Legislators / Tiara Auxier
Tiara Auxier
Republican · House District 4
Hear from them directly
Contact Rep. Tiara Auxier
- Email: tauxier@le.utah.gov
- Phone: (801) 450-3701
- Office: P.O. Box 101, Morgan, UT, 84050
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Watch or join a meeting
Every committee hearing and floor session is open to the public and streamed live on le.utah.gov. Each committee's agenda has the link to watch or join online, and how to sign up for public comment.
Tiara Auxier serves on:
- Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee
- House Education Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- Education Interim Committee
- Judiciary Interim Committee
What they've said
183 remarks on 30 billsS.B. 268 Religious Curriculum in Schools · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026
Says the conference committee kept out provisions the House did not want and preserved language on religion's role in the nation's early founding.
▶ Watch at 1:22:26Read what they said
Um, so we met and there were a couple provisions that the house felt strongly that they did not want in that bill, and we were able to keep that out. And then also just preserve the intent of the foundational role that religion played in, um, our early founding.
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · Senate floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026
Explains that the substitute authorizes the Lieutenant Governor's office to charge and collect a fee and modifies use of the municipal incorporation expendable special revenue fund.
▶ Watch at 2:23:34Read what they said
The operative changes here is that this sub authorizes the Lieutenant Governor's office to charge and collect a fee and it also modifies the use of the municipal incorporation expendable special revenue fund.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Presents H.B. 312 on the House floor and moves to concur with the Senate amendments.
▶ Watch at 1:35:41Read what they said
Fifth Substitute House Bill three 12 School curriculum and standards modifications by Representative Voxer. Representative Voxer. Thank You. Motion to concur with Senate Amendments.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Explains that the bill creates a Utah-developed social studies and history curriculum and that the concurrence funds that portion first.
▶ Watch at 1:35:54Read what they said
Yeah. Um, this is the bill that we passed out about creating our own social studies and history curriculum. There was also a bill that said, um, that we should look into doing our curriculum across all subjects. And so we just put it into the bill. Um, my history and social studies will be first and that's what was funded. And so that's, uh, that's the concurrence
S.B. 268 Religious Curriculum in Schools · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Presents S.B. 268, which asks students to examine the role of religion in American foundational principles, history, and constitutional government in the citizenship course, with optional topics, and protects students' freedom to express religious beliefs in assignments without fear of reprisal or discrimination.
▶ Watch at 1:36:35Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Um, this bill is about, um, examining the role of religion in, um, our foundational principles and different movements throughout history in the American Constitutional government and citizenship course. And it has a list of optional topics that could be, um, examined during that time. And then also, um, just a provision to make sure that students can express their religious beliefs freely in their artwork or other assignments without any, um, fear of reprisals or discrimination.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Confirms the $12 million funding covers the civics portion and says the state school board and superintendent would develop materials in Utah, not through a vendor.
▶ Watch at 1:40:14Read what they said
That's correct. And I'd like to point out along with that, that that was the amount that, um, my bill needed to fund the civics portion. And so this, um, as, as was also mentioned earlier, I, I made sure that this would not be in vendor bill. The way that I wrote it is that the state superintendent, along with the school board, will be the ones looking for the materials and developing it here in Utah. Whether that's the USU Civic Center, whether that's the Utah teachers or anywhere else they wanna look, it is putting it fully in the hands of the state school board and superintendent Honor.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Says the amended bill is different, is not a vendor bill, and leaves material development to the superintendent and school board.
▶ Watch at 1:44:24Read what they said
Um, I would say that it is different. A lot of the comments that were considered, um, for why the bill failed the first time was because they were afraid it was a vendor bill. My language in three 12 is very specific that it is not a vendor bill and it is left up to the superintendent and the school board to be able to decide how they develop and identify the materials. And so I think that is the major sticking point on if we want control on what our students are being able to learn and being taught, um, we, we want to not have to be getting our textbooks from California. Mr.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Gives closing summation, saying the fiscal note is $12 million, the school board supplied language, and asks for support of the concurrence.
▶ Watch at 1:45:37Read what they said
Yeah, thank you. I think if everyone looks at the fiscal bill, it was not $65 million. It is $12 million and if we put together our own curriculum and we would give it to the schools, they would then free up those millions of dollars for whatever they want. And so it is a win-win for us to be able to make sure that the curriculum our kids are being taught are based off of the standards that we want them to have. I would also like to note that I worked closely with the school board and they actually gave me much of the language that is in this bill for it to work the way that they …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Moves to refuse to concur and ask the Senate to recede from its amendments. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:47:38Read what they said
Um, I guess I will Motion to refuse to Concur Representative and ask the Senate to receive from its amendments.
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Apologizes for a phone interruption and says the issue is taken care of.
▶ Watch at 28:23Read what they said
Representative officer, Mr. Chair. Sorry, my phone's on. Okay. Got taken care of. Okay, great.
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Presents HB 510 second substitute, which would require 18 months of documented county coordination before a feasibility request, let counties add data to feasibility studies, and tighten financial safeguards for infrastructure funds.
▶ Watch at 28:31Read what they said
Um, thank you for letting me come and present HB five 10. Uh, last year, the legislature had a serious conversation about whether to repeal the preliminary municipality provision altogether. And that, uh, repeal effort passed 53 to 19 in the house and then ultimately didn't, um, advance in the Senate. And I just share that history because it reflects something important that there's a broad recognition that the current framework has created real challenges. And so today I'm trying to find a way to refine and strengthen this process. And, um, at its core, this is a conversation about whether or not, um, this statutory framework works not just on paper, but in practice as well for our counties …
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Responds to the Governor's office that the statement of insurance was requested by the Lieutenant Governor's office and is open to changing it, and says she is willing to look at retroactivity language for existing applications.
▶ Watch at 39:00Read what they said
Okay, thank you. Um, I just wanted to respond to the governor's office. Um, we have had a lot of conversations and recently the governor's office has gotten involved and I listened to a lot of those concerns. And I would say that the lieutenant of governor's office was brought in, um, by the request of the governor's office asking for this statement of insurance. It was not in the original sub, and it was something specifically that the Lieutenant Governor's office asked to make sure that the developer was saying, Hey, this is our plan and this is what we're expecting to do. And the Lieutenant Governor's office said it was so that they wouldn't actually get sued if …
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Says she can talk with Sen. Cullimore about the statement of insurance and is willing to strike it if it is not needed.
▶ Watch at 41:15Read what they said
Yeah, I mean, I can talk to him and see if there's any idea about the statement of insurance or like I said, it wasn't in the bill to begin with. And so if people don't think that's important for the Lieutenant Governor's office to have, then I'm happy to strike it as well. Um, it was just something that they'd asked for. And so, okay.
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Closes by saying counties want guardrails rather than barriers and noting the bill passed unanimously in the House, and asks for a favorable recommendation.
▶ Watch at 41:47Read what they said
Yeah. You know, I, I think like what I said earlier, the counties aren't asking for barriers, just guardrails around this process. And also this bill passed unanimously in the house. So I think that it is a clear indication that that changes need to be made. And that was on the original sub before I even changed to more things. So I would appreciate that favorable recommendation.
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Auxier, speaking to her motion to hold the bill, said the legislature has recently sought funding for school lunch and that extending the threshold to 200% would shift costs to taxpayers.
▶ Watch at 43:03Read what they said
Would you like to speak to that motion? Yeah, I would. You know, I really appreciate the thought of this. And like was said earlier, the last couple years we've been really making an effort to look into getting more funding for school lunch. And, you know, last year there was a $5 million ask this year, a $7 million ask to make it so that, um, families who are in that 130 to 185, um, of percent of poverty, not only would res um, get that reduced price, but actually get it for free. And so, you know, asking to then extend that to 200 i, I think is, um, not just saying, Hey, you'll be able to get …
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Auxier said the poverty threshold has already been decided and opposed expanding the program, saying it is not a proper role of government.
▶ Watch at 46:45Read what they said
I need to go back to the underlying motion. Thank you, uh, to representative er on the motion to recommend favorably. Um, yeah, I, I can appreciate the compassion here, but I think if we look at, um, it's already been decided what percent of poverty line it should be at to be able to be funded for the people who need that. And clearly we would be making a decision that we want to go above that, what's already recommended. And, um, based on, on that, I, I don't think that this is the proper role of government to be expanding this.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · Senate Education Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Presented the bill, which would promote a spiral approach to civics and history, have the state superintendent identify free open educational resources, require both U.S. History courses for credit, and integrate civics into literacy instruction, and said the bill is meant to help students understand government.
▶ Watch at 2:14:55Read what they said
You, Mr. Chair. And in fact, I feel like the last conversation just kind of queued this up perfectly because we were talking about how we have so many kids graduating, um, high school and not having an understanding of their government and how to, um, even engage with the political process and, and understanding the foundation of our country. And so, um, in the house this year, there were actually quite a few civic spills. And so this is a conglomeration of, of three different ones. And we will kind of go through the different things. But one of the things I really wanted to point out is, right now with our elementary, uh, social studies, there's not a …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · Senate Education Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Said the bill's funding is subject to appropriation, that a substitute would remove the superintendent's duty to develop open education resources, and that the cost was worked with the school board to stay under 20,000 dollars.
▶ Watch at 2:21:57Read what they said
It is, but also in, in the bill on 4 27, it says, subject to legislative appropriation. So depending on what that looks like, we can rearrange things. I also will have a sub that would take out the requirement for the superintendent to actually develop and identify those open ed resources to make available to the schools, which I'm hoping that they'll be able to do in conjunction with the USU Civics center. Um, but if, if it doesn't get as funded as it needs, then we'll just have all these other things in place of what still needs to be taught and how you can integrate it across. And I've worked closely with the school board to get …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · Senate Education Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Said the bill was not run through the funding request process and that funding status will be known tomorrow.
▶ Watch at 2:22:50Read what they said
And, and that's just because I didn't run an RFA with it and kind of a convoluted thing, but we'll know tomorrow.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · Senate Education Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Presents HB 462 to fund internet access on two buses per high school so students can do schoolwork during long rides, using the same filtering as their Chromebooks and blocking personal devices.
▶ Watch at 2:29:47Read what they said
Yeah, this is a, a really simple bill and one that came about, um, because of the lifestyle in rural Utah, our kids usually are in schools that don't have very many students. And so Fielding teams, our kids get to do almost every sport that they want, um, and, and different activities. But when they're involved in so many extracurriculars, they are on buses for hours, some, um, many times getting over to their, their games, to their, um, other competitors in their, in their region. And so when I was a kid and I was playing as a student athlete, I would do my homework on the bus, uh, when I had it with a paper and pencil, …
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · Senate Education Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Says the funding will be determined tomorrow and that colleagues are prioritizing the bill.
▶ Watch at 2:33:37Read what they said
Yes, that's true. And we'll find out tomorrow. I know I have quite a few colleagues that are prioritizing this, and I'm, I'm grateful for that.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · Senate Education Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Says the bill is a tool to help students manage heavy workloads, such as concurrent enrollment, and thanks the committee for its favorable recommendation.
