Happy Spring!
I’m circling back with the second half of my post-session recap.
Governor Cox finished bill signings two weeks ago, and all of my passed bills were signed into law 🙌
Now that the dust has settled, I’m excited to share more about what we accomplished this session. It was a crazy, busy session, but I passed a good air quality bill and another water conservation bill, both of which I’m very proud of. Let’s get into it.
First: My Passed Bills
This legislative session, a big policy focus for me was water conservation, air quality, and affordability. I also ran some bills in the childcare and criminal justice space. Here are our biggest wins this session:
SB252: Water Usage at State-owned Facilities 💧
👉 The problem:
One of the biggest issues facing our state is the significant decline of the Great Salt Lake. Without urgent and meaningful action, the lake will dry up and we will be left with catastrophic consequences. One opportunity for the state is to look at our own water use and landscaping practices. State properties largely use Kentucky Bluegrass, a type of turfgrass that requires a lot of water to remain green.
👉 The solution:
This year I introduced SB252, a bill that improves water conservation on state properties by requiring the installation of low water-use turf on any new state landscaping projects. Low water-use turf requires 50%-75% less water than the more common alternative, Kentucky Bluegrass. It also requires less maintenance, as it is a drought-tolerant turfgrass specifically adapted to thrive with minimal irrigation.
SB252 also requires the state to audit its irrigation systems for distribution uniformity (in other words, how efficient the irrigation system is). If efficiency falls below 75%, the Division of Facilities Construction and Management (DFCM) should make recommendations as to how to improve system efficiency and meet or exceed that 75% threshold. These audits will lead to better, more efficient water use.
When it comes to water conservation, the state should be leading by example. Adopting more water smart landscaping strategies ensures the state is a better steward of our water. I’m proud SB252 passed and has been signed into law. It will go into effect in a little over two weeks!
👉 The problem:
In Utah, a vehicle is subject to emissions testing if the owner of the vehicle lives in an area that does not meet national air quality standards. These areas, identified by the EPA as “areas of nonattainment,” require stricter emission controls, including vehicle emissions testing. Emissions testing improves air quality by identifying and remedying vehicles that emit harmful pollutants or otherwise exceed acceptable pollution levels.
However, some Utahns have found a way to avoid vehicle emissions testing requirements by registering their vehicle with an out-of-county address that does not belong to them. (Box Elder County has discovered an excessive amount of out-of-county vehicles registered to a post office in Box Elder). In doing so, the false address does not trigger the emissions testing requirement, and poor polluting vehicles stay on the road with no remedy or recourse.
👉 The solution:
This year I ran a bill, SB208,to give the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) the ability to investigate whether an individual has evaded a required emissions inspection and also grant them theauthority to revoke that vehicle’s registration if the underlying address discrepancy has not been cured. This ensures vehicles in counties where vehicle emissions testing is required are actually subject to that requirement, reducing harmful emissions and improving air quality.
This bill passed the House and the Senate and was signed into law last month. It will go into effect in a little over two weeks.
SB183: Surveillance Camera Amendments 👀
👉 The problem:
During a law enforcement investigation sometime last year, police arrived at a residence in Salt Lake County and initiated questioning of a young man who was accused of a serious crime. The young man unfortunately took his life 45 minutes later. As his family tried to piece together what happened, they found that at some point an officer had moved or disabled their private Ring cameras. This left the family with even more questions as they navigated the heartbreak of this loss.
In general, nothing in Utah law has prohibited law enforcement officers from tampering with the private Ring cameras of Utahns. There is no reason why law enforcement officers, who are required to wear and continually activate their body cameras during an investigation, should disable the private cameras residents have installed at their homes.
👉 The solution:
This year I ran SB183, which prohibits law enforcement officers from tampering with doorbell cameras and other surveillance cameras an individual has installed on their private property, unless justifiable exigent circumstances exist (such as the execution of a search warrant).
At a time when the increased presence of ICE in our communities is sowing fear and distrust, transparency in law enforcement is more important than ever. This bill will increase transparency and protect the private property rights of Utahns.
This bill passed the House and the Senate, was signed into law, and will go into effect on May 6th.
SB184: Justice System Amendments ⚖️
👉 The issue:
Some individuals who go through the criminal justice system have a closer nexus to individuals who are still involved in criminal activity (e.g., retail theft rings or drug deals) and therefore knowledge about current or future criminal incidents. These individuals could be useful to law enforcement or prosecutors as the latter work to detect, prevent, or apprehend crime.
