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Holly Richardson: Six things the Utah Legislature is doing right

I’ve seen a willingness to take a serious look at some weighty issues this legislative session and I applaud them for it.

Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes speaks as during a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, in Salt Lake City. Hughes is backing an effort to repeal the death penalty in the state three years after lawmakers voted to reinstate the use of the firing squad as a backup execution method. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

We hear so often about the things our elected officials need to do better — and I’ve done plenty of critiquing — but there are also good things going on in our Legislature. In no particular order, here are six things I think are going well.

First of all, House Speaker Greg Hughes deserves a shout-out. While he has not shared the details of his conversations, he has had to deal with some unfortunate and certainly awkward situations with a couple of members of the House. He accepted the resignation of Rep. Jon Stanard swiftly, without any public praise for all the good things he’s done in the legislature and without any semblance of excusing the poor behavior of Stanard. And for that, I applaud him.

Hughes also followed through on an alleged pattern of impropriety by removing a legislator from his leadership role, showing me that Hughes takes #MeToo issues seriously. And of course, he was a Martha Hughes Cannon fan and sported a yellow rose to show his support.

Finally, he also deserves kudos for supporting the elimination of non-compete agreements that have been shackling employees in the media market.

Rep. Justin Fawson is running a bill, HB 196, Breastfeeding Protection Act that makes clear that it is legal for a woman to breast-feed her baby in any public setting. Utah is one of only two states that does not have that right specifically spelled out and, in some ways, it’s a head-scratcher that we even need a bill like this. But, we do and Fawson and Senate sponsor Deidre Henderson are doing a great job of championing this bill.

Rep. Tim Quinn is shepherding a bill to remove the sales tax on food. Bravo! It’s an issue that’s come up for years, but usually the other way around — to increase the tax because it provides “stable revenue” to the state. However, that tax is regressive and unfairly burdens the families that can least afford it. This year might be the year it is removed entirely. It passed the House this week and is headed to the Senate.

Rep. Steve Eliason has really been working hard on tackling the problem of suicide, especially among our youth. Along with help and support from public advocate Laura Warburton, whose daughter committed suicide in 2014, Eliason is running HB41, Mental Health Crisis Line Amendments, to make sure no call for help goes unanswered. Named “Hannah’s Bill,” after Hannah Warburton, whose last call for help went unanswered, the bill has made its way through the House and most of the way through the Senate with no opposition.

Additionally, Eliason is working on an education campaign — “Is your safety on?” — to encourage gun owners to keep firearms properly secured. Suicide is often an impulsive action and often with a firearm if one is readily available. More than half of all youth suicides in Utah last year were completed with a readily available firearm. Eliason is also running HB370, a bill that would make data collection easier on those who have died by suicide, and mandate youth suicide prevention training in schools.

I also think the Utah Legislature deserves some kudos for their willingness to tackle domestic violence. Grassroots advocate and domestic violence survivor Heather Wolsey has been effective at putting a face and a voice to the victimized. There are multiple bills this session. Rep. Lowry Snow is running HB427, Custody Amendments, which addresses custody of children in the courtroom when domestic violence or abuse has been in the household. Sen. Todd Weiler and Rep. Angela Romero are running SB27, which addresses domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking for couples who have been in a relationship but who have never been married or lived together.

Eliason and Sen. Luz Escamilla are running HB160, Domestic Violence Provisions which allows a court to order that a cellphone number be transferred out from under the perpetrator. Romero and Weiler are also running HB165, a bill that strengthens the pre-trial process to keep victims of domestic violence safe while waiting for the court process to play out. HB333, by Rep. Robert Spendlove and Sen. Curt Bramble would establish assault against a dating partner or cohabitant as a class A misdemeanor.

The trouble with lists, of course, is that they can never be complete. There are good bills moving forward and sadly, some good bills that have died. Sen. Deidre Henderson is working on strengthening the food truck legislation she sponsored last year and has a #FirstToVote license plate bill recognizing that Utah was the first state where women cast a vote. Escamilla had a great bill to study compensation in the state. I hope she runs it again. Sen. Ann Millner is running a bill to address the nursing shortages in the state. Rep. Kim Coleman continues to tackle the TESLA issue and free speech on campuses. Rep. Becky Edwards has worked hard to shepherd the Martha Hughes Cannon resolution through the House and the work continues.

I know that legislators hear all too often what people disagree with, but they also listen to people who see an issue and want to change it, as we see in many of this year’s issues. I’ve seen a willingness to take a serious look at some weighty issues this legislative session and I applaud them for it. Keep it up.

Holly Richardson

Holly Richardson, a Salt Lake Tribune columnist, is a former Republican legislator who is happy to see the tackling of these meaty issues. Discussions of public policy can be really fun.