▶ Watch at 2:34:26Read what they said
Thank you. I, I feel like, um, rightly so, we're asking a lot of our kids as in their education, their learning, and especially with our push for concurrent enrollment and, um, other, other stuff like that, that this is a tool to help them manage those workloads in areas where they have struggles. So I appreciate your favorable recommendation.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Presents the bill to lower the E-Verify employee threshold from 150 to 100, citing identity theft and the burden on employers.
▶ Watch at 1:31:45Read what they said
employer verification amendments. This was a tough one. Thank you. I'll try to make it quick. Um, I'm sure you all know that, um, in during COVID, we switched that E-Verify from 15 up to 150 employees. And, um, so my bill would be bringing that down in a measured way to 100. My very first job out of school was as accountant for a construction company. And when I ran their matching and when I sent out the, um, the letters to the employees, they came back and they told me this is a good number. I paid good money for this number. And so that was my first experience realizing that this wasn't just a victimless crime, that …
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Says the hold motion is not friendly, notes stakeholders were consulted, and urges the committee to vote on the first motion.
▶ Watch at 1:43:15Read what they said
Thank you. Um, I would say that that's not a friendly, um, motion. And also you'll notice there were a lot of agencies that were called out in one of the public comments, but they're not here to speak against this. I've worked closely with stakeholders finding a number that can work, while also showing that we are taking our constituents concerns about this topic, um, very seriously. And so I would, I would urge you to go with the first motion.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee · Mar 2, 2026
Says the committee needs to show it is serious about making progress on the bill.
▶ Watch at 1:48:23Read what they said
I, I think we need to show that we're serious about making some progress, so thank
S.B. 268 Religious Curriculum in Schools · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Introduces the bill as focusing on the role of religion in US history and turns the presentation over to a guest.
▶ Watch at 2:33:48Read what they said
Yeah. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And in the interest of time, I think I'll probably, um, not do a lot of my presentation. It's, it's pretty self-explanatory, and I have a guest here who has a lot to share. And, um, this bill is basically just focusing on the fundamental role that religion played in the United States history and making sure that that, um, can be part of our curriculum. So I will turn it over to my guest. Thank you.
S.B. 268 Religious Curriculum in Schools · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Says the point is fair and would consider the amendment friendly.
▶ Watch at 2:46:52Read what they said
Thank you. I think that's a fair point that these things are already, um, allowed. So I would consider that friendly.
S.B. 268 Religious Curriculum in Schools · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Argues that US history cannot be taught without discussing the religious beliefs that guided the founders and the nation's development.
▶ Watch at 2:48:24Read what they said
You. Just briefly, when I think about, and I love history. So when I think about World War II and learning about the Japanese kamikaze warriors, you don't understand the context that they were coming from unless you understand their history, and especially with their samurai background, with, you know, saving face and, and shame and, and all of that, that is not part of the culture that founded our nation. And so I really don't think that when we're talking about our American history, that we can dance around the fact that our founding fathers, in addition to the classical literature, also looked to their religious beliefs as the guiding principles, as they were envisioning and building their new …
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · House floor debate (day 38) · Feb 27, 2026
Presents H.B. 510, saying it revises the municipal incorporation pilot program with earlier county coordination, county input in feasibility studies, and stronger bonding and infrastructure safeguards.
▶ Watch at 40:29Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Last year this body had a serious conversation about whether the preliminary municipality pilot program should continue and voted 53 to 19 to repeal it, but ultimately it didn't advance in the Senate. Since that time, I've been working with stakeholders to come to a compromise that would address the specific issues we've seen in a more accountable and workable form. First, it requires earlier and meaningful coordination with county officials in good faith. Before developers can go to the Lieutenant Governor's office and ask to create a city. Second, the bill ensures counties have a meaningful seat at the table. In the feasibility process, feasibility consultants must consider county provided data and analysis, including infrastructure …
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · House floor debate (day 38) · Feb 27, 2026
Gives closing remarks, saying the bill took months of negotiation and asking for members' support.
▶ Watch at 43:30Read what they said
Thank you. Like I said, this has been a long, um, time coming. It's been months and months of negotiation, so I would appreciate your support. Thank you very much.
H.B. 183 Sex Designation Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Presents the second substitute, saying it replaces references to gender with sex throughout Utah code and rules for consistency, does not alter the Utah Compact, and introduces a guest presenter.
▶ Watch at 2:05:44Read what they said
Second substitute is the one I'll be speaking to. Alright, Excellent. If everyone wants to take a look at that, you'll see that there's, um, a lot of changes. And so, um, Utah House Bill 180 3 Sub two brings needed clarity and consistency to Utah law by replacing references to gender with sex and Alliance statutory definitions with biological sex. Currently, Utah Code does not contain a single universally applicable, applicable definition of gender, which can create ambiguity. And, um, we've, we've even had the Supreme Court say that we have no definition of gender. And so, by focusing on sex and standardizing the terminology throughout the state law and administrative rules, it promotes uniform interpretation and administrative efficiency. …
H.B. 183 Sex Designation Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Says legal terms need precise language and the bill ensures consistency across statutes, then opens for questions.
▶ Watch at 2:11:06Read what they said
Thank you very much. Yeah. Um, I think with, um, especially with legal terms, we need to make sure that we are, um, precise in our speech. And I think that this just clarifies and ensures the consistency across all state statutes and definitions. So with that, I'll open myself to questions. Okay.
H.B. 183 Sex Designation Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Says no, the bill only clarifies the terms sex and gender already in code.
▶ Watch at 2:11:51Read what they said
No. This just clarifies with, um, changing sex and, and gender, which are, um, shown in different places in our code already.
H.B. 183 Sex Designation Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Confirms the custody provision is removed and the bill only changes gender to sex across statute.
▶ Watch at 2:12:58Read what they said
That's correct. Okay. That's not in this bill. That's Correct. Okay. Just wanted to clarify. I think we, we visited that last year and already voted on how we want that to be addressed. And yes, this is just changing across our statute, gender and sex. That's all that is in the bill.
H.B. 315 Human Development Instruction · House Education Committee · Feb 26, 2026
The member asked for a response to emails saying the content is not age appropriate. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 48:55Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I'm just wondering, I've had a few emails talking about how, um, this isn't age appropriate, um, to talk about these things at this age. Do you have a response to that or is there anything in here that isn't age appropriate? I know we've been talking about that a lot as far as our libraries.
H.B. 315 Human Development Instruction · House Education Committee · Feb 26, 2026
The member agreed, saying understanding fetal development explains why bodily changes taught in maturation matter, and thanked the sponsor. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 50:14Read what they said
I would agree. And, and thank you for that. I was trying to figure out, you know, where they were coming from with, with that perspective. But if we think about the fact that we as a state have decided to make sure that all kids receive maturation to talk about their changes in their body, the most important thing is why those changes are important, I think, and what it can lead to. And I just think back, you know, with my own pregnancies and bringing my kids, um, to see the ultrasounds of their siblings, um, being able to see that progression. And, you know, I, I think so many times we hear people say, oh, you know, …
H.B. 315 Human Development Instruction · House Education Committee · Feb 26, 2026
The member opposed the motion, saying the bill standardizes biology instruction without requiring a specific video or removing the board's role.
▶ Watch at 1:17:46Read what they said
Mr. Chair. Um, I'd be opposed to that motion. This, uh, bill standardizes expectations across districts. And just as the legislature sets minimum standards in math, reading and civics, it's also appropriate to ensure consistent instruction in human biology. The bill doesn't remove the state board's role in developing standards or educators, professional discretion in delivering instruction. It simply ensures that key biological components are included. Nothing I heard in this bill requires this exact video. The bill calls for age appropriate scientific content focus on biology and development. Ultrasound and embryological videos are factual medical tools used in healthcare settings every day. Providing accurate visuals supports comprehension, and we advocate for including visuals in many subjects to enhance understanding. …
H.B. 465 Juvenile Court Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Says she has been talking with stakeholders, including defense attorneys, prosecutors, and CCJJ, about the bill.
▶ Watch at 2:20:38Read what they said
Okay. Sounds good. Um, so I've been talking with the stakeholders on this defense prosecutors, CCJJ and, um, basically,
H.B. 465 Juvenile Court Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Explains that the bill lets judges suspend up to five days during a diversion and up to 30 days for a second offense committed during a first-offense diversion period, and that a defense-requested notice-and-hearing change was added in the second substitute.
▶ Watch at 2:20:50Read what they said
Um, it lets judges suspend five days, um, while they're doing a diversion of the regular sentence so that if the diversion doesn't work, they have those tools. I heard from lots of justices that they didn't have tools to do that. So, uh, five days for that. And then if they commit a second offense while they're still in the time period of their diversion for a first offense, it would suspend up to 30 days for that second offense. Okay. Are You aware of any opposition to the bill? No. And in fact there was in sub two I was adding something from, um, the defense who asked to make sure that it was with a notice and …
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Presented HB 510, saying the bill would add county coordination requirements, county input in feasibility studies, and stronger bonding and infrastructure safeguards for preliminary municipal incorporation.
▶ Watch at 1:10:40Read what they said
Oh, Um, last year, this, uh, the legislature had a serious conversation about whether the preliminary municipality pilot program should continue at all. A bill was run to repeal the provision entirely in response to concerns that had arisen as applications began moving forward. That repeal effort passed the house with 53 votes, a very strong majority, but it ultimately did not advance in the Senate. I share that history because it reflects something important. There's broad recognition that current framework has created real challenges, and I'm, I'm not here today asking for a full repeal, um, instead house Bill five 10 is a measured approach to address the specific issues we've been, um, seeing while preserving the pilot in …
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Answered that the feasibility study has 120 days after the consultant is chosen, and that the lieutenant governor selects the consultant within 30 to 45 days by RFP.
▶ Watch at 1:18:05Read what they said
I think after they apply, and they're accepted as one of the applicants that year, that, um, once the lieutenant governor identifies who's going to be the, um, the independent feasibility consultant on that, they have 120 days to get that done. And I think that the Lieutenant governor has like 30 to 45 days to name who the independent feasibility, uh, consultant will be by putting out an RFP.
H.B. 510 Municipal Incorporation Modifications · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Gave summation, saying the bill came after lengthy negotiations with stakeholders and asking for a favorable vote.
▶ Watch at 1:31:47Read what they said
Thank you. Um, this bill came after a lot of negotiations. I mean, we spent hours and hours together with the stakeholders talking about, um, you know, what we could agree on and, and not, and like, like I said, I'm happy to continue those negotiations. Um, so I would appreciate that favorable vote. Thank you.
S.B. 88 School Technology Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 24, 2026
Says parents' rights and their role in children's education are important, and supports moving the bill forward.
▶ Watch at 2:26:45Read what they said
Yes. Um, I am, I'm happy to do this. And, um, something that I care a lot about is parents' rights and, you know, being the main, um, responsible person over our children's education. How can we do that unless we see, you know, exactly what they're accessing and, and having that say. So I appreciate the bill sponsor for bringing this bill to us, and happy to move it forward.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
Moves to adopt House Amendment 1 to the bill.
▶ Watch at 30:28Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, may I move, amend, or motion to amend and move house amendment one in my name?
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
Says the amendment clarifies questions raised in committee about extended trips for rural school districts.
