2017 Legislature - Week 2 Summary!

Week 2 of the 2017 General Session of the Utah State Legislature is in the books. 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:

Special Events at the Capitol

Law Enforcement Day at the Capitol

This week we were honored to have some of our law enforcement visit us at the Capitol. Thanks to all of them for literally putting their life on the line every day to help keep us safe. Thank you for your service!

Bipartisan Clean Air Caucus

For the last four years, I have been part of the bipartisan Clean Air Caucus. This is a group of republican and democrat legislators who get together every month to craft legislation to help clean up our air. Here are some of the press reports that give more details on some of the legislation we are preparing for this year's Session. [ABC4] [DNews] [

Visits to the Capitol!

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 it was students from the West Valley campus of American Preparatory Academy. Thanks for. visiting!

2017 Legislation

This last week we continued the process of voting on non-budget bills. Of course, you can always watch the new reports. But the best way to track any legislation is at the Legislature's website at http://le.utah.gov. Here are a few of the more interesting bills that were discussed this last week:

A bill creating runoff primary elections has been proposed. [Trib] [DNews]
A Senate committee expressed favor for legislation that would increase Utah's funding for affordable housing options. [Trib]
A House committee unanimously agreed to expand Utah's research into medical marijuana, which the bill's sponsor, Rep. Brad Daw, says would allow scientific evidence to guide policy. [Trib] [DNews]
Amidst disagreements over whether insurance companies or doctors should decide when to prescribe opioids, lawmakers temporarily delayed consideration of a bill requiring insurance companies to adopt policies to help prevent opiate overdoses. [Trib]
The Senate Transportation Committee advanced legislation designed to make the Utah Transit Authority more transparent, requiring open meetings, speeding up appeals of open-records requests and blocking the hiring of "union-busting" consultants. [Trib]
A Utah representative wants to lower the minimum age to obtain a concealed carry permit from 21 to 18, saying the move would provide younger college-age students the option to defend themselves from campus sexual assaults. [DNews] [KUTV]

Rep. Hall's Legislation

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

HB86 - Inactive Voter Amendments - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House 70-0. Off to the Senate. Sen. Karen Mayne is the Senate sponsor.

This is a relatively simple bill which helps make sure that voters don't get kicked off the voter rolls due to a technicality. I was asked by the Lt. Gov.'s Office to sponsor the bill and I am happy to help them achieve this goal.

HB132 - School Bus Safety Requirements - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House Transportation Committee 7-3. Will be heard in front of the full House sometime this next week.

This bill would require seat belts in new school buses (model year 2017 buses and newer). I was first introduced to this issue when a friend of mine, while I was living in Texas, had a daughter who was seriously injured in a school bus that tipped onto its side while on their way to a soccer game. Two of her teammates died as a result of the accident.

I appreciate all the feedback I've received regarding this bill. I've been in close contact with the school districts discussing ways to improve the bill. Thanks to all those who have reached out. Here is an article regarding the bill: [SLTrib]

HB105 - Early Voting Amendments - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House Government Operations Committee 9-0. Off to the full floor of the House

State law currently allows early voting from two weeks before Election Day, until Friday before Election Day. This bill would extend early voting until Monday before Election Day. I was asked by the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office to run this bill. This is a great bill which will give more options to Utah's voters. Here's some press coverage regarding the bill. [DNews]

HB106 - Utah Uniform Securities Act Amendments - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Passed the House Judiciary Committee 9-0. Will be heard by the full House on Monday.

This is a bill that clarifies how to determine damages in the event of securities fraud. I was requested by the Utah Attorney General's office to run this bill.

HB144 - Administrative Law Judge Qualifications - I am the chief sponsor of this bill. Held by the House Judiciary Committee this week without a vote.

Administrative Law Judges adjudicate items when a citizen has a dispute with a government agency. Currently there is no requirement for these judges to be law-trained. These judges deal with issues that are legally complicated (health code, insurance code, etc.) and I believe it is best practice for these individuals to graduate from law school before they rule on legal rights for Utah citizens.

Town Hall Meetings!

We had our first Town Hall meeting on Saturday, January 28. 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).

Wednesday, February 15, 2016, 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. (NOTE: This was erroneously listed as 7:00 - 8:00 earlier - The correct time is 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.)
Saturday, February 25, 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! (Below is a photo of some of the paper surveys that have been returned!). 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/RepHall201 7 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