This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The 2016 Legislature took on some monster issues but, in the end, stuck with the status quo or took baby steps toward addressing them.
Among the 475 bills passed — more than half of those in the last four days — was a small-scale Medicaid expansion; a school funding hike that won't do much to reduce the nation's largest class sizes; the first installment of a multi-year effort to address homelessness; and partial funding for an initiative to fix Utah's broken system of criminal defense for poor people.
Lawmakers advanced some surprisingly progressive legislation, only to fall short on proposals to legalize medical marijuana, abolish the death penalty and put teeth in the state's largely unenforceable hate-crime law.
Medicaid • HB437 targets those in extreme poverty and is expected to provide health care to about 16,000 people, far fewer than the 125,000 or more that would have been served under more generous proposals killed in recent years. It would cover the chronically homeless, the mentally ill and those recently released from prison or jail.
Education • Under SB2, public schools would receive a 3 percent bump, or roughly $80 million, in per-pupil funding. That's enough to maintain current funding levels and leave a bit left over for teacher salary increases. But Utah Education Association leader Sharon Gallagher-Fishbaugh says it won't put a dent in the state's teacher-shortage crisis or reduce large class sizes.
Homeless • HB436 would provide $9.2 million to begin a coordinated makeover of services and shelters in Utah's capital. Homeless advocates hope this is the down payment on a $27 million plan to create more, smaller shelters and deliver tailored services.
Medical marijuana • Senators passed two medical marijuana bills, SB73 and SB89, but both ultimately died. Advocates plan to begin an initiative to get the issue on the ballot in 2018.
Death penalty • SB189, a proposed repeal of capital punishment, found solid support in the conservative Legislature, but came up just short in the final hours.
Hate-crimes law • SB107 to enhance penalties for bias-motived crimes crashed and burned after the LDS Church issued a statement warning against action on any LGBT-related bills.
Coal port • SB246 would authorize a complex and controversial fund-swap to put $53 million in public moneys into an Oakland, Calif., port to export Utah coal.
Power • SB115 died and rose from the ashes on the Legislature's last day to allow Rocky Mountain Power to shift cost overruns onto ratepayers instead of having shareholders pick up part of the tab. —
Inside
Two pages of legislative coverage. › A10, 11