Utah Representative Lorie Fowlke

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MID-SESSION REPORT

Greetings to all members of Legislative District 59 in Orem, Utah. Many of you may be aware that, as legislators, we are heavily embroiled in the midst of the 45-day 2006 56th session. I have appreciated all of you who have made the effort to contact me, either personally, by telephone, email, or in writing. Please be assured that I appreciate and read each and every contact that I receive from you, my constituents, and carefully consider your concerns and desires as I make decisions regarding state policy.

Please review the summary below regarding what has happened so far in the session. As usual, I first highlight those issues upon which I campaigned, i.e. Education, Transportation, Economic Development, and Protecting Families. Other issues are addressed as well. At this point in time only 43 bills have actually completed the entire process and been passed, as opposed to over 600 bills that have been filed. If you do the math, you can see that it will be a very busy next there weeks.

EDUCATION - Tuition, Truancy & Illegal Alien

Higher Education Tuition for Active Duty Military (H.B. 232)
Rep. Morley
The House Education Committee passed this bill that would allow Utah residents who have lived out of state while on active military duty to maintain their residency status for in-state tuition rates. This would apply only to those military personnel and their immediate family members who lived in Utah directly before active duty and returned to Utah immediately after. The bill passed the House and the senate committee and is awaiting consideration by the full body of the Senate. I supported this bill.

School Truancy Amendments (H.B. 253)
Rep. Hutchings
This bill directs school authorities to notify the parents of students under age 14 who have 5 unexcused absences that their children must attend school. Parents who then recklessly or intentionally fail to meet with school authorities and to prevent their child from having 5 more absences that year can be charged with a class B misdemeanor. Children over 12 who are absent more than 10 times a year would be referred to juvenile court as habitual truants. This bill passed the House Education Committee with a vote of 11-0-4 and is now awaiting consideration by the full body of the House. I have not heard this bill yet, but have strong reservations at this time.

Repeal of Exemption from Nonresident Tuition (H.B. 7)
Rep. Donnelson
This bill repeals the provision in state law that allows illegal alien students to pay in-state tuition rates if the student attended high school in this state for three or more years and graduated from high school. Illegal alien students are allowed to attend Utah's institutions of higher education, but they must pay the out-of-state tuition rates. This bill passed the House Education Committee with a vote of 9-5-1 and is now awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.
A certain amount of misinformation has been disseminated on this issue and I have been studying it carefully. There was a lawsuit in Kansas filed by out of state students who claimed they were damaged because they had to pay out of state tuition while some in-state undocumented students did not. However, the court threw the case out and stated that the plaintiffs had no standing to sue, since they would not benefit even if they won. The court held that if the plaintiffs had won, they would get no money, but only that the undocumented workers would have to pay the additional funds for tuition. I would appreciate hearing from you on this issue.

TRANSPORTATION - Transportation Investment Act (H.B. 112) Rep. Lockhart


Critical Utah County I15 Construction

I am excited to be a co-sponsor on this bill, which sets a process in place to keep transportation funded in the future. A dedicated portion of the sales and use tax revenue would be deposited annually into the Transportation Investment Fund that would be used to build and maintain roads under this bill. The state is currently facing a $16.5 billion deficit for road projects over the next 25 years, according to transportation planners. This bill passed the House Transportation Committee and is now awaiting consideration by the entire body of the House.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Sales and Use Tax (H.B. 109)

Rep. Newbold
This bill removes the sales tax from groceries. The aim is to give a reduction in taxes directly to the individual taxpayer. The State portion of the sales tax on food is completely removed while the local portion of the tax is shifted to non-food items so the cities are held harmless by the tax reduction. This bill passed the House with a vote of 57-17-1 and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate. Realistically, we will not know if this tax will be removed until the last week of the session, when all the tax bills are considered together by the executive appropriations committee and final decisions are made
>>> Read H.B. 109 <<<<

FAMILIES - Abortion by a Minor

Abortion by a Minor - Parental Notification and Consent (H.B. 85)
Rep. Gibson
This bill amends the Utah law to require parental consent and notification for abortions
performed upon minors. The bill does provide for certain exceptions such as pregnancy by incest, abuse of the minor child, a medical emergency, etc. The requirement that the spouse of a married woman be notified in the case of an abortion is removed from Utah law by this bill. This bill passed the House Health and Human Services Committee with a vote of 7-1-0, passed the full body of the House and is waiting in the Senate.

