Albrecht meets with a Six-County Youth Coalition with the health department.
By Rep. Carl Albrecht
This week marked the halfway point of the 2019 legislative session. A lot has been accomplished so far, but we still have much to do.
There are currently 645 numbered bills and resolutions, and a large portion of those have yet to be considered. Nevertheless, we have made good progress. This week, several interesting bills passed through committee and the House Floor. A bill unanimously passed through committee on Wednesday that would require Utah Driver’s Licenses to be renewed every eight years, rather than every five. Utah state law currently allows abortions to be done before 22 weeks, but a bill passed through committee on Wednesday that would limit that to 18 weeks. These bills will now move to the House Floor for consideration.
I also made a lot of progress on my bills this week. The bills and their status are summarized below.
HB 78 – Federal Designations
This bill requires a governmental entity that is advocating for a federal designation within the state to bring the proposal to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee for review and legislative approval. This bill is on the agenda to be presented to the House soon.
HB 110 – Rural Economic Development Incentives
This bill is an amendment to 2018’s HB 390, which authorized a rural employment expansion grant to businesses for the creation of new jobs in fourth, fifth or sixth class counties. HB 110 will raise the maximum total incentive amount a business can apply for from $25,000 to $250,000, to allow and encourage businesses to hire more employees. This bill made exciting progress this week. Senator Okerlund presented it on the Senate Floor, and it passed the Senate unanimously. It was signed by the Speaker of the House on Tuesday and will now go to the Governor to sign into law. Since passage, this program had over 50 applications. This is an economic driver for Rural Utah.
HB 125 – Quantity Impairment Modifications
This bill makes a one-word change to code dealing with water diversion applications, a bill approved by the State Water Task Force. I presented this bill to the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee on Tuesday, where it passed unanimously. It will be presented on the Senate Floor next week for final approval.
HB 175 – Transportation of Veterans to Memorials Support Special Group License Plate
This bill creates a special group license plate to support programs to transport veterans to Washington D.C. to visit veterans’ memorials with the Honor Flight Program. I presented this bill to a Senate committee on Tuesday, and it will be presented on the Senate Floor soon.
HB 220- Radioactive Waste Amendment
This bill would allow low-level radioactive waste to be classified at the time of acceptance. Before any waste is received, it would have to receive approval from the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control (DWMRC). This bill was heard by the Senate on Wednesday and Thursday, and it passed both times. It will now come back to the House for final approval.
HB 296 – Rural Online Working Hubs
This bill creates a grant program that provide resources to rural counties and qualified non-profits to develop co-working and innovation center facilities. The facilities will allow those rural areas to access broadband infrastructure, hardware, specialty facilities and workspaces that are necessary to become fully engaged in the online workplace. I presented this bill to the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee, where it received unanimous approval, and it will be heard on the House Floor soon.
This past week, I had the opportunity to meet with an FFA group from Sevier County and a Six-County Youth Group coalition with the health department. I also spoke to a Price radio station on Thursday. During the week, I also met with other legislators and presenters in the Conservative and Rural Caucuses. Here, we heard presentations and had discussions about some of Utah’s most important issues.
As always, I appreciate hearing your comments. Please feel free to continue to let me know your opinions on these important issues. Thank you for the honor to represent you in the Utah Legislature.
Contact me:
Representative Carl Albrecht
carlalbrecht@le.utah.gov
435-979-6578
Rachel Brown
Intern to Representative Albrecht
rbrown@le.utah.gov
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- Albrecht presents HB296 to the House Economic Development and Workforce Services on Tuesday.
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- Albrecht presents HB175 to the Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, and Technology Committee.
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- Albrecht meets with a Six-County Youth Coalition with the Health Department.
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- Albrecht meets with a Sevier County FFA group.
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- Albrecht meets with a group from Moab.