▶ Watch at 30:41Read what they said
There was, um, this is just clarifying some questions that were in committee as far as extended trip. And just clarifying is just rural school districts because they all have extended trips.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
Waives the opportunity to sum up on the motion to adopt the amendment.
▶ Watch at 31:14Read what they said
I'll waive motion has been waived on the motion to adopt amendment number one on, uh, HB 4 62 under representative ER's name.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
Presents the bill to help rural high school students who travel long distances for activities finish homework on school buses with internet access, and says Chromebook filtering and password restrictions would apply to the bus connection.
▶ Watch at 31:35Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This bill came about, um, because of the unique issues that rural kids face when they are in high school. Many of them, because of the sizes of their schools, are involved in lots of activities and sports, um, just because they have fewer numbers to field all their teams. And, um, the people that they play, not only just in their regions, um, but across the state are many hours away. And colleagues, if you remember when we were little, if we were on a bus, we could do our homework with a page per and a pencil. But nowadays all homework is submitted online. And so if these kids are going an hour and …
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
Sums up that the bill would help rural students finish homework during long bus trips rather than late at night.
▶ Watch at 33:44Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This bill will give so much help with our rural school kids while they're away and being able to get their homework done and focus on a lot of their classes and, and, uh, homework that they wouldn't be able to do until they got home late at night. So let's support our kids. Thanks. Bye.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
Presents H.B. 294, describing identity theft concerns involving minors' Social Security numbers and proposing to lower the E-Verify employer threshold from 150 employees to 100.
▶ Watch at 1:09:52Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Pro Tem, um, colleagues, it might interest you to know that my very first job as an accountant was working for a construction company. And, um, my little 18-year-old self decided to run all the social security numbers through E-Verify. And I got back a lot of letters that said, name and number do not match. And so I decided to send out letters then to the employees where those names and le and numbers didn't match. And I had many of them come to me and say, I paid good money for that number and that is a real number. So that was my first taste of realizing that when we're talking about undocumented workers, …
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House floor debate (day 35) · Feb 24, 2026
In closing, cites a Federal Reserve research paper finding that Utah's E-Verify requirement reduced the projected illegal workforce by 34%, and says Utah should not wait for federal action.
▶ Watch at 1:13:33Read what they said
Thank you. Um, I appreciate my good representative from more South than I am. And, um, I, I thought I would, um, mention something that I thought was very interesting. I found a research paper by the Federal Reserve that was done and they showed that by Utah having E-Verify on the books, um, decreased our projected illegal workforce by 34%. And so I think just having that dampening effect, even though we are not doing the enforcement for the federal government. And you know, we, I think we should all hope that Washington moves, um, to do this, but I I don't think Utah has ever been a state to sit back and wait for the federal government to …
S.B. 59 Alimony Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 23, 2026
Asked how cohabitation would be proven as distinct from a roommate or friend who moves in temporarily. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 2:10:15Read what they said
Representative Ox here. Yeah. Thank you. Um, thank you. I just had a question about the cohabitation part. So I know many people when they leave, sometimes they leave quickly and they move in with a friend or something like that until they can get on their feet. So I'm just wondering, I didn't actually look into what cohabitation like what you have to prove for that, but how would you prove the difference between a boyfriend and a friend that was a, or you know, an opposite sex friend or one that you were actually, um,
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Moves to adopt the second substitute for H.B. 440.
▶ Watch at 31:27Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Pro tem. Motion to adopt second sub for HB four 40. Motion, Mr. Do accept, uh, adopt second substitute house bill four 40.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the substitute reflects talks with school districts and charter schools, removes language they found restrictive, and makes clear the bill is not a mandate.
▶ Watch at 31:40Read what they said
Yeah. This is taking into account the multiple conversations that I've been having with different school districts and charter schools and taking out some of the language that was giving them heartburn, um, which they thought felt a little restrictive. And I wanted to make sure that they knew that, um, this was not mandated. Just discussions. So that that language is, is softening what, what they were concerned about.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the bill was revised after talks with school districts and charter schools, softening language they found restrictive, and that the requirement is not a mandate.
▶ Watch at 31:40Read what they said
Yeah. This is taking into account the multiple conversations that I've been having with different school districts and charter schools and taking out some of the language that was giving them heartburn, um, which they thought felt a little restrictive. And I wanted to make sure that they knew that, um, this was not mandated. Just discussions. So that that language is, is softening what, what they were concerned about.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the word target was replaced with language referencing the USBE model policy, which is not a requirement.
▶ Watch at 32:49Read what they said
Yeah, so the words target goal, um, was what was concerning. What it is really identifying is, is hearkening to US B'S model policy past three years ago and, and just saying, look at that model policy and look at the research around it. It's, it says that the way for children to thrive is by having 20 minutes to eat lunch and recess first where possible. So that is what it is referencing. It's not saying that they have to do that, that is just referencing that model policy.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the word target was changed and the bill references the USBE model policy of 20 minutes to eat and recess first where possible, without requiring it.
▶ Watch at 32:49Read what they said
Yeah, so the words target goal, um, was what was concerning. What it is really identifying is, is hearkening to US B'S model policy past three years ago and, and just saying, look at that model policy and look at the research around it. It's, it says that the way for children to thrive is by having 20 minutes to eat lunch and recess first where possible. So that is what it is referencing. It's not saying that they have to do that, that is just referencing that model policy.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the changes address many concerns and that community councils already hold meetings on other topics, so this is one more.
▶ Watch at 33:26Read what they said
I think it addresses a lot of the concerns. I think, um, there are some people who will never be happy with, uh, anything that is being asked. But if we look at the way that, um, community councils already have to hold meetings for different things, this is just adding one of those. They already have to do it for safe routes. They already have to do it for digital technology. This would just be, uh, and this is same in this sub or the next, but it's just saying, Hey, hold, hold a meeting and look at the model policy from the USBE, um, recommendation. That's all.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says some people will not be satisfied, and that community councils already hold meetings on other topics, so this adds one more meeting to review the model policy.
▶ Watch at 33:26Read what they said
I think it addresses a lot of the concerns. I think, um, there are some people who will never be happy with, uh, anything that is being asked. But if we look at the way that, um, community councils already have to hold meetings for different things, this is just adding one of those. They already have to do it for safe routes. They already have to do it for digital technology. This would just be, uh, and this is same in this sub or the next, but it's just saying, Hey, hold, hold a meeting and look at the model policy from the USBE, um, recommendation. That's all.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Moves to adopt amendment number one.
▶ Watch at 34:31Read what they said
Yeah. Motion to adopt amendment or house amendment. One. Motion is to adopt amendment number one.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Explains that an amendment replaced a written assurance requirement with a website check, matching the assurance used for other trust lands.
▶ Watch at 34:31Read what they said
Yeah. Motion to adopt amendment or house amendment. One. Motion is to adopt amendment number one. That's in order. I'd like to speak to it. Yeah. Um, in, in the language originally about, um, how they were going to say when they had that meeting. Um, it said like a written assurance and we took that out to just show it's the same assurance that they do with all other trust lands. Like it's just on a website that they just have to check.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Explains the amendment replaces the written assurance language with a website-based assurance like the one used for school trust lands.
▶ Watch at 34:41Read what they said
Yeah. Um, in, in the language originally about, um, how they were going to say when they had that meeting. Um, it said like a written assurance and we took that out to just show it's the same assurance that they do with all other trust lands. Like it's just on a website that they just have to check.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Presents the bill, describing community council meetings to compare school lunch policies to the USBE model policy, recess and lunch timing, food waste, state funding for reduced-price lunch, and a proposed sharing table, then opens to questions.
▶ Watch at 35:22Read what they said
All right, thank you. Um, colleagues, as you can tell, I've been meeting a lot with schools and have a lot of subs and amendments on here trying to, um, address most of the concerns. Um, if, if we look three years ago, USBE passed model policy that said, Hey, you know what, the best thing for children for them to be able to thrive is if they had 20 minutes to eat lunch and if they had recess first. And so, um, this bill is asking the community council, which consists of administration and the principals and some parents to hold a meeting where they look at their own policy and compare it to what the model policy is. …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Summarizes the bill: community councils would meet to compare school lunch policies to the USBE model, citing research, food waste, state funding, and a sharing table for untouched food.
▶ Watch at 35:22Read what they said
All right, thank you. Um, colleagues, as you can tell, I've been meeting a lot with schools and have a lot of subs and amendments on here trying to, um, address most of the concerns. Um, if, if we look three years ago, USBE passed model policy that said, Hey, you know what, the best thing for children for them to be able to thrive is if they had 20 minutes to eat lunch and if they had recess first. And so, um, this bill is asking the community council, which consists of administration and the principals and some parents to hold a meeting where they look at their own policy and compare it to what the model policy is. …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the committee amendment allows recess to be withheld for recess problems and that research shows students who miss recess need it most.
▶ Watch at 39:44Read what they said
Yeah. Thank you Mr. Speaker Proti. Um, I, I am all about teachers having tools to discipline. And you can see that there was an amendment made in committee that we made sure that if there were problems happening during recess, then they could in fact take away recess privileges. But when there's no connection and it's inside the classroom, um, all the evidence shows that kids who actually are getting in trouble and getting recess taken away are the ones who really need recess. Over the last 10, 15, 20 years, uh, schools have been reducing recess time more and more and more. And, and kids have very little time to go out and, and play. And if we …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says recess should not be taken away for classroom behavior, that the committee amendment allows removing recess only for recess problems, and that students who misbehave often need recess most.
▶ Watch at 39:44Read what they said
Yeah. Thank you Mr. Speaker Proti. Um, I, I am all about teachers having tools to discipline. And you can see that there was an amendment made in committee that we made sure that if there were problems happening during recess, then they could in fact take away recess privileges. But when there's no connection and it's inside the classroom, um, all the evidence shows that kids who actually are getting in trouble and getting recess taken away are the ones who really need recess. Over the last 10, 15, 20 years, uh, schools have been reducing recess time more and more and more. And, and kids have very little time to go out and, and play. And if we …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says school lunch is shaped by federal rules and local district choices, and that broader lunch changes are beyond this bill's scope.
▶ Watch at 42:20Read what they said
Um, they gave us your speaker pro Tim. I would love to look at school lunch in general. A lot of that has to do with federal regulations. I mean, back a couple administrations ago, they changed it where ketchup actually counts as a vegetable, which I would disagree with. So I think there's all sorts of problems, but I do know that there are many school districts who are still cooking from scratch and there are many not. And it, that is totally their choice and local control. Um, and, and I would hope that they would try to promote whole nutritious, healthy food as much as possible. Um, but that, that is beyond the scope of this bill …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says school lunch is shaped by federal rules and local district choices, and that broader lunch changes are beyond this bill.
▶ Watch at 42:20Read what they said
Um, they gave us your speaker pro Tim. I would love to look at school lunch in general. A lot of that has to do with federal regulations. I mean, back a couple administrations ago, they changed it where ketchup actually counts as a vegetable, which I would disagree with. So I think there's all sorts of problems, but I do know that there are many school districts who are still cooking from scratch and there are many not. And it, that is totally their choice and local control. Um, and, and I would hope that they would try to promote whole nutritious, healthy food as much as possible. Um, but that, that is beyond the scope of this bill …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the assurance would be a simple website entry, similar to existing trust land assurances, not a new report.
