democrats laid out four key priorities for this session:
Protecting Hard Working Utah Families by:
Providing Living Wages
Providing Paid Parental Leave for State Employees
Providing Equal Pay for Equal Work
Addressing Health and Public Safety by:
Supporting Full Medicaid Expansion
Addressing Homelessness/Affordable Housing
Protecting Vulnerable Women and Children
Expanding Domestic Violence Protections
Acting to improve Air Quality
Addressing Distracted Driving
Working to improve Education by:
Using Utah's Budget Surplus to Increase Per Pupil Funding Across the Board
Encouraging Responsive Governance by:
Recognizing that the Unprecedented Number of Voter Initiatives is an Indication that Voters Feel Unrepresented by the Legislature
See the full Democratic Response below:
Also this week:
Senator Karen Mayne moved several pieces of legislation, including a remarkable six bills through committees in one day, each with unanimous votes!
Senator Luz Escamilla was hard at work addressing funding for some of the most critical needs in our state on the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.
Senator Jani Iwamoto added to the perfect record for Senate Democrats this week with no less than three bills passing out of committees with unanimous votes.
Senator Jim Dabakis' Concurrent Resolution SCR3 - Concurrent Resolution on the Importance of Civil Liberties for Students passed the Senate with a unanimous vote and will be sent to the House for consideration.
We'll be back at it next week with several bills moving from committees to the Senate floor along with several new bills waiting to be introduced. Check back here often to see what is happening throughout the remainder of the session!
