2016 Legislative Summary - Week 1!

2016 Utah Legislative Session

Week 1 Summary

The 2016 General Session of the Utah State Legislature began on Monday, January 25. Thank you so much for all of your support. It is truly an honor to represent the great residents of District 33. Just a few highlights from the week:

Budget

This first week, the legislature spent much of its time going over the State's budget. Each legislator is on at least one appropriations subcommittee. I am currently the Vice-Chair of the Infrastructure and General Government Subcommittee, which makes recommendations for approximately $1.6 billion of the State's overall budget, and deals with budget issues regarding the Utah Department of Transportation, the Department of Technology Services, the Department of Administrative Services, and capital facilities.

For the last week, our committee has carefully scrutinized their existing budgets, reviewed previous appropriations and then will determine if the expenditures are achieving the desired outcomes. Of course, we are always looking for any potential savings. This budgeting process will continue throughout the session.

Here's a snapshot of the budget from last year's Session.

Special Events at the Capitol

Officer Barney's funeral

Monday was the first day of the legislative session. But earlier in the day, I was fortunate to attend the funeral of Officer Barney. Inspiring funeral. My prayers go out to the Barney family. Thanks to all who serve, and put your lives on the line, to protect out communities.

State of the State

The State of the State was given by Governor Herbert on Wednesday. The legislature looks forward to working together with the Governor to help keep Utah a great place to live, work and raise a family.

Visits to the Capitol! - This week, Granger Elementary

One of our State's treasures is the State Capitol building. And visiting during the legislative session is the best time of year to visit. Lots of action happening every day. I would love to give your family / school group / church group / etc. a behind-the-scenes tour of the State Capitol. Give me a call/email and we'll make it happen. This week Granger Elementary School visited. Thanks for coming! it was great speaking with you!

Rep. Hall's Legislation

I have several bills this session, here are a few:

HB83 - C ampaign Finance Disclosures in Municipal Elections - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. On Friday, this bill passed the House Political Subdivisions Cmte, 7 - 4. It will now go to the floor of the House.

State election code sets forth a minimum amount of financial disclosures in municipal elections. If the city wants to make those requirements more stringent, they are allowed to do so. Currently, state code does NOT require a a financial disclosure statement before a primary election. This bill would simply require such disclosure before a primary election, if there is a primary election. This is a good bill that will increase candidate transparency in municipals elections.

HB160 - Justice Court Judge Qualification Amendments - I am the chief sponsor of this bill.

Currently, justice court judges need not be law school graduates. In fact, the only education requirement is that they must have a high school diploma. I want to change that.

Justice court judges deal with important constitutional rights every day. They have the ability and authority to throw people in jail. Two recent reports (done by the State and by the 6th Amendment Center) both conclude that our justice court judges need to be better trained. Requiring them to be law school graduates would go a long way towards providing that needed education and training. When criminal defendants and other litigants go into the justice court system, too much is at stake for non-law-trained individuals to be making the decisions.

HB155 - R eporting of Child Pornography - I am the chief sponsor of this bill.

This bill would require computer technicians to report to law enforcement if they happen to come across child pornography in the scope of their employment. There would be no duty to actively look for any child pornography. The law would only be triggered if they happen to see it. There are 12 states that already have similar laws.

I have been working with IT professionals and their lawyers to make sure there will not be undue burden on such workers. The bill will help our efforts in fighting the horrendous crimes of manufacturing and distributing child pornography.

Town Hall Meetings!

We had our first Town Hall meeting on Saturday, January 30. Thanks to those who attended and asked great questions. I have two more Town Hall meetings scheduled during the legislative session. All of the following Town Hall meetings will be at West Valley Library (2800 West 3650 South).

Tuesday, February 16, 2016, 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 27, 2016, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Hope to see you there!

Please return your survey!

I have mailed a survey to constituents within District 33. The answers you provide to these survey questions are invaluable. Please, please, please fill it out and return! I am very interested in your perspectives. Your comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated. You can also take the survey online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RepHall2016 if you prefer that method. Thank you so much!

Ways to Contact Representative Hall

I make a concerted effort to reach out to all of my constituents. For that reason, I use as many different forms of communication as possible. Most of you have received mail from me. I also have frequent town hall meetings (more on that above). You can follow me online at www.votecraighall.com. For even more frequent updates, you can follow me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/votecraighall and/or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/hcraighall. You are also welcome to call my cell phone anytime. (801) 573-1774. I will be in many meetings throughout the legislative session, so if I don't answer right away, feel free to leave me a message and I'll try to call back as soon as possible. I will also be sending out regular updates via email. Probably the quickest way to get ahold of me is by email. My legislative email address is chall@le.utah.gov.

Thanks for your support. Contact me anytime.

Read all previous email newsletters here: http://bit.ly/YJCYy1

Representative Craig Hall

Legislative email: chall@le.utah.gov
Personal email: hcraighall@yahoo.com
Website: www.votecraighall.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/votecraighall
Twitter: www.twitter.com/hcraighall
Cell phone: (801) 573-1774