▶ Watch at 43:50Read what they said
Mr. Speaker that was addressed with the, um, adoption of the new sub and the amendment. So right now, after they hold the meeting, it just on the regular assurance website that they have to do with the school trust lands where they say they hold different meetings already. They would just be saying, we held this meeting on this date, and the principal would just be, it's not any other new report. It's the same place where they already report other assurances to the school board.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the assurance would be posted on the existing school trust lands assurance website and would only confirm that the meeting occurred.
▶ Watch at 43:50Read what they said
Mr. Speaker that was addressed with the, um, adoption of the new sub and the amendment. So right now, after they hold the meeting, it just on the regular assurance website that they have to do with the school trust lands where they say they hold different meetings already. They would just be saying, we held this meeting on this date, and the principal would just be, it's not any other new report. It's the same place where they already report other assurances to the school board.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Asks which line number of the substitute is being referenced.
▶ Watch at 44:37Read what they said
I'd be happy to look at that. Um, Mr. Speaker per Tim, what, what number was that again? Representative Arthur. What was the lang number on the second substitute?
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Agrees to review and rewrite the language, and says the bill gives community councils no rulemaking and only asks them to report current policy.
▶ Watch at 45:01Read what they said
Okay, I'm happy to look at that and, and rewrite that. If, um, that got missed by the drafting attorney. Um, there is no rulemaking in community councils and this bill does not give them any rulemaking. So there's no plan that is being adopted. What they have, what in my bill and my intention is, is that they would say they had a meeting and then they would say what their school lunch plan or policy is right now, just to gather the data to kind of compare across the state.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the language will be reviewed and rewritten if the drafting attorney missed it, and that the bill gives no rulemaking and only asks schools to report their current policy.
▶ Watch at 45:01Read what they said
Okay, I'm happy to look at that and, and rewrite that. If, um, that got missed by the drafting attorney. Um, there is no rulemaking in community councils and this bill does not give them any rulemaking. So there's no plan that is being adopted. What they have, what in my bill and my intention is, is that they would say they had a meeting and then they would say what their school lunch plan or policy is right now, just to gather the data to kind of compare across the state.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
In summation, says the bill asks schools to review research and best practices and hold a community council discussion, without changing current practice, and urges support.
▶ Watch at 51:10Read what they said
Thank you so much. I too am a believer in local control and nothing in this bill is making any schools change what they are doing right now. It is just asking them to look at the research and look at what best practices are. We always want to make evidence-based decisions and this is one that is clear that if I have had people reach out to me across the state telling me what a problem it is, that their kids don't have time to eat lunch. And then we have all sorts of behavior problems and inabilities to be able to focus because these kids are so hungry. So I would love schools to make the choice themselves …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House floor debate (day 34) · Feb 23, 2026
Says the bill does not require schools to change their practices, only to review research and hold a community council discussion, and urges support.
▶ Watch at 51:10Read what they said
Thank you so much. I too am a believer in local control and nothing in this bill is making any schools change what they are doing right now. It is just asking them to look at the research and look at what best practices are. We always want to make evidence-based decisions and this is one that is clear that if I have had people reach out to me across the state telling me what a problem it is, that their kids don't have time to eat lunch. And then we have all sorts of behavior problems and inabilities to be able to focus because these kids are so hungry. So I would love schools to make the choice themselves …
H.B. 463 Special Education Funding Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 20, 2026
Auxier questioned spending about $56 million for roughly 12,000 self-contained students, raised concerns about pushing students into general classrooms without extra resources, and suggested an interim study.
▶ Watch at 42:46Read what they said
I just have a few questions. Um, we keep hearing about the self-contained kids, but then wanting to push them into regular classrooms, and so then they're not really self-contained anymore. So I don't know if, you know, that puts a lot of pressure on the other kids who aren't getting any extra resources adding to them. And, and I think, you know, we have a little over 11,900 self-contained special ed kids. So 56 million extra dollars for 12,000 kids feels like a lot to me. Um, I think that if there is underfunding, this is definitely something we should look at and really like dig into the numbers rather Juab than just doing a full, um, WPU. Um, …
H.B. 463 Special Education Funding Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 20, 2026
Auxier said she likes the 25% general education provision but is unsure about the rest of the bill.
▶ Watch at 47:04Read what they said
Okay, cool. I think, I think it would be great to kind of look at that, you know, and, and while it might be hard to look at that 30, 60 or 90 minutes that could be changing, maybe that is, is something to look at. And you know, I do like the idea of the 25% being able to be used in, in general education then, but I don't know if I'm still on board with the other stuff.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 31) · Feb 20, 2026
Presents H.B. 312, which combines several civics bills, integrates civics across subjects, spirals social studies content, and requires U.S. History to be taught as two semester courses.
▶ Watch at 2:58:38Read what they said
Representative Voxer. Thank You you, Mr. Speaker. Um, I think we all know that there's been a big conversation around civics the last couple of years and really wanting to make sure that our students have a strong foundational knowledge of our founding principles and history of our country. And, um, there were actually quite a few bills on civics this year. And so as, um, a committee in education, we decided to combine a few of them. And so one of the things that we wanted to talk about was, um, making our civics integrated across, um, different subjects. And one way to do that was to make sure that our students are getting that foundation by spiraling social …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 31) · Feb 20, 2026
Says the 3.5-credit requirement was passed last year and the cited code section is not changed by this bill.
▶ Watch at 3:01:09Read what they said
That's a really good question, but this is something that we passed last year. And so what line is it on again? I Believe 3 56. Okay. Lemme look at it real quick. As far as I know, we didn't actually make any changes to that this year, and it was just talking about the classes that would qualify. Yeah, 3 56 that was already passed. So that's not what's in this bill this year being passed. So it's already in statute.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 31) · Feb 20, 2026
Says the bill does not add new credit requirements but moves existing civics requirements under one code section, and explains the credit is meant to build civic engagement.
▶ Watch at 3:02:04Read what they said
Okay. Um, can I phone a friend as representative from Payson here? Okay. He's not here. So, um, as, as far as I know, we, not changing the inquiry, the requirement, I think we could be just pulling this under this, this code right here. 'cause it talks about our, our American constitutional government and citizenship. And we're not adding any extra, it could just be talking about, um, just moving it all under the same code. But I, I don't believe that it is new. But I would say the reason why we have three and a half is because, um, in our founding fathers, whereas a Thomas Jefferson, he said the very purpose and nucleus of all publication …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 31) · Feb 20, 2026
Says the listed content is already in code and moved to one section, and that open-resource materials must align with state standards because many current textbooks do not fully match them.
▶ Watch at 3:03:47Read what they said
So, um, I I just got some clarification, just like the last question, Mr. Speaker. This is already just in code and it's being moved, um, down into one section. And so as far as this, um, from the 5 84 and down that we're talking about, this is already, um, things that are taught in our curriculum except I would say, um, it, it talks about the American history and government and making sure the instruction includes the forms of government. So it talks about republic and a pure democracy and a monarchy and a oligarchy. And then down on 5 88 it just says, uh, our original language was socialism, individualism, and free market capitalism and communism was …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House floor debate (day 31) · Feb 20, 2026
Says the bill keeps existing constitutional and government content, leaves secondary standards to the school board, and asks for support.
▶ Watch at 3:07:47Read what they said
Yeah, thank you. I, I think there is a, um, a misunderstanding of what this says. This is the same that we have in our code for what our, our kids are already being taught. And then that is left up to the school board to decide the standards on how to make sure that each of those things are actually being hit. So one of the things we noticed was that the school board redid the curriculum for K through, um, six and was, was able to go through and, and that's what's in the curriculum now. Our high school or secondary curriculum is, is up to be, um, looked at for the standards again. And so we just …
H.B. 465 Juvenile Court Amendments · House floor debate (day 30) · Feb 19, 2026
Rep. Auxier says the bill would let juvenile judges suspend part of a sentence while a youth completes treatment or community service, and bring back up to five suspended days if it is not completed, similar to the adult system.
▶ Watch at 12:50Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker Proti. Um, this, this bill came about from a lot of, um, visits with our courts and our justices talking about some different tools that they could use. And one of the things that we learned was that, um, for adult sentences, judges are able to suspend those sentences and then also offer a different course of treatment. And if the adults don't finish that treatment, then they can bring back some of those suspended days. And right now there is no mechanism like that in juvenile courts. And so this bill, um, would help the judges have something of a motivating factor from the very beginning, helping these kids to get through their treatments or …
H.B. 465 Juvenile Court Amendments · House floor debate (day 30) · Feb 19, 2026
Rep. Auxier says the goal is for youth to get through their treatment and back to their lives sooner, and asks for support of the bill.
▶ Watch at 14:12Read what they said
Um, yeah, I think all of us just want, um, all of our kids getting back to their lives and getting through with the treatment that, that they've been, um, given by these judges. And if this is a way to get that done faster, then um, I would love your support. Thank you.
S.B. 144 Relocation Assistance Amendments · House floor debate (day 30) · Feb 19, 2026
Presents SB 144, which would raise the cap on direct relocation assistance under the Utah Relocation Assistance Act for people displaced by government action, and calls it a property rights bill.
▶ Watch at 41:13Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. SB 1 44 strengthens the Utah Relocation Assistance Act by increasing the cap on direct relocation assistance, ensuring that those displaced by government action have a more realistic opportunity to reestablish their homes and livelihoods. And that assistance keeps pace with real world costs instead of being eroded over time. This is a property rights bill. Plain and simple, it re recognizes that when government moves forward with roads and infrastructure, it should not do so on the backs of hardworking utahns who lose their property through imminent domain.
S.B. 144 Relocation Assistance Amendments · House floor debate (day 30) · Feb 19, 2026
Closes by saying the bill reflects transparency and standing up for property owners.
▶ Watch at 41:59Read what they said
Yeah, I think just, um, our Utah principles are about making sure that we are transparent and standing up for property owners. And this bill does that. Thank you.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Presented H.B. 294 and said it would lower the E-Verify employer threshold from 150 to 100 employees to protect identities and show progress on the issue.
▶ Watch at 46:34Read what they said
Thank you. Is it on? Okay. Couldn't hear. So, committee, I am here to, um, bring a bill to you that I know that we talked about this topic last year, and, um, you'll see that it's a a little bit different this year. Um, to give some background, um, where this came from, when I very first got my job out of college as an accountant, I worked at, um, a construction company, and I ran all of their social security numbers through and came back with a lot of name and numbers don't match. And so I, I sent out letters to the employees and I had many of them come to me and say, I paid good …
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said she has talked with the Farm Bureau, chambers of commerce, and construction groups and that a 100-employee threshold is a measured, doable change.
▶ Watch at 52:07Read what they said
Yeah, so I have talked to members of, um, the Farm Bureau and I've talked to Chambers of Commerce, and I'm sure other people will be here. I've talked to, um, you know, construction. Um, I would say that there are many who have chosen not to support or oppose this, and I think there will be some here who are opposed. But I think that this is a very measured response. You can see that the original bill was 50, and I think if you look at last year, it was a lot tighter than that. So, um, as I said, I think it's a measured response that's doable for most of these Businesses. So the conversations you had, …
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said the bill has a deterrent effect and that she has faith that business owners will follow the law.