Driver License Privilege Suspension for Failure to Pay Child Support (H.B. 83)
Rep. Julie Fisher
H.B. 83 establishes a procedure for the Office of Recovery Services to order the Driver License Division to recognize and impose a suspension of a person's driving privileges when the person is at least 90 days in arrears on a child support obligation. A delinquent parent is allowed to apply for a temporary, 90-day license that would allow the parent to drive only to work, to educational meetings, and child visits. This bill passed the House with a vote of 45-16-14 and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate.

OTHER ISSUES - Justice, Sex Offenders & More

Government Process:

lobbyists Gift Limit and Disclosure (H.B. 101)
Rep. Alexander
This bill makes several changes in the way lobbyists interact with legislators and with their clients. lobbyists will now be required to disclose any gift given to a legislator over $5 (with the exception for meals, which they are required to disclose when over $50). The financial expenditure reports for lobbyist will now be filed on a quarterly basis. The bill also establishes conflict of interest standards for lobbyists. This bill passed the House on a vote of 64-4-3 and is now being considered by the Senate.

Early Voting (H.B. 15)
Rep. Aagard
Under this bill registered voters would be allowed to cast their ballots 14-days prior to Election Day. Early voting is used as a means to increase voter convenience and participation, reduce wait time for voting on Election Day, and decrease the cost of purchasing additional voting machines. This bill passed the House Government Operations Committee with a vote of 8-0-3 and is awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.

Military and Overseas Citizen Absentee Voter Amendments (H.B. 67)
Rep. Urquhart
This bill allows military and overseas voters who are currently deployed in hostile fire zones or areas where mail service is not reliable to register and vote through electronic transmission. The voter must apply 20 days before the election and waive their right to a secret ballot. This bill passed the House unanimously and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate.

Criminal Justice:

Resolution Supporting Utah Highway Patrol Use of White Crosses as Roadside Memorials (H.C.R. 4)
Rep. Ray
This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor supports the placement of white crosses as roadside memorials to honor patrol officers killed in the line of duty. Since the creation of the Utah Highway Patrol in 1935, 14 Highway Patrol Officers have been killed in the line of duty. The ACLU has recently challenged in court the placing of these memorial crosses. This bill passed out of the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee with a vote of 9-0-2 and is now awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.

Criminal Penalty for Animal Cruelty (H.B. 61)
Rep. Wyatt
Torture of an animal would be made a third degree felony under this bill. Torture in this bill is defined as a depraved, specific, prolonged attempt to inflict severe pain on an animal. Animal abuse is often cited as a foretelling of future abuse. Multiple studies have shown that people who start abusing animals will also abuse spouse or children. This bill exempts things that are considered standard practice in agricultural areas. This bill passed the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee and is now awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.

Sentencing for First Degree Felony Murder (H.B. 102)
Rep. Fowlke
Inspired in part by the murder of Lori Hacking, this bill would change the penalty for first-degree murder. The minimum prison term for first-degree murder would be 15 years. Currently the minimum is 5 years. This bill would establish a defendant' s "position of trust" as an aggravating factor in sentencing murder offenses. This bill passed the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 13-0-0 and is now awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.

Sex Offender Registration Amendments (H.B. 56)
Rep. Lawrence
A select group of predatory juveniles would join the ranks of adult sex offenders on the states Sex Offender Registry under this bill. H.B. 56 would require the Division of Juvenile Justice Services to place on the registry those convicted of serious sex offenses that remain in custody or treatment one month before turning 21. The juvenile offenders would remain on the registry for ten years. If they committed a second sex crime, they would remain on the registry for life. This bill passed the House with a vote of 67-0-8 and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate.

