Dear Constituents,
I hope you and your family are doing well. We are entering into the final week of the legislative session and I wanted to give you an update on what I’ve been working on:
This week I presented HB 430: Local Government Transportation Services Amendments on the house floor, the bill passed 64-7. This is a bill that I have spent hours negotiating with UDOT and UTA to try and redirect existing transit funds to cities with areas of high-growth and high transportation needs. Using a portion of transportation revenue generated through county taxes that has historically been earmarked for UTA, HB 430 creates a Public Transit Innovation Grant, that would allow cities to apply to create local transit options (like bus lines or shuttles) to demonstrate ridership and address immediate transit needs. This is a big win for our area, I’m hopeful I’ll be able to get this passed out of the Senate next week.
This bill prohibits Russia, China, North Korea, or Iran and any companies owned by them, or subsidiaries that they have majority interest in, from buying and owning land in Utah. According to a Congressional Research report, “Utah is one of the highest-ranking states in Chinese land holdings with Chinese firms owning more than 35,000 acres in the state.” This is a major security concern that this bill will address.
This bill does three things:
Prohibits state agencies from purchasing technology made by restricted foreign entities (Russia, China, North Korea, Iran), this is something the Department of Defense has already implemented and put in place for its employees.
Prohibits a city from entering into a sister-city relationship with provinces or cities around the globe that are housing slave labor camps.
Enforces the work that was done by Congress in 2023 in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act by prohibiting the state from purchasing products made entirely by slave labor.
You can watch my video below to learn more about these bills and why they matter.
Reducing School Fees
Many parents and students have been overwhelmed by the amount and cost of school registration fees, particularly for high schoolers. HB 415, passed the House with bipartisan support, and will eliminate fees for any classes a student is required to take for graduation. This is an issue we studied over interim and a policy I have supported for the past several sessions. It's important that we keep our education system in Utah affordable and first-rate.
School Safety and Security
This week we joined law enforcement officials, and education leaders in discussing the School Security Task Force and legislation aimed to improve safety and security at Utah schools. The following bills will help teachers focus on teaching and students focus on learning:
H.B. 84: School Safety Amendments: Improves training, communication, infrastructure, and response to better protect students, teachers, and other staff in the event of an emergency.
H.B. 14: School Threat Penalty Amendments: Increases the penalties for threats against schools.
Thank you for your many emails and texts this session, I appreciate your feedback and am doing my best to get back with you in a timely manner. As a reminder, if you would like to follow along as we discuss important issues or give public comment at a committee hearing, please visit le.utah.gov to join online or view committee schedules. Thank you for the opportunity to serve our district. Please feel free to email me with any concerns or questions you have at cpierucci@le.utah.gov. Be sure to include your home address so I know you live in my district!
Sincerely,
Candice B. Pierucci
State Representative for House District 49
Bills Passed by the House this Week:
H.B. 159 Bears Ears Visitor Center Advisory Committee Repeal Amendments
H.B. 469 Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Amendments
S.B. 25 Financial Institution and Consumer Notification Amendments
H.R. 5 House Resolution Regarding the Trade Policies of the United States
H.J.R. 8 Joint Resolution Amending Rules of Civil Procedure on Change of Judge as a Matter of Right
H.J.R. 27 Joint Resolution Encouraging Water-efficient Landscaping Ordinances for New Construction
H.C.R. 10 Concurrent Resolution Honoring Utah's Salvadoran Community
S.J.R. 13 Joint Resolution Expressing Friendship and Support for Taiwan
H.B. 337 Amendments to Mandatory Courses for Family Law Actions
H.B. 263 Statewide Online Education Program Funding Amendments
H.J.R. 23 Joint Rules Resolution - Legislative Process Amendments
H.B. 480 Murdered and Missing Indigenous Relatives Amendments
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