▶ Watch at 52:59Read what they said
So I think I, I talked about that a little bit before that last year. Um, there was a lot of talk about the teeth and, you know, what teeth is actually in the bill. And, um, the Federal Reserve saying that by just having it, it reduced the projected workforce of illegals by 34%. Um, I have faith in our business owners that they will follow the law. And so I'm, I'm, I don't think that I need to worry about that or not that's gonna be up to them to decide, but I think it's up to us to show what message that we're, we're sending to the citizens
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said employers are not being made immigration enforcers and that running Social Security numbers through verification is not a burden.
▶ Watch at 54:45Read what they said
So I reject the fact, the statement that we're making them enforcement. We're not making them enforcement, as you've said, that there's nothing in this bill that says that they would have to, so they're already taking this information, running it through the I nines as an 18-year-old, it was not hard for me to run through Social Security numbers. It's not a burden. It's pretty easy to do. And I think if we're talking about small businesses and, and family owned businesses, uh, the vast majority of them are under 100 employees. And, and even if they are over a hundred employees, they are running these I nine forms through, they are submitting the paperwork work to the IRS, …
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said checking a name against a number with the Social Security Administration is easy and can be done the same day.
▶ Watch at 56:20Read what they said
Like I said, I don't think it's a burden. I just called it the Social Security Administration and asked, Hey, does this name match this number? And I figured it out that same day. So, um, I don't, I don't think that this is anything unusual to ask for a small business and someone just doing regular bookkeeping can figure it out quite easily.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Rejected the hold motion, saying she worked with organizations to find a doable number, which is 100.
▶ Watch at 1:16:43Read what they said
Um, I would reject that. Uh, you can see that there are a lot of organizations who are not here that, who were here last year, and it's because I've been doing the work and talking with them and finding a number that is doable. And this is that number.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said the amendment only changes the number to 100.
▶ Watch at 1:17:23Read what they said
I would accept that Motion to, to sponsor? Yeah, that's just changing the number to 100.
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Rejected the hold motion, saying the bill is not just a message bill, that the Federal Reserve research shows a 34% effect, and that the policy works at 150 employees.
▶ Watch at 1:18:53Read what they said
Um, I don't think that this is just a message Bill. As I said before, the Federal Reserve did a research paper and showed that Utah just having it in place, lowered it. Our projected legal workforce by 34%, which means that it's doing its job. We don't need to fine business owners into oblivion for, for not following this. I think that this is a great law that balances people following the law and having integrity, which they do and they follow, which we just heard, uh, the same thing that they're doing right now at 150 employees. It, it wouldn't change at a hundred employees. And, um, so I think that this is the right policy to move …
H.B. 294 Employer Verification Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said records show multiple last names used with the same Social Security number for minors and that Utah should act rather than wait for the federal government.
▶ Watch at 1:21:27Read what they said
Yeah. Thank you. I appreciate that. And, um, I, I would just reiterate what I, what I said before. I mean, if you look at the, the numbers, we have multiple last names being used on the same social security number for underage kids. And those are numbers that are, um, and like, um, reported on through our Department of Workforce Services. And also as a state, Utah likes to lead out. We like to, um, manage our own state and not rely on the federal government to tell us what to do. And so if, if they're not gonna get their act together, then this is something that we can do. Thank you.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Presents HB 462 to create a grant for rural high schools to equip school buses with internet access for students on long trips, with grantees covering ongoing costs.
▶ Watch at 1:46:15Read what they said
Thank you. And I'll be really fast just 'cause I know we always have a lot going on. So this, um, problem came to me because rural school kids, um, who are involved in a lot of activities and due to the size of their schools, usually are involved in a lot of activities. They're, uh, leaving school and going and competing in, you know, sports and different things. And, um, many times they're driving an hour or two hours. Some people drive three hours to go compete. And, um, when they get back home, it's, you know, 10:00 PM at night. And as, as a school kid, when I played sports, I could do my homework on the bus …
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Explains the buses are used for long after-school trips and says she supports students using the connectivity for homework.
▶ Watch at 1:50:48Read what they said
Or I, how does that work? I think the reason that that is shown is that these would be their school buses that they're using after school. And these people or these students are being driven a long way. So all of their trips are extended. Um, I would have no problem with them using those school buses with the connectivity. Um, I know on the reservation, uh, down south, it takes those kids two plus hours to get home from school every day. And if this was something that they wanted to use, if they didn't have a school activity, then I like more power to 'em. I'm all about kids being able to get their homework done and …
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Says the fiscal note puts the cost at up to about $6,500 per bus.
▶ Watch at 1:51:28Read what they said
So it says on the fiscal note, um, let's see, where's my, it says on there, I think it was, it was like maybe $6,500, like up to $6,500, um, a, a bus.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Says rural and urban students have different travel needs and that rural schools could use help since the federal program ended.
▶ Watch at 1:52:15Read what they said
I would, I would say the reason why this is different, um, think about if you were in a big school district, everyone you would be playing against would be maybe less than a half an hour away. And so that's very rare that on maybe a daily basis you were traveling an hour and a half to two hours away to go to another school that's in your region because you are so far away. So I think that rural and urban kids are very, very different and, and the needs of them are very different. And so, um, since that federal program ended, I, I was, I think that a lot of our state schools that are rural …
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Explains the grant covers retrofit and first-year costs while schools pay ongoing costs, and says rural students need time to do homework.
▶ Watch at 1:53:36Read what they said
So the grant program that they could elect into would, would be paying for that retrofit and then also the first year of those expenses. And then those ongoing connectivity charges, which are very minimal. The, the rural schools have told me, um, and they would be willing to pick up would be their ongoing cost. So we're just doing one time fund to let them have this connectivity. And I, I will say the reason why we're doing two school buses and, you know, depending on the funding, it, it could be different. But that's so a, there could be a girls' sports bus and a boys' sports bus so that it is, um, fair and we're not just …
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Says the Utah Rural Schools Association was asked and said its members would take on the ongoing cost.
▶ Watch at 1:55:46Read what they said
No, I, I asked all of them when I Uintah the Utah Rural Schools Association and said, you know, I, I'm thinking about this, what do you think? Do you think it is worth it? Would you be willing to take on that cost? And they said yes.
H.B. 462 School Bus Internet Access · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Says she is willing to work on the bill's language and asks for a favorable vote.
▶ Watch at 2:04:59Read what they said
Yeah, thank you. I'm, I'm happy to work with that so that it makes sense the way you, you think it should be. And so I would just appreciate a favorable vote. Thank you. I, I think what anything we can do to help these rural kids.
H.J.R. 8 Joint Resolution Regarding LEA Reporting Requirements · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Moved to recommend HJR 8 to the House floor with a favorable recommendation.
▶ Watch at 2:53:46Read what they said
Yeah. Um, I would move that we recommend HJR eight, um, to the house floor with a favorable recommendation.
H.J.R. 8 Joint Resolution Regarding LEA Reporting Requirements · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Supports the resolution, saying more information about fiscal impacts helps decisions even though unfunded mandates are a concern.
▶ Watch at 2:54:06Read what they said
Yeah, I would. I think we talk about unfunded mandates a lot, and we hear about that at the same time. Um, we also are the ones who are funding LEAs and giving them their money. And so I don't have a problem telling them that they need to make a priority of the money that they're giving them, um, or that we are giving them and, and saying that you have to do that, but I don't think that there's anything wrong with having more information when we make those decisions. And so I, I would support this bill.
S.B. 146 Industrial Byproduct Amendments · House floor debate (day 29) · Feb 18, 2026
Asks why these byproducts could not be used in the past and why the bill is needed now.
▶ Watch at 28:16Read what they said
You. I was just wondering if these byproducts haven't been able to use be used in the past? Why not? And then why now do we want them to be?
S.B. 146 Industrial Byproduct Amendments · House floor debate (day 29) · Feb 18, 2026
Asks what guidelines will govern chemicals that might leach into the ground from these materials used in sidewalks and other projects.
▶ Watch at 29:02Read what they said
Um, I'm just wondering about the leaching process and you know, if we're gonna be putting these in sidewalks and other things, will there be any sort of guidelines around what products or chemicals would be leaching into our grounds?
H.B. 364 Certified Teacher Librarian Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 17, 2026
Supported the motion to hold, citing budget cuts to existing positions and saying schools would likely prefer the money in classrooms.
▶ Watch at 1:26:37Read what they said
Um, yeah, I would support the motion to hold. I think one of the biggest things and being on this committee and also education appropriations, we get to see what the cuts have been. And, you know, some of the recommended cuts have been to cut critical FTEs that we have. So then to go and ask for 19 more, and we can't even fund some that we already have, is, is a hard thing to do. And I think especially in a tight year, um, if, if you would ask the schools where they would want $1.7 million, I I think that, um, so much of the focus would be more in the classroom. And so, um, I will …
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Introduced the bill and noted she is presenting the second substitute, which differs substantially from the original.
▶ Watch at 49:28Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's good to see you guys. Um, I wanna talk about a problem that I'm sure you guys have all heard about, by the way, I'm speaking to the second sub, so check that out first. 'cause it's quite different than the original bill, which I forgot to make public.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Explained that after voters twice rejected a school bond in her area the district used a lease revenue bond, and said the bill requires districts to try a general obligation bond first and bars public-private (P3) financing for schools.
▶ Watch at 49:50Read what they said
Yeah, I'm speaking to the second sub, and it's only regarding school districts. And so maybe this will sound familiar to you, but there was a school district in my area that put a bond on a ballot for a new school that was $140 million. And I live in a pretty rural area. Um, this bond would increase people's taxes by like $700 a year. And that bond was voted down, and then they put on the ballot again the next year, the same bond. Um, and when that failed again the next year, then they decided to get a lease revenue bond and still, um, fund this Taj Mahal School, as we're starting to call them, is, um, …
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said she is open to adjusting the language for smaller projects and that her focus is on large expenses placed on voters without their input.
▶ Watch at 54:16Read what they said
I, I'd be open to, to looking at that language and seeing something that would work better. Um, my question is, can geo bonds not be for a shorter time period? They, I don't know. That's What I, so maybe that's something to look into, but I'm, I'm not particularly firm on how that needs to look. I'm talking about the massive expense that goes onto the voters, um, and, and making sure that they feel like they are having some interaction from the people that represent them. Because yes, they can be voted out of office, but that might be two years after they've already approved a project that you can't go back on now. So what is a, …
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Responded that decades-long bond debt cannot easily be remedied by electing new board members, so voters should have more say.
▶ Watch at 56:18Read what they said
Yeah, I think my thoughts about that would be, I, I agree and if it's on a, an issue that you don't agree with them on that in two years, you can change your mind. That's something different. But when you're taking out a bond that's gonna be repaid for decades and you're building a school for 80 year quality, like that is not something that's easily recalled and easily remedied by just voting in someone different in two years. So I would say in this particular instance, um, I, I would like the voters to be able to have more of a say and more of a dialogue of, Hey, you know, we've already rejected this bond once. Come …
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said she is open to adding a dollar threshold or per-capita calculation so smaller projects would not require a bond election.