Controlled Substance Amendments (H.B. 60)
Rep. Oda
This bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to clarify the scope of the exception
established for the ceremonial use of peyote by Indians in traditional Indian religion and
to provide an affirmative defense H.B.60 would allow legitimate members of American Indian tribes to use the hallucinogenic cactus known as peyote in religious ceremonies, but block "illicit use" by those who are not certified members of a tribe. The proposal would conform with a 1994 federal statute that restricts sacramental use of the plant to federally recognized tribes. This bill passed the House with a vote of 66-0-9 and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate.

DNA Database Amendments (H.B. 212)
Rep. Adams
Under this bill, genetic material from those convicted of a class A misdemeanor would be added to the state's DNA database. Currently, all felonies must undergo a mouth swab for a DNA sample. The goal of this bill is to aid police in tracking criminals. This bill passed the House with a vote of 69-1-5 and is now awaiting consideration by the Senate.

Criminal Penalty Amendments (H.B. 90)
Rep. Litvack
This bill modifies the Criminal Code regarding crimes motivated by bias, by providing
that courts and the Board of Pardons and Parole consider if the offender's act against a
victim includes specified aggravating factors that pose harm to the community. The bill defines "aggravating factor" as an offender's selection of a victim based on the victim's membership or perceived membership in a group, and that this selection results in public harm. This bill passed the House Judiciary Committee with a vote of 10-3-0 and is now awaiting consideration by the entire body of the House.

Environment/Energy:

Energy Policy Amendments (H.B. 46 Substitute)
Rep. Barrus
In the 2005 legislative session, Second Substitute SB 199 eliminated the Utah Energy Office and moved around several other programs and funds to other government agencies. Many in the legislature, the energy industry, the state regulatory agencies and citizenry were concerned about the future direction of Utah's energy-related issues and desired to provide their input. H.B. 46 declares the State's energy policy, provides a guidance document for creating future energy legislation and creates the position of the state energy officer, with associated powers, duties, expectations and accountabilities. This bill passed the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee with a vote of 14-0-1 and is awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.

Bear River Development Act (H.B. 45)
Rep. Adams
This bill authorizes the State to start pre-construction activities, including land acquisition and environmental studies on the Bear River Project. Actual construction of the Bear River Project, which is expected to help meet growing water need in Northern Utah, cannot begin until 70% of the water is subscribed. However, if a corridor is not reserved for the project now, land will most likely be more difficult and more expensive to acquire. This bill passed the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee with a vote of 11-1-3 and is awaiting consideration by the full body of the House.

Lake Powell Pipeline Development Act (S.B. 27)
Sen. Hatch (Rep. D. Clark House Sponsor)
This bill would authorize the construction of a water pipeline from Lake Powell to Kanab, St. George, and Cedar City. Construction won't begin until environmental mitigation permits have been issued and local water districts have contracted to buy 70% or more of the projects water. This bill passed the Senate and the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee with a vote of 11-0-4 and is now awaiting consideration by the entire body of the House.

WHY IS MY GAS BILL SO HIGH?

The Public Service Commission offers the following points regarding the rising natural gas prices:

" The price of natural gas on the wholesale market has risen dramatically.

" The cost of Questar Gas Company natural gas purchases are passed through to Utah customers dollar for dollar, without markup.

" The natural gas wholesale price is set in the marketplace; in the 1980's the federal government stopped regulating natural gas price at the wellhead. Wholesale prices reflect conditions of supply, demand, storage, and transportation cost.

" The wholesale price of natural gas typically responds to changes in supply and demand. Several factors cause price fluctuation. The use of this relatively clean source of energy is on the rise. Production is currently just keeping pace with increases in demand. Other factors that put upward pressure on wholesale gas prices in the summer, cold weather in the winter, and expanding economy, and less gas in storage.

