The end is coming. I see a light at the end of the tunnel. I’m not sure if I am going to be run over or if I’m running from the light. It has been much different session because of all the challenges to the budget, yet at the end of the day the business of the people will be finished for another year. We’ve debated bills related to texting, bills related to fishing, and bills related to cigarettes and tobacco. We will be debating bills related to liquor. With all of these bills related to vices I am worried to what is going to happen next.
For the first time since I’ve been elected, we have funded a significant number of ongoing programs with one-time money called the federal stimulus package. (good thing or bad thing?) For the sake of our children and our children’s children I hope that this isn’t a practice we continue in future years.
The budget has been cut roughly 10% from last years like many of our personal budgets that we’re dealing with. The challenge has been identifying essential services that government should provide versus services that have made their way into the budget over the years that are nonessential. Some of the balancing that has taken place will be on the backs of public employees with reduced benefits and asking them to do more for less. I intended this to be an upbeat feel-good sort of blog, however in reflecting on where our economy is sometimes it’s hard to find the silver lining in the dark clouds. I’m sure that as we work together as citizens of our great state, that silver lining will be found.

Nearly two weeks have passed since my last blog entry, and things up on the hill are only getting busier. The good news is we are halfway done, and the bad news is there is still a lot of work to do. I met with the Executive Appropriations on Friday evening to discuss the 2010 budget for Higher Education. The metaphor that has been used up on the Hill most often these past few weeks is that we need to “cut the fat” on most program budgets. Though, as we progress into the 2010 fiscal year, we are hearing more and more on how we need to try to prevent cutting into the muscle of these programs, or worse still, into the bone. Resources are scarce and we are scurrying to come up with extra revenues. Let us hope for the best.
The House recently passed HB140 by a vote of 48-27, which would increase fees on motor vehicles by $2. This bill would go towards protecting Highway Patrol troopers who would otherwise be victims of severe budget cuts. There is a second bill on cigarette tax that is currently being considered as well.
There has been enormous uproar on HB187 on the Recreational Use of Public Waters that flow over privately owned beds. I have been bombarded with emails against this bill, and a huge crowd of avid fly fishers showed up in waders with their fly rods to protest the bill, which solidified my opposition to the bill.
I encourage any ideas or comments you may have. Please post below.

Well it has been quite some time since I've made a blog entry. It's much like my attempts to write in a journal, I have high hopes yet I'm easily distracted or delayed. Enough of that....

The legislative session has started and we are well on our way into many weighty discussions. It strikes me each session the privilege it is to be allowed the honor to represent neighbors and friends on issues that will affect their daily life. I'm reminded of the honor and responsibility each day as I look to the front of the chamber and read the term "Vox Populi" or Voice of the People just below the Speaker's dais. Thank you for this opportunity.

The word of the session is Budget.... Many of the discussions we are having in the halls and in the meetings I attend are centered around the budget. We have some serious challenges related to the budget shortfall. I'm working to try and help the members of the legislature more fully recognize the relationship between our economic viability and the investment we need to continue to make with regard to education funding. It's my feeling that unlike any other expenditure we make in the budget, the money we spend for education provides the greatest return on investment. There have been independent studies done that show for every dollar we spend on Higher Education there is a $7.oo dollar return. That return comes in the form of higher wages and greater opportunities for those that are trained. Utah has always been recognized as a state that values education; however, over the past few years our passion among our young people has not been as strong. There are fewer people graduating from our institutions of higher education. In my opinion the need for meaningful additional training for our citizens cannot be over stated. The strength of our country is in a educated and motivated work force. We need to keep our young people focused on those benefits and provide those opportunities.

Hopefully it won't be as long before my next post. Let me know what you think.....

The Holiday season is in full swing and will soon be another memory many of us look fondly back on. My hope for this season is that we may be found with the abilities to overcome the challenges in the future. I have great faith as each of us take individual responsibility for the decisions we make and work to improve the situations we find ourselves in then the blessings of prosperity will return or continue to be realized in our individual lives.