▶ Watch at 57:32Read what they said
You know, maybe, maybe we need to talk about like a graduation of, of amounts of like, when that would be, um, necessary or not, you know, it, it would maybe go along with the remodel that, um, Representative Peterson was bringing up. And so, um, I'm open to looking at, okay, maybe over this amount, because that's obviously a new huge commitment rather than just, you know, finding the funds from somewhere else. So totally open to, to changing language around and, and doing that. I know that a couple years ago we had a similar situation and there was a cap put on on how much you could bond for a new school, but that was obviously for …
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said county projects often involve public safety, unlike school amenities such as tracks and swimming pools.
▶ Watch at 59:10Read what they said
That's a really fair question. Um, I would say like some would be for public safety. And I wouldn't necessarily think that public safety is a massive thing we're looking at for school buildings. If we're looking at expanding their tracks and adding swimming pools and doing, you know, extravagant things to a school building is very different than needing to build a jail.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Noted that school district tax increases cannot currently be referred to voters, unlike city and county increases.
▶ Watch at 59:38Read what they said
And I, and I would also say right now we can't referendum a school district tax increase where we can with cities and counties. And so there is that option for the public to be able to express their dissatisfaction and make cities and counties come back to the table that is not available with school districts right now.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said there is no referendum protection for taxpayers and that she generally does not favor public-private partnerships.
▶ Watch at 1:00:12Read what they said
It's, it's the same thing. There's no protection for the taxpayers to be able to referendum that or anything else. So in, in the school system, if, if you want to fight against instant tax increase, that's, that's very different. And so, um, I could also say I don't necessarily agree with public-private partnerships in general. So, um, whether or not the state wants to do that or any other cities as that's up to them, but I don't necessarily like that set up anyway.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said the bill focuses only on school districts, not cities or counties.
▶ Watch at 1:00:44Read what they said
I'm not talking anything about cities or counties right now. Yes. My opinion about that, yeah. Alright. But I'm just focused solely on school districts very right Now. Thank you.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said the bill does not prohibit lease revenue bonds but requires trying a general obligation bond first, and that no district has used public-private partnerships.
▶ Watch at 1:01:28Read what they said
There's nothing in this bill that restricts them from being able to do lease revenue bonds? It just says that if you want to try to get a bond, go through the geo bond process first before you go to a lease revenue bond just because of the interest rate. But yes. Um, as far as the public-private partnership, as far as I know, no school district has ever tried to do this. And so this is just kind of a preemptive thing, but I've never heard an argument of why a school district would actually want it.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Estimated a ballot measure would need to begin seven or eight months ahead.
▶ Watch at 1:02:04Read what they said
Um, I would imagine it would be different and Right. You know, but if you wanna put it on the ballot, I would imagine you have to be doing that right seven, eight months ahead of time.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said districts already plan ahead, so the bill would not affect bond timing.
▶ Watch at 1:02:28Read what they said
I would think that with the way we're planning with schools anyway, that you're looking out and, um, projecting what you need. So I don't think that this would make any difference as far as whether or not they do a geo bond or when they do a lease revenue bond.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said yes, because public-private partnerships would remain a route around voters, and the bill aims to give voters a say when taxed.
▶ Watch at 1:03:07Read what they said
Yes. And the reason why is we can see Representative Shipp is bringing this bill because there is a problem that there is no way to referendum school districts right now if they do a lease revenue bond, which if this passed, yes, it would let them referendum that. But then are we then opening up this other public private partnership avenue that we would then be having the same problem with? Okay. So it is just trying to encircle everything within the same thing and let the voters have, have a little bit of save when they're being taxed. Thank
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Linked property taxes to housing affordability, saying an extra $700 a year could affect whether people can buy homes.
▶ Watch at 1:04:33Read what they said
Thank you. I appreciate that. And I think a, a really important thing of why property taxes are such an issue is because of the home and affordability issue. And if we're single-handedly being able to just put out, um, a lease revenue bond that's increasing people's taxes by $700, that $700 could make a difference between whether or not they can buy their house or not, um, when it's extra taxes that they weren't planning on. So thanks for bringing that up.
H.B. 332 School District Project Financing Amendments · House Political Subdivisions Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Supported the motion to hold and said she will keep working on the issue, including ideas like standard school designs to reduce costs.
▶ Watch at 1:20:27Read what they said
I'd be supportive of that. I think, you know, there is a lot of nuance to different places. I would say though, that this has happened in many places across the state. And you're right, it sounds like Georgia School District has some really great ideas on how to keep, um, costs down. And I like the idea of maybe expanding it to even, you know, how do we look at funding, um, new schools and is there a way, you know, we, we can, you know, maybe give them a certain amount of plans that they can choose from rather than doing custom schools all over the state. 'cause we all know custom houses cost a lot more than, …
H.B. 370 Sex Offender Oversight Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Withdrew her first motion to amend.
▶ Watch at 1:30:17Read what they said
I just need this for now. Yes. Sorry. I, I, I withdraw my first motion to amend. Okay.
H.B. 370 Sex Offender Oversight Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Proposed striking lines 681 and 682.
▶ Watch at 1:31:16Read what they said
Yes. Thank you. Um, I would like to strike line 6 81 and 6 82.
H.B. 370 Sex Offender Oversight Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Added striking the letter (a) on line 678.
▶ Watch at 1:31:35Read what they said
And then also, um, see where it says, oh no, it would just take away, oh, yeah. And then on 6 78 to strike A,
H.B. 370 Sex Offender Oversight Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Repeated the lines to be struck.
▶ Watch at 1:31:49Read what they said
Uh, 6 8 1 6 8 2. And then on 6, 7, 8. Strike just the letter A in and,
H.B. 370 Sex Offender Oversight Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Said the struck lines create ambiguity about who the program applies to and the amendment makes it uniform.
▶ Watch at 1:32:48Read what they said
I think that having those lines in there creates some ambiguity onto who it actually applies to and making the program uniform for all, all people who would qualify under this
H.C.R. 2 Concurrent Resolution Authorizing Adult Sentencing and Supervision Length Guidelines and Juvenile Disposition Guidelines · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Auxier restates the motion to favorably recommend H.B. 540.
▶ Watch at 2:24:52Read what they said
Um, with a favorable recommendation to the house floor, The motion is to favorably recommend HB five 40.
H.C.R. 2 Concurrent Resolution Authorizing Adult Sentencing and Supervision Length Guidelines and Juvenile Disposition Guidelines · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Auxier says discussions are ongoing and expects a broad consensus to develop on H.B. 540. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 2:25:03Read what they said
that, you know, there were conversations going on today and many other dates, and I know there will continue to be, so I know that it will get to a good place where there'll be broad consensus.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Presents the second substitute of HB 312 and its amendment, saying it consolidates several civics bills and adds civics content and high school standards updates.
▶ Watch at 3:38:01Read what they said
Yes. Um, My, oh, there it is. Okay. Um, I'm talking, I'm speaking to the second sub, um, also with the amendment one. And I would say that this has been really a committee effort, which I think was the goal when, um, this bill was held earlier. Um, so this is, this bill has been transferred, um, in my name. And then I, um, have kept some of the other representatives, um, stuff in it. And then it has mine and then also Representative Welton. And so we definitely wanted to make this so since there were so many bills, a way to condense. And, um, I would say, and I think it's actually great that former representative LaVar …
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Says the open resource materials make up most of the fiscal note and are the part that would not carry forward if unfunded, and that developing aligned curriculum is a positive goal.
▶ Watch at 3:46:37Read what they said
Then? I think that everything else that is in there as far as maybe adapting some of the founding documents that go in and things to study, but maybe not necessarily providing that information, uh, for free with the open resource materials. But a large section of the bill is about the open resource materials because right now the curriculum we get does not necessarily match our standards and our teachers have to go out and find their own material. And so with talking with the state board and, um, other, you know, the state superintendent and and leadership, um, it, the idea of being able to develop curriculum that matches our standards a hundred percent is really exciting.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Says unfunded provisions would not work and that she would be willing to remove some funding-dependent parts.
▶ Watch at 3:47:32Read what they said
Well, it's my understanding that if when bills don't get funded, then those provisions don't work. If it doesn't get funded through, you know, EAC, I'd be willing to look at a way to take out some of that, um, and leave in, in the core. But, um, I, I, I think, oh, go ahead.
H.B. 312 School Curriculum and Standards Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Says the state board has not decided on the bill but may be willing to take up social studies revisions since standards have not been updated in 10 years.
▶ Watch at 3:49:23Read what they said
I mean, we can definitely ask the state board to come up and, and see. As far as I know, they haven't made a decision on that. I don't know if it's come up, but I do know since, um, social studies hasn't been redone for 10 years, that they might be more willing to do that.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Presented the first substitute, describing students' short lunch periods and food waste, and explaining that school community councils would review lunch policy against the state board's 20-minute model and consider recess before lunch.
▶ Watch at 3:59:28Read what they said
I'm speaking to the first sub. Um, I would also say that this is a committee ish Bill. Um, Representative Miller has some stuff in here as well. Um, just trying to consolidate bills. But, um, I've been talking for a year about school lunches. Um, my kids, my very first kid came home from school crying for a year about how hungry she was and how she said she never had time to eat. And I would go talk to the principal and there was, um, very little willingness to look at the schedule and find a way to make sure our kids could eat. Um, currently my kids have 15 minutes, and this is in a different school …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said the 20-minute goal comes from medical organizations and the bill encourages but does not require schools to follow it, and noted an amendment on not using recess as discipline.
▶ Watch at 4:04:03Read what they said
And I, I think so often we talk about choosing things because they're evidence based, right? And so all the decisions we want is based off of evidence that has been shown to be great. This comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics, this comes from the American Heart Association. Basically any organization that has ever looked at, um, school lunchtime has said you need at least 20 minutes to sit and eat your food. So I know that is what the school board based their policy on. So all of this evidence, um, this is not forcing anything. It's not mandating anything. It's having them look at the policy and say, this is the best evidence, the best practices …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said schools asked for the community council approach and extra notice is needed because lunch is an unusual topic for councils.
▶ Watch at 4:06:30Read what they said
Yeah, I think there's a couple of reasons for that. So one, um, the schools asked for this to be through the community councils themselves. Mm-hmm. They said local control. So I said, okay, great. Right. And, um, community council was it, I think also because it is a different topic than, um, most parents are used to them talking about, they wouldn't know that this is up to talk about. So sending out in the normal, you know, school weekly email. By the way, this is happening next week. We're talking about this. If you have any input, it's just an out of the ordinary thing that has never really been in that purview, but now it, now it …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said the five-year review is meant to gather data and schools already meeting the goal have an off-ramp.
▶ Watch at 4:07:37Read what they said
May, maybe I can explain that a little bit more. I know we put on re um, requirements on schools to have endless meetings or endless reports. I thought five years was plenty. Um, because really we just, we want them to look at the data. We want us to look at the data to say, you know, when schools say we, we put so much on them, will this open up some ideas for us to maybe take off to, to see if we can support the best practices here? And then also, um, if they meet it, and there are plenty of schools that do meet it right now, then they don't have to do that. And so …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said the bill does not require schools to meet the goal and offered to clarify any ambiguous language.
