Legislative Bills

This change will help Utah attract Student Teachers from other states, who will hopefully then be willing to stay in Utah once they have completed their schooling.

For nearly 30 years, National PTA has advocated for common-sense and comprehensive gun safety and violence prevention measures while preserving the lawful use of firearms for sport and personal protection.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAS/FAE) are recognized as the leading cause of mental retardation and behavioral dysfunction in children and are entirely preventable.  This bill will provide funding for one or more media and education campaigns designed to reduce the consumption of alcohol while pregnant which will help to prevent FAS/FAE in children. 

Safe walking routes to school protects our children from harm and accident.

1. This bill would direct the Dept of Health to adopt policies to keep eligible children from unnecessarily losing Medicaid and going without insurance
2. It removes paperwork barriers in Medicaid and CHIP. Currently, if a child is on Medicaid, they can lose their coverage if their parent takes on an extra few hours at work one month- HB 210 would prevent this from happening.
3.When children are uninsured, it impacts all aspects of their life, for example they may be less likely to participate in physical activity programs or sports because parents are worried about an injury.
4. Utah has one of the highest rates of uninsured children in the nation.

HB212 actually makes some very minor changes to the much more impactful legislation passed a couple years ago, HB371 “Consent to Services for Homeless Youth.”

That legislation was in response to and involved much input from youth as well as service stakeholders about basic needs for youth in homelessness. It accomplished three purposes:

The bill resulted in youth, ages 15, 16, 17 being able to escape the streets and check themselves into a licensed facility without having to provide a parent’s signature. When we discussed the concern about admission to an adult shelter, we learned that youth are referred to a youth facility, not admitted at an adult facility, where all were concerned about the population they would meet.
The bill also removed the restriction for those who harbor minors, ages 15, 16, and 17. We haven’t emphasized this in the news media because we all recognize the possible “invitation” to predators to take advantage of homeless youth. The reality is that there are many, many young people staying with friends, relatives, and neighbors who have been subject to litigation for providing shelter. Under the new law, the person providing harbor is required to notify authorities – police, Child Protective Services, DCFS, etc. – within 48 hours of the youth’s coming to their home. We realize this doesn’t guarantee everything we want, but we know it has allowed much more safety than before for kids as well as those providing a place in their homes. As a teacher, I have heard regularly about “couch-surfing” that was illegal before HB371.
A third provision in HB371 was that it allowed these minors to receive services and resources that normally would have required parent signatures. Again, the intent is not to provide or encourage run-aways, etc., but for the 2000+ kids in homelessness every day in Utah, we know more are safer and getting services than before.

This year’s bill HB212 makes a couple adjustments after discussions about improving elements of safety. 
(Info from Rep Weight)