" Questar Gas Company, the distribution company that provides natural gas service to Utah homes, is owned by a parent company called Questar Corporation.

" Questar Gas Company only makes up 12 percent of Questar Corporation.

" The Utah Public Service Commission does not regulate the profits earned by other Questar Corporation companies.

Natural Gas Wholesale Price Investigation

" Unprecedented volatility in the wholesale market warrants further investigation.

" Speculators are more involved in wholesale market activity than before; they are now the bulk of market.

" US Congress deregulated price of wellhead natural gas in the 80's. Utah has no legal jurisdiction to control wholesale price.

" Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has jurisdiction to levy penalties if illegal market manipulation is found.

Market Fundamental Causes of High Wholesale Natural Gas Price

" The following factors put upward pressure on wholesale market price (October 2005 EIA outlook report): weak production, high demand (greater use of natural gas by electric power companies), high oil prices (this is a fuel substitute for some end-users), hurricane activity (some production has been shut-in). Other factors simultaneously put downward pressure on wholesale price: rising net imports, adequate inventories. The net effect is upward pressure and very high price.

Cause of Recent Utah Rate Increases

" Cause of retail rate increase is increased wholesale natural gas price. First-of-month index (Questar Pipeline) wholesale price in October 2005 was 114% higher than it was in October 2004.

" Recent retail natural gas price increase of 40% is a combination of all components of natural gas cost (gas and non-gas costs). Only half of Questar Gas's supply is from the wholesale market, other half comes from Company-owned wells. The Company-owned wells are supplied to customers generally at cost rather than market price. This cost is currently much lower than market price.

" Wholesale gas costs are paid through a balancing account; when wholesale market price comes down, rates will come down. Questar Gas gets no markup on gas costs.

" State regulators regularly audit Questar Gas returns to ensure it earns no more than the Commission authorized return, currently 11.2 percent.

Relatively Low Rates in Utah

" Utah has lowest residential natural gas prices in the lower-48 states of the nation. Only Alaska residential rates are lower in the nation.

" US average residential rate in October 2005 ($16.49) is 66% higher than Questar Gas average residential rate in October 2005 ($9.93)

Help for Customers Who Cannot Pay Their Bills

" There are several things customers can do to better cope with high bills.

" First, use energy wisely by properly maintaining your equipment, insulating your home and considering the use of proved technology like setback thermostats. Also, budget-billing options are available that allow you to spread your costs evenly through the year.

" The Home Energy Assistance Target (HEAT) and REACH programs can help qualified applicants with their heating bills in the winter months. HEAT funding runs from October 1 through the end of February. Customers can also apply for a weatherization program that helps find ways to increase
energy efficiency in their homes. For example, they can install weather stripping, caulking, insulations, etc. Information on these programs is available on the Public Service Commission website, www.psc.utah.gov.
>>> learn more about gas rates <<<

WESTERN STATES LEGISLATIVE ACADEMY

I recently returned from Colorado Springs, where I was selected to attend the Western Legislative Academy, a training camp for new legislators in the 13 western states. One of the most significant things I learned while there, is that the state legislatures in this country, for the most part, are doing their job very successfully. (This is according to studies conducted by Alan Rosenthalm, Professor of Public Policy at Eagleton Institute of Politics, Rutgers University, New Jersey, among others.)

A legislature’s job is defined as representing constituents, making law, balancing power with the executive, and maintaining the institution. According to numerous experts, legislators do best at representing their constituents, at least the ones they can get to become involved in the process. Most legislators are anxious to hear and know what the people in their district want from them, and try to respond appropriately.

Legislators also make law with a fairly good degree of success. Making law involves identifying public policy needs, and determining appropriate measure to address those needs. A successful legislator is also good at working with other legislators and those interested in the issue, to come up with mutually acceptable resolutions that will pass with a majority of votes. >>> Deseret News Story <<<