Representative Christine Watkins meets with teachers and a student from the Carbon School District.
By Representative Christine Watkins, District 69
On Monday, Jan. 27, the 2020 Legislature opened with the usual pomp and ceremony. The very first thing that was voted on and passed was the repeal of the Tax Reform bill. We cannot work on a budget with the vote on that bill hanging over the current process. Several legislators are trying to bring back a few of the items in that bill. I have been asked to support some of them but I have declined. I will wait until a new governor has a chance to try and fix the problem before I support anything.
The bill to make no front license plate a primary offense is not going anywhere. The senator from northern Utah who introduced the bill has been slammed with people saying they are against it (and rightfully so); needless to say, he is not pushing it forward. I ran a bill last year to repeal the front license plate bill and the House voted for it, but the Senate killed it.
This was actually a very slow week; we only had an hour of floor time each day and we just didn’t have many bills to debate. We are meeting with our sub-appropriation committees and spending a lot of time in those meetings. I am the House Vice-Chair of the Business, Economic Development, and Labor Committee. We work with state departments such as the Department of Alcohol and Beverage and we listen to their budget needs. We also listen to individual entities and more local organizations who are asking for money to do projects that assist with economic development.
We have a lot of water bills on the docket this year and I am not sure where they are going. I think we have too many urban representatives messing with water policy and they shouldn’t be.
I passed H.B. 137 out of committee with a unanimous vote. This bill reduces the time any entity can look back into a person’s background for purposes of employment, foster care etc.. This bill cuts it off at ten years. It also allows the licensing division to shorten their time from five years to three years to do a quick look at a person’s legal background. It will also allow someone who has passed the background check 90 days to become reemployed if they change employment without requiring another background check. This bill will save the state and individuals money and time.
On Monday, Feb. 3, I will present in committee H.B. 129 Natural Gas Amendments. This bill amends the definition of rural gas infrastructure development and will allow natural gas utility facilities to serve previously unserved rural areas of the state. This bill will allow Green River City to start the process of getting natural gas to the city. I am excited to present this bill and get it started through the legislature.
If you are at the Capitol, drop by and visit me. I am proud to serve you. For more information or to voice questions or concerns, reach out to me via email at christinewatkins@le.utah.gov, by phone at (435) 650-1969 on on Facebook at Representative Christine Watkins – District 69.