▶ Watch at 4:08:35Read what they said
It doesn't say that they have to, it, it just says, look at your policy, look at USB's policy. Can you get closer to it? If not, why not? Like, that's all it, it doesn't force anything. There's no end where it says that they have to meet that. And, and if there is ambiguity in that, then I'm happy to change that language. But that is not what that was trying to say. It was just, you know, this is something we're gonna be looking at for, for the next few years to see if there's anything we can do and help with.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said community councils work collaboratively with the principal rather than parents creating plans alone.
▶ Watch at 4:09:27Read what they said
Alter employee contact community councils, when you do any of those plans work in conjunction with the principal who is usually leading it and presenting the ideas? So it's more of a conversation like, Hey, can we do this? Hey, can we figure out this? You know, what if we fund this through the PTA or what if we do different things? I mean, I've been on community councils almost every year. My kids have been in school, and that that's how it works. It's, it's not just, you know, a a couple parents who can just create a plan. The, the whole community council works together.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said schools have flexibility, 20 minutes is a goal rather than a requirement, and seated meal time also supports social and healthy eating habits.
▶ Watch at 4:11:03Read what they said
You know, and, and I'm happy to have, have schools do what they want. But I do know in some schools, that is how it is right now. They have a little like, stoplight thing and they can't leave their table until, until a certain amount. So I don't think that's any different than what other schools are doing right now. Some people already have recess before lunch, so there's nowhere for those kids to go. And so it, it's really up to the school to decide what that is. But I would also submit that eating isn't just shoving food in your face as fast as possible. It's also learning how to enjoy a social environment, having kids be …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said she was open to the idea but wanted to ensure time in line is not counted as eating time.
▶ Watch at 4:13:53Read what they said
I don't mind the idea. And I do understand, you know, especially what if you wanna go over and talk to someone else on a table or say whatever, but the question then becomes, okay, is that 20 minutes and can you count standing in line, so maybe 20 minutes after they get their food or something like that. I would be more in favor of, because right now, I think a lot of schools would say, oh yeah, we give our kids 20 minutes, but they really only have three or four minutes to eat because they're standing in line for most of those minutes. So if there's a way to massage that language, I'm happy to do that. …
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said reporting is only to learn what obstacles schools face and whether the state can help.
▶ Watch at 4:15:47Read what they said
Yeah, no, the only thing about the reporting is just to help us see what is standing in their way. And if they, you know, if they like it that way, that's fine, but is there anything we can help with if they would want to move that way, you know? Okay. That's all it is.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Opposed the motion to hold, noting she has already incorporated members' changes and saying there is time to adjust language as the bill moves forward.
▶ Watch at 4:25:52Read what they said
Would resist that and for a few reasons. Um, the fact that with this bill on the, the last, um, I'm clearly showing that I'm willing to work and change and adjust language. I've added stuff Representative Miller wanted just today added stuff Representative Peterson wanted today. I'm not opposed to making changes and trying to find things that work the best way, but, um, as we all know, time is short and I'd like to keep it moving. And I don't think we'll get around to this bill anytime soon. And that will give us plenty of time to change and make adjustments the way it needs to be.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said she did not, and noted the cited survey included high schools while the bill focuses on elementary schools.
▶ Watch at 4:29:06Read what they said
She did not. I had asked her to send out that survey for, um, us and that is, um, also including high school time, not just elementary. And my bill is focused mostly on elementary. So if we add high school time, and that definitely skews things. So, um, that was definitely not something that has been brought up as far as any objection or asking to change language, which I'm very open. I've, I've pivoted the whole bill from the beginning from when I first Uintah JLC. Okay.
H.B. 440 School Lunch Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Reiterated willingness to change language and offered to add guardrails so councils cannot override principals.
▶ Watch at 4:30:10Read what they said
Um, I think I already talked about that. So, um, like I said, I'm willing to work and change things. I think that, um, you know, if languish needs to change, that's, that's fine. Um, I, I think also, you know, just the way community councils work, it's always a collaborative effort and I've never seen, um, parents out, you know, just overrule. So if, if Salt Lake City was doing that, then I'm happy to put some, um, guardrails around that from happening from anyone else
H.B. 465 Juvenile Court Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 11, 2026
Presented HB 465, which would let a juvenile court judge hold a suspended juvenile sentence for up to five days when an alternative intervention such as treatment or community service is ordered, to motivate completion and keep juveniles from returning to court; said further stakeholder discussions, including possibly a risk-based approach, will continue.
▶ Watch at 50:27Read what they said
Thank you so much. Alright. Um, so this might be a shock to all of you, but I have no background in judiciary things. I'm a tax accountant and so as part of my work on judiciary, I've decided to try to get to know the court process a little bit better. I've been meeting with different prosecutors and as the judiciary was going around and, um, holding different meetings for us legislators, I would go and ask what, um, different judges needed and how they felt like they needed support or what was going well and what wasn't. And one of the things I heard quite a few times was that in the juvenile justice courts, uh, there's a …
H.B. 465 Juvenile Court Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 11, 2026
Summarized that the bill adds consequences within the juvenile justice system so young people are better prepared when they turn 18.
▶ Watch at 54:34Read what they said
Thank you. I think there's been a lot of discussion about the changes that have been made with juvenile justice and, and looking to see how to implement, um, a few more consequences so that when our kids turn 18, it's not such a shock to the system that they'll be being treated differently and hopefully they can work through everything they need to as, um, juveniles so they can get on with a happy, successful life.
S.B. 120 Towing Modifications · House floor debate (day 23) · Feb 11, 2026
Asks to move the first amendment to the second substitute of the bill.
▶ Watch at 34:16Read what they said
Thank you. Um, Mr. Speaker, can I move the First Amendment on the second sub please?
S.B. 120 Towing Modifications · House floor debate (day 23) · Feb 11, 2026
Says law enforcement raised concerns that vehicles involved in different weather or mismatched timelines could be called from different areas, and explains the amendment's purpose.
▶ Watch at 34:38Read what they said
Yes. Thank you. We just had some feedback from law enforcement that when, um, a car is involved in different kinds of weather or if the timelines don't match up, that we can, um, call from different areas.
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 22) · Feb 10, 2026
Explains that an intended House amendment was left out, so when a company takes over a facility and keeps it open, the company would be notified after the fact rather than beforehand, since nothing changes for it.
▶ Watch at 15:35Read what they said
Yes. Um, in committee and Senate, we realized that there was something that was supposed to be an amendment in the house that didn't get on. And basically it changed. Um, when a notification happens, when it, a company is taking over an assisted facility and keeping it open, they just are known, uh, notified after the fact instead of beforehand, um, because there's no change that's happening to them.
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 22) · Feb 10, 2026
Asks for clarification on whether the change is 30 days before to five days after.
▶ Watch at 16:27Read what they said
Um, 30 days? Mr. Speaker, do you mean 30 days beforehand to five days after?
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 22) · Feb 10, 2026
Says the closing date is often uncertain and the change applies only to facilities that stay open with services unchanged; 30 days' notice could cause staff to leave, and she compares it to mortgage sale notices received after the fact.
▶ Watch at 16:37Read what they said
Yes. Um, the reason why is because it's not always known exactly when they're going to close, and this is only for facilities that are going to be kept open and the services are not changing. Most of this bill had to do with if a facility was going to close down and the notification with that. So if there is notification 30 days beforehand, it could also cause a risk of staff flight. Um, if they think that they're gonna be shutting down instead of just notifying us, like when our mortgages get sold, we don't get notified ahead of time. We just get a letter in the mail saying, oh, hey, your mortgage sold and this is the …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Asks what penalties the board could vote on if the commission finds an ethics violation.
▶ Watch at 2:02:27Read what they said
You, Mr. Chair? Um, I just had a question. So let's say that there's an investigation and the commission decides someone did something unethical and so it goes to the action part and a vote. What are the penalties that could be being voted on, potentially? Sure.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Asks whether penalties could include removing a member from office or censure.
▶ Watch at 2:02:57Read what they said
Okay. And, and what I'm getting at, as an elected person, they wouldn't be able to remove them from their office, I would imagine they could censure Yes. Or something like that, but I just wanted to make sure Yes. That that wasn't some, so
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Asks for examples of the rights, powers, or privileges that could be limited as a penalty.
▶ Watch at 2:03:36Read what they said
So in 8 33 and 34, what are, are there any, um, I guess maybe on 8 32 to start, what would be some examples of those either rights, powers, privileges? I don't know off the top of my head. I can, I can phone up front and ask if you'd like. And by that I do mean my drafting attorney and text him, but Okay. Yeah, maybe we can go into other, um, questions. But I would be interested to know what some of those are.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says she is concerned about limiting an elected official's ability to serve on committees and says this changes her support for the bill.
▶ Watch at 2:10:28Read what they said
Okay, thank you. I don't know how I feel about that being an elected official who my constituency wants me advocating for. You know, there's all reasons why people would be involved in complaints and sometimes they're very political. And so to take away any ability for them to act besides in their one voting rule, but not having any say on committees, you know, as we vote and move things forward, um, I think that changes my mind on support on this. So thank you. Speaker Can do that to you already.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says she agrees with the premise but is concerned about one part that limits members' other abilities, and will vote no to flag concerns.
▶ Watch at 2:21:44Read what they said
Yeah, thank you. I, overall, I agree with the premise of this bill. There's that one part that makes me a little nervous and I'm, we, we can work more on it, but for right now, it'll be a no, just to flag it to show that there were some concerns and, um, to be able to work. I think we wanna make sure that, um, we're not keeping the public from having the representatives being able to work for them, whoever they are, um, elected. And, you know, there are some other ways to go about it. But I think, you know, Cing, someone can be a wide variety of reasons you would do that. Um, and so I …
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · Senate Education Committee · Feb 6, 2026
Presented HB 55, explaining that an audit found education technology vendors sharing student information with third parties, and that the bill requires school districts to cancel contracts if problems are not fixed within 30 days.
▶ Watch at 2:45:26Read what they said
I will be so fast because most of you guys are on the interim committee. And this was, um, because of an audit that we did where we found that our vendors on our Chromebooks, uh, we're sharing third party, or we're sharing, um, student information with third parties. And so this bill makes it so that if they, um, once we detect a problem, if it is not fixed within 30 days, then the schools have to cancel the contracts because this is already federal and state law that they should not be sharing student information. So this just makes them, um, have a tool for the schools to feel like they can fall back on and say, you …
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · Senate Education Committee · Feb 6, 2026
Explained that the bill was amended after talks with the school board, that a fiscal note was added and later removed, and that the final amendment asks the board to codify auditing it already does.
▶ Watch at 2:46:31Read what they said
Yes. Um, I had, we had put on an amendment after talking to the school board about, um, their involvement and it put a fiscal note on it. It was on the consent calendar, so we pulled it off. Um, and then we made another amendment to, to lower that down. But basically we were asking the school board, okay, how much can you do that is going to be what you're already doing as far as auditing these things? And we just stuck it in and, and to codify it.
H.B. 207 Competency Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 5, 2026
Moved to adopt the first substitute to HB 207.
▶ Watch at 1:19:13Read what they said
Yes. Um, black. Did I give you the wrong microphone there? It's okay. Wrong. Sorry. Okay. I would like to, oh, do we need to adopt a sub? Okay. Um, motion to adopt sub number 1 4 2 60 HB 2 0 7.