👉 The solution:
This year I ran a bill, SB184, which allows an individual who has been convicted of a criminal offense the ability to reduce their conviction by one degree if that individual provides helpful information to law enforcement that assists in the apprehension of criminal activity or bringing another individual to justice.
This motivates cooperation, provides a benefit to the individual who is already working to improve their life, and serves as a helpful tool for detecting and apprehending crime.
This bill passed the House and the Senate, and was signed into law month. It will go into effect on May 6th.
A Few Close Ones + One Casualty
A handful of my bills were close, but unfortunately didn’t make it through this year:
🌱 SB176 – Landscaping Procurement Amendments: One of my favorite bills this session. This bill requires state facilities along the Wasatch Front to replace their two-stroke lawn equipment with electric-powered lawn equipment when the old equipment is ready to retire. I ran this bill to help reduce harmful emissions produced by two-stroke engines.
This bill passed the Senate but failed in the House — barely.
The vote count was 35-34. Even though it received a majority vote, a bill needs 38 votes to pass the House (a majority of all House members, not just those who are present). Because of this, SB176 unfortunately did not pass. I plan to bring this bill back in a future session.
🏠 SB187 – Renter Credit Reporting Amendments: Requires housing entities that receive public funds to report the monthly rent payments of tenants, if requested by the tenant. Doing so will help individuals build credit and better prepare for home ownership. This bill was held in committee on a 2-2 vote. Unfortunately, there was not enough time left in the session to bring it back in committee.
👶 SB258 – Infant at Work Amendments: Expands the Infant at Work Pilot Program, which I initially passed in 2020 and which was piloted by the Utah Department of Health. The program allows employees to bring their newborn child with them to work for the first six months or until the child becomes mobile. It’s an innovate solution to address childcare needs and was very well received in the Dept. of Health. SB258 would expand this program to all state agencies in the executive branch.
This bill passed the Senate but I ended up holding off on running it in the House. The votes weren’t there, and I’d rather work to garner support among my colleagues than run the bill and have it die. I plan to bring this one back next year.
🏛️ SB215 – Eviction Record Amendments: This bill reduces the time by which an individual may expunge a dismissed eviction record, from three years down to one year. Doing so would remove barriers to employment and future housing.
The bill had broad stakeholder support and passed unanimously out of the Senate. I expected it would pass in the House as well; however, the bill ended up being a casualty of HB480, a weird abortion bill by Rep. Lisonbee that would have required medical professionals to indicate on an individual’s medical record when an abortion was an “involuntary abortion” or an “elective abortion.”
My democratic colleagues and I were able to successfully stop HB480 in the Senate. In retaliation, Rep. Lisonbee was able to stall the vote on my bill, SB215, on the last night of the session. I’m okay with this tradeoff. I plan to run SB215 again next year.
Not So Close, but I Really Loved This Bill
I also ran SB177, Product Pricing Amendments. This bill addresses a retailer’s use of algorithmic pricing to set prices based on information the retailer knows about a consumer. Retailers collect this personal information online — things like your age, gender, location, income, shopping history, and even the mouse movements you make on a screen — and they use this to adjust their prices. This leads to different people seeing different amounts for the same product (and that price variability can be as much as 20% or more).
Surveillance pricing generates a higher profit for retailers, but it subjects Utahns to obscure price manipulation and weakened competition.
My bill, SB177, would have required retailers who engage in this predatory pricing practice to disclose their use of surveillance pricing to consumers.
Unfortunately, the bill did not pass out of the Senate Business & Labor Committee, but it was sent to interim for further study. I’ll be spearheading continued conversations on this issue and intend to bring the bill back next session.
End of Session Progress Report
Each year, Alliance for a Better Utah releases their end-of-session progress reports. I’m proud to continue a record of results and progress. You can view the full report here.
Let’s Connect
Serving in the state legislature is an incredible responsibility, and I have been proud to take our community values to the Utah senate. Whether you reached out this session to share concerns, support legislation, or simply ask questions, your engagement improves the process and helps make our democracy stronger.
Although the session is over, my work representing you continues year-round. Please reach out with your thoughts on the issues that matter to you and what policies you think our state legislature should be focusing on moving forward.
Thank you for staying engaged and for your advocacy on the issues you care about.
Talk soon,
Stephanie
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