As this year draws to an end I am grateful for my family and the strength and support each of them are in my life. I'm grateful for 2 sweet granddaughters that love unconditionally. I'm grateful for a job that I love and the chance to interact with the youth of the future. I'm grateful for and humbled by the responsibility to serve in the Utah Legislature. I'm grateful for good health for myself and members of my family.

Our country today has many areas that we as citizens need to evaluate and consider changing, however the rights and freedoms that we enjoy are not areas we should compromise. My hope going into 2009 is that we might be a little more caring, a little more accepting and a little more conscious of those around us. Lets all take on the opportunity to pledge greater commitment to those important in our lives and continue to bless our great state and the country we live in with the service we are able to provide.

May God Bless our efforts to this end, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

Legislative Ethics Reform

The following pledge represents part of the commitment that I feel necessary to work towards as I represent the constitutents of House District 34. Additionally I think we need to put in place some type of campaign finance limits. The way money is finding its way into the political process needs to be evaluated and in my opinion needs to be limited.

Pledge for
Legislative Ethics Reform
May it be publicly known by the voters in the State of Utah that the candidate or legislator whose
signature appears on this page does hereby pledge and vow to actively support and work for the
passage of legislation during the 58th Session of the Utah State Legislature, in the year 2009, that
seeks reform in the areas listed below, which, upon passage, will provide the citizens of the State of
Utah a more open, honest, ethical and transparent government:
1. Require full disclosure of any and all gifts and meals, (not including those provided
to the entire legislative body), by both the recipient legislator and the provider of the
gift/meal when that provider is a registered lobbyist, PAC, or acting on behalf of a
company or corporation.
2. Prohibit legislators or campaign committees from using campaign contributions for
anything other than “legitimate” (i.e.: directly related to their campaign for election to
public office) campaign expenditures, or for the execution of duties directly related to
their public office.
3. Require that unexpended campaign funds, upon defeat or retirement from the office in
which the legislator served while generating the funds, be donated to a registered public
charity or political party, or transferred to the School Trust Land Permanent Fund.
4. Establish appropriate sanctions for legislators and others who fail to comply with the
requirements listed above.
5. Encourage transparency by providing sanctions for candidates, legislators, lobbyists,
PACs, PICs and corporations who fail to file timely and accurate reports.

700 Billion Dollar Bailout???

Things need to change in our society. We as citizens cannot afford to continue to implement policies that take away individual responsibility. I am very frustrated with the need for government intervention related to the economy. I have provided a very interesting you tube video that highlights some changes that our government made in the past that now we are trying to fix with the 700 billion dollar bailout. There is fault in many different areas related to the downturn in our economy and redistributing wealth is not something that I think would be wise. The over site talked about by some is necessary however the individual responsibility related to living beyond ones means is as much a part of the problem and we all need to look in the mirror so far as this is concerned before the necessary changes occur. Now that the bill has passed the burden of paying for this will fall to each of us because of the failed polices of the past. Lets together recognize the real changes that are necessary and pull up the boot straps and get it done. Please watch the attached video to get the real message related to problems we need to solve.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxgSubmiGt8

Special Session

The legislature just finished the special session and cut budgets by 272 million dollars. Do I agree with all the cuts..... no. I felt we should have included public education in some of the cuts, given the fact we have funded them so favorably the past couple of years. We have new education programs due to come on line over the course of the next year and I question the wisdom of that approach. The money we appropriated during the general session of 2008 should have been reexamined in its entirety without the provision of holding any agency in state government harmless. Should we have been allowed to do this I am sure there would have been some improvement in the end product.

"Did we balance the budget? "

Yes, however going forward I hope the fences that are constructed around some programs will be lowered. For those of you that think I have lost my mind about not holding public education harmless I would remind you my day job is in the public education world. I do recognize the challenges of being the lowest funded public education program in the nation. At the same time public education should have participated to some degree in the budget discussion. There were many in the education community that would have been willing to reduce their budget to minimize the hardship in other areas of government. Some of the budget reductions such as the one time money for performance pay, the new on going funding for a Pre Kindergarten computer program. These are just a couple of examles of adjustments that could have been made. Largely I view educaton, both K-12 and Higher Education, not as a government expenditures but as investments in our economy however sometimes you need to adjust your investments when hard times come around.