H.B. 207 Competency Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 5, 2026
Moved to favorably pass the first substitute to HB 207 to the House floor.
▶ Watch at 1:20:16Read what they said
Yeah. I motion that we favorably pass out. First substitute HB 2 0 7 to the house floor with a favorable recommendation.
H.B. 307 Attorney Fees Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 5, 2026
Moved to recommend HB 307 favorably to the House floor.
▶ Watch at 1:26:03Read what they said
Motion that we recommend for substitute HB 3 0 7, um, with favorable recommendation to the house floor. The motion is that we favorably recommend House Bill 3 0 7
H.B. 307 Attorney Fees Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 5, 2026
Thanked the sponsor and said the bill deserves a favorable recommendation. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:26:27Read what they said
I want to thank the, uh, sponsor for the motion. I appreciate it. And it is a good bill that deserves a favorable recommendation. Thank you. Wave.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House floor debate (day 14) · Feb 2, 2026
Explains that the bill was on the consent calendar, that a fiscal note was found after the first amendment, and that a new amendment developed with USBE removes the fiscal note.
▶ Watch at 27:56Read what they said
Yes. Uh, colleagues, this bill was on the consent calendar, but we had adopted the First Amendment right as we were passing it out of committee and we realized that there was a fiscal note on it. So working with USBE, we have a new amendment that will make it so that there is no fiscal note. So I would appreciate the support.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House floor debate (day 14) · Feb 2, 2026
Presents the bill, saying an audit found over half of school computer vendors shared student information with third parties, and that the bill lets schools cancel vendor contracts within 30 days without cancellation fees if a breach is not fixed.
▶ Watch at 28:51Read what they said
Thank you. Um, over the summer we had an audit in education committee that showed that over 50% of our vendors, um, on our school computers were sharing student information with third parties. So this bill is a committee bill to make schools cancel the contract within 30 days. If the vendor can't fix the program once there's been a breach, um, or a sharing of data detected. And it also, um, makes it so there's no cancellation fees to the schools, but just gives them a little bit of a, a tool to push back against this breach of federal and state law.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House floor debate (day 14) · Feb 2, 2026
Gives closing remarks, saying the bill protects students' information and keeps third parties from benefiting from it, and asks for support.
▶ Watch at 30:30Read what they said
Thank you. I think the most important thing we can do to protect our students is to protect their information and not let third parties benefit off of them. So I'd appreciate the support. Thank you.
H.B. 293 Public Education Student Athlete Protections · House Education Committee · Jan 30, 2026
Moves to amend HB 293 with Amendment 1.
▶ Watch at 3:16:55Read what they said
Yeah, thank you. I motion to amend, um, with the motion, uh, with the amendment in my name.
H.B. 293 Public Education Student Athlete Protections · House Education Committee · Jan 30, 2026
Explains the amendment lets UHSAA use reasonable modifications for rural schools and regions and thanks the sponsor.
▶ Watch at 3:17:14Read what they said
I would. Um, and I wanted to thank the sponsors so much, um, for her work on this. I know it's, um, it's been a difficult thing. And as a parent of high school athletes, this is something that we, um, think about on a regular basis. Um, as I've mentioned before, being in a rural area, um, there's a lot of other considerations that need to be taken into account, and we've heard some of that as well from some of the public comments. So, um, giving the flexibility for the U-H-S-A-A to be able to, um, make sure that they can take into account some of those, um, differences while they're making, um, their policies, uh, realizing that …
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · Senate floor debate (day 10) · Jan 29, 2026
Presents the bill, which keeps the existing 30-day notice for individual resident transfers or discharges and adds a 45-day notice requirement for facility closures or qualifying sales or use changes.
▶ Watch at 49:04Read what they said
Um, this bill keeps the existing 30 day notice for individual resident transfers or discharges and adds a separate 45 day notice requirement. Only when the facility plans to close complete a qualifying sale or change its use. It ensures realistic relocation options and protects residents during closures or sales of, uh, senior care facilities. Um, I'd be happy to yield to any questions.
H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026
Auxier said constituents ask why repeat offenders are released and supported working within existing sentencing frameworks to review whether sentences are adequate.
▶ Watch at 53:14Read what they said
Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, thank you for presenting this bill. I, you know, being on this committee, we hear a lot of things, and I think probably maybe we get emailed about, um, people who have been offending over and over and over and are constituents keep asking, why are they let out? Why when they, you know, committed murder or committed something else, were they given just a slap on the wrist to go back out and just offend again? And I think a lot of times at the state, we start to think about, okay, how can we make these penalties harder? Or how can we pass another law? The fact is we already have laws. We …
H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026
Auxier asked Pike to explain what she meant by no victim representation.
▶ Watch at 1:24:41Read what they said
Madam Chair. Um, I just wonder if you could elaborate on what you mean by there's no victim representation on with the victim services.
H.B. 274 Sentencing Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 28, 2026
Auxier asked for clarification on whether the Victim Services Commission sends a representative.
▶ Watch at 1:25:06Read what they said
A, a follow up. So, um, I'm not, I just assumed that's a yes. Is that okay? Madam Chair? Um, so there is no Victim Services commission at all, that is having one person come to the sentencing commission, is that what you're saying? No,
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · Senate Business and Labor Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Presented HB 21, which would require senior care facilities that are closing or changing use to notify residents and relatives in advance, including information about other care options within 60 miles, after a veteran was given short notice to move out.
▶ Watch at 2:35:36Read what they said
You. And I'll be speaking, Do we just, we we have a sub that just came online? Yeah, I'll be talking to the sub. Okay. And what that is, is, um, I was talking to the stakeholders and we had talked earlier and hadn't, um, for some reason it hadn't gotten into the original amendment, but instead of notifying the residents 30 days before, um, a sale, when it's not changing use, they're just gonna let them know, uh, five days after the sale happens, just like when your mortgage gets, um, changed by mortgage company. So just notify that, that, that happens. Um, I know you guys have already heard this, especially so it, last year you heard it …
H.B. 20 Correctional Facility Capacity Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Jan 23, 2026
Moves to favorably pass the first substitute of HB 20 out of committee to the House floor.
▶ Watch at 42:28Read what they said
Thank you. Sorry, I thought my mic was already on. Sorry. Are are we ready to make motions on the whole? No. Okay. Um, I move that we favorably passed out first sub HB 20, um, to the house floor.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House Education Committee · Jan 22, 2026
Introduces the bill, notes the committee discussed it during interim, and introduces Jenny Earl to explain audit findings before she explains the bill.
▶ Watch at 1:36:05Read what they said
Alright. Um, this should, um, seem very familiar. We talked about it during interim, but for those who were not on the interim, um, committee, we found out, um, that there was an audit that was done. And board member Earl is here to talk about some of the findings to do with that. Um, so maybe I'll let her do that first and then I'll explain the bill.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House Education Committee · Jan 22, 2026
Explains the amendment makes the bill work with the data privacy team that USBE already has.
▶ Watch at 1:41:40Read what they said
Yeah, I, this just is making it work with the data privacy team that the, um, USVE already has and just kind of spelling that out. So, okay. Thank you very much.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House Education Committee · Jan 22, 2026
Says federal and state law already prohibit sharing this data and the bill gives school districts authority to cancel contracts, and asks for a yes vote.
▶ Watch at 1:42:56Read what they said
Alright. Yeah, you know, we already had federal and state law prohibiting the sharing of this data and so this just gives our school districts a little teeth to be able to cancel those contracts. So I would appreciate, uh, a yes vote. Thank you.
H.B. 55 Privacy Compliance for Education Technology Vendors · House Education Committee · Jan 22, 2026
Says she assumed a unanimous bill could go on consent and asks about any repercussions. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:44:11Read what they said
Um, yeah, I guess I just assumed that if it was unanimous, it can go, but if there's any repercussions, then that
H.B. 75 American Indian and Alaska Native Education Amendments · House Education Committee · Jan 22, 2026
Asks whether grant funds could pay for national conferences when districts already fund conferences through their own budgets, and says the sponsor's answer will help address that.
▶ Watch at 1:49:22Read what they said
You. Um, thank you for your presentation. I did actually have a question. I know we've kind of talked about the, the conferences and I know, um, you feel it's really beneficial to be in person and for some of the specialty things. Um, it does seem like a lot of LEAs right now are, um, already paying for conferences. So is, would this be extra, um, money that would be allowed to be used for conferences within that grant? Like, do they not have access to have it funded through the LEA already to go to some of these national conferences? Uh, they may, but we're, we want them, uh, to be able to astand there are very specific …
H.B. 75 American Indian and Alaska Native Education Amendments · House Education Committee · Jan 22, 2026
Asks as a follow-up whether funding for conferences should be directed toward other targeted uses instead, since these schools already fund targeted conferences.
▶ Watch at 1:51:19Read what they said
Um, I, I understand all of that. What I'm wondering is most of these schools are already majority schools for these different populations. So wouldn't their normal conferences that they're already funding through their school be focused and targeted towards this anyway? So I'm just wondering, you know, if they're having access to other money to pay for national conferences, would it be better to not allow it, um, through this grant and focus that money on other really targeted things? That's, that was my question. Well,
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 1) · Jan 20, 2026
Presents House Bill 21, which adds resident protections in senior care facilities, extends the notice period when a facility is sold or shut down, and helps residents find new placements, and asks for support.
▶ Watch at 47:32Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, like my good colleague from St. George, this bill was heard and passed unanimously in the House committee, the Senate Committee, and with Brad by partisan support in this chamber, and was brought back, um, unanimously again through the interim. What this does is give more protections for residents of care centers. And I worked closely with the stakeholders who, um, supported this bill. And, um, also it, um, extends the amount of time for our residents to be able to be notified if, um, a care center is being bought or shut down. And, um, also helps them find new, um, locations and facilities. And I hope that you will vote for it again. …
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 1) · Jan 20, 2026
Supports amendment number two as a friendly amendment, saying the practice is already common and this puts it into statute.
▶ Watch at 49:29Read what they said
I would support that as a friendly amendment. Um, I spoke also to the stakeholders and this is already common practice, so it's just, um, putting it into statute.
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 1) · Jan 20, 2026
Answers that contractual obligations would carry over to a new owner and that the bill's notice provisions apply to all facilities for sales or shutdowns.
▶ Watch at 50:58Read what they said
Um, the contractual obligation would carry over. Um, this would be for all facilities. And so it would be, as the notice came of either a, um, sale and transfer of ownership or a sale and, um, shut down of the facility. There's two different things in the bill and they're both addressed there. But that would carry forward if there was a transfer of ownership. Um, those, those same things would apply.
H.B. 21 Senior Care Facility Amendments · House floor debate (day 1) · Jan 20, 2026
Gives closing remarks, saying the bill adds protections for a vulnerable population.
▶ Watch at 51:42Read what they said
Thank you. I think, um, as I've, I've said before, this is such a vulnerable population and to be able to put a, a few more, um, protections in place for them is a, a worthy cause. So, thank you.
From the official recordings' automatic captions, with speakers and summaries identified by AI. Use the ▶ links to check the recording before you rely on a quote.