By Representative Carl Albrecht, District 70
As of Thursday, May 14, the Utah Department of Health has reported 6,749 positive cases, 558 hospitalizations and 75 deaths related to COVID-19. In all, Utah has administered 160,119 total tests. Additionally, it is estimated that 3,566 Utahns have recovered from COVID-19. The State thanks you and your families again for doing your part to slow the spread of COVID-19.
From Orange to Yellow
Announced last week, the majority of the state moved from the “orange” phase to “yellow” on Saturday, May 16. This signals our readiness to begin transitioning to the recovery phase. While this transition applies to the majority of the state, it’s imperative that at-risk populations continue to self-isolate as well as practice appropriate social distancing.
In connection with this transition, version three of the Utah Leads Together plan will likely be released this week. To make this transition successful, healthy individuals will need to continue practicing proper social distancing and hygiene.
Budget Appropriations Meetings and Special Session
The Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) met on Wednesday, May 13 and began to address the erosion in the state budget due to COVID-19.
I will be meeting with the Natural Resources Subcommittee during the last week of May and the first week of June for virtual meetings. Each subcommittee will come-up with targeted/precision budget reductions, not across-the-board indiscriminate budget cuts. Public education represents half the budget, so it’s included in this first exercise. If it were not included, every other part of the budget would have to be reduced by twice as much.
Once leaders and EAC chairs see the results of the exercise, we’ll refine further, perhaps even adding new money for things like inflation and social services if we can afford it. We think the most prudent approach is to explore government spending reductions and program eliminations first. When we know what that looks like, we’ll move onto the next step in our contingency plan.
Protecting High-Risk Individuals in the Workplace
As we continue to reopen our economy, guidelines for high-risk individuals have not changed. High-risk individuals should still take extreme caution and follow social distancing guidelines. The State of Utah has put together recommendations to protect high-risk individuals in the workplace as we begin to reopen our economy. These recommendations include outlined steps for all employees, high-risk employees and industry specific recommendations.
Public Comment for Upcoming Electronic Committee Meetings
Due to meeting restrictions and safety precautions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Utah State Legislature is temporarily holding all meetings electronically, and therefore, public comment will be taken remotely.
Utah’s Collaborative Spirit
Utah is known for its strong collaborative spirit. The unique teamwork between Intermountain Health and University of Utah Health to fight COVID-19 is another example of what makes Utah great and why we will get through this together.
A Leader in the Nation
Legislatures across the country are grappling with how to do their job in the midst of a pandemic. Thanks to our incredible IT staff, Utah is one of the few states that is able to continue doing the people’s business.
For up-to-date information, please visit https://coronavirus.utah.gov/ or follow @UtahCoronavirus on Twitter.
Unemployment Claims
Unemployment insurance claims dropped 21% from the previous week to 7,135 claims. While it is a 21% decrease from the previous week, it is still a 531% increase from the average weekly claims seen in 2019. More than $27.8 million has been paid in state benefits. More than $50.7 million has been paid in federal dollars from the CARES Act $600 weekly stimulus. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims had an additional 2,787 individuals file and more than $3.6 million was paid in federal dollars last week for PUA benefits.
Utah is one of two states that have less than 10% unemployment claims growth. Our diverse, strong economy continues to be the state’s backbone during this challenging time.
Fortunately, Utah is better prepared than most states. We have a diversified economy and put a lot of money into our Rainy Day Fund in preparation for economic downturns.
Thank you to all of our first responders, especially nurses and doctors on the front lines as well as all of the “regular” heroes, including law enforcement, ambulance crews, health department employees and the heroes behind the scenes, the dispatchers. Also, thanks to all of the store employees, food service workers, truckers, miners and power producers. We all appreciate your hard and potentially dangerous work.
Please contact me with issues or concerns as we move forward. I always want to hear from you. I’m appreciative of the opportunity to serve. We are fortunate to live where we do. Now, using common sense to make sure all involved stay safe, let’s play some baseball, and other sports, and enjoy the spring and summer. We are a resilient people and we will come back strong!