Legislators / Sahara Hayes
Sahara Hayes
Democrat · House District 32 · Minority Assistant Whip
Hear from them directly
Contact Rep. Sahara Hayes
- Email: shayes@le.utah.gov
- Phone: 801-657-0395
- Office: 350 N State Street, Suite 350, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114
Constituents get priority, so say you live in their district. Writing about a specific bill? Open it and use Take action for a ready-to-send message.
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.
Sahara Hayes serves on:
- Executive Appropriations Committee
- Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee
- House Education Committee
- House Government Operations Committee
- Education Interim Committee
- Economic Development and Workforce Services Interim Committee
- Legislative Management Committee
What they've said
122 remarks on 30 billsH.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026
Moves that the House concur with the Senate amendments to the bill.
▶ Watch at 1:22:01Read what they said
Mr. Oh, thank you Mr. Speaker. Not to disappoint, but I motion that we concur with the Senate amendments.
S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Presents S.B. 297 as a technical correction defining qualifying school personnel in code, saying the listed roles already work in schools and it creates no new program or funding.
▶ Watch at 1:16:01Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Chair and committee for having me today. Um, like I said, I'm not Senator Bus, but I'm gonna do my best impersonation. Um, so we'll see what we got. So, SB 2 97, um, is a technical correction. Two years ago, the legislature expanded the scope of, um, like, of the definition of student health, um, counseling within schools. So when we made that change, um, it, it put in some vague titles. So if you look on lines 34 and 35, which are, are currently crossed out, they've got qualifying personnel means a school counselor or other counselor, a school psychologist or other psychologist, a school social worker, or other social worker and other, that, that …
S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Responds that the bill reflects roles already working in schools and that qualified staff remain in key roles, with less-trained staff handling day-to-day tasks.
▶ Watch at 1:19:47Read what they said
Yeah, I'd be happy to. Um, and I'll do my best, but my understanding is that this is, the goal of this bill is to reflect what's already happening. So it's so that we're getting reality in line with our code and, and vice versa. There's been a lot of work the last few years to make sure that, that the most trained and qualified people that we have in these roles aren't doing like the day-to-day. So if you're, if you go to a doctor's office, you're gonna have a, a tech first who goes in and goes over your charts with you and you might see a nurse before you get to the doctor. And so that's, that's …
S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Relays that the sponsor is open to amendments on the intern language and asks Rep. Teuscher to restate his question.
▶ Watch at 1:21:26Read what they said
Which, which part? Sorry, I got lost the sponsor texting Me. Yeah, no, it's, uh, Um, she said in, in case you, I, Senator Bus has texted me, she says, interns already do this work, but if it's a concern, we're open to amendments. So, fun fact, if anybody has concerns with the interns, uh, I have permission to work with the committee on amending that. Um, and then can you get back to your, the rest of your question? 'cause I am a little bit,
S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Explains that the "other" language in the definitions captures the listed counseling and psychology titles.
▶ Watch at 1:22:25Read what they said
Those are all, I, I don't think any of those would fit under the current definition of what you see in line 34 of a school counselor, a school psychologist, a school social worker. I mean, that's where the other comes in the or other psychologist or other social worker or other counselor. 'cause right now that sort of bucket is capturing all of those titles already with the others.
S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Speaks on behalf of the sponsor, saying she is willing to remove the intern language, and asks the committee to support the favorable recommendation.
▶ Watch at 1:30:23Read what they said
Thank you. Um, thank you for the lively back and forth. I do appreciate it, even if it puts me on my toes sometimes. Um, thank you to Representative Thurston for bringing up House Bill 2 81. I did pull it up and you're correct, it does not touch interns, but you know what it does say in 2 81, um, from mental health services, it includes a school psychologist, a school social worker, um, marriage and family therapist, a clinical mental health counselor. So it, it does, it does tie in to what this bill is doing. Um, the, the bill sponsor has been very clear with me that she is happy to potentially take out the intern language. …
S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · House Business, Labor, and Commerce Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Calls the proposed amendment friendly and says the sponsor would be happy to make the change if it addresses colleagues' concerns.
▶ Watch at 1:34:00Read what they said
That is a friendly amendment. I would, I'd be curious if that would alleviate some of the concerns of my colleagues. If so, then I think we're happy to make that change.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Hayes presented H.B. 112, which adds social media, including paid influencer marketing, to political advertising disclosure rules, sets a fine schedule in place of a misdemeanor, and limits fines to one per advertisement.
▶ Watch at 1:33:35Read what they said
Thank you. I'll try to use it judiciously. Thank you. Um, so this bill does two things that deal in political advertising. The first is it adds social media to the definition. Um, it's currently not in code. Um, so that would include, um, both if you are, if you're paying to run an ad so that you're, you're paying to target it. But that would also include, um, influencer marketing. So more and more we're seeing marketing happen where you pay someone with a large social media following to promote your product. Um, in this case it would be your candidacy. So it would include that in the definition as well. Um, and just to iterate, this is only …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Hayes described a past election case in which a paid social media account promoted attacks on an opponent without disclosure.
▶ Watch at 1:36:24Read what they said
Absolutely. So a couple years ago during the election cycle, we saw some influencer marketing. So, um, there was an account that was being paid and I, I know I was being paid 'cause it was in the person's disclosures, um, by a candidate to say nasty things about their opponent. Um, and then it wasn't disclosed at all. So then there were comments on this account saying, I didn't know you guys did endorsements, things like that. So we just wanna make sure that any time you're paying to promote candidacy or to disparage an opponent or things like that, that it's being disclosed like other political advertising since so much advertising is happening on social media now.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Hayes said current code does not require a paid-for disclosure on social media advertising, unlike mailers and flyers.
▶ Watch at 1:37:09Read what they said
No. 'cause it's not in code. Well, I, I, I apologize. So it was on their financial disclosures. It's not, it wasn't in the advertisement. So they're paying for advertising that we don't currently re require to have like a paid for buy on. So the same way that if you send out a flyer or a mailer, you need to say paid for by, um, committee to elect or whatever your campaign's name is. Um, that doesn't currently apply to any social media advertising.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Hayes said unpaid posts would not be covered, while paid digital advertising would require disclosure.
▶ Watch at 1:40:17Read what they said
Sure. So this would be included in paid digital advertising. So again, if you're just posting and saying, this is what happened in my committee this week. Um, my understanding too, 'cause I, when I've presented this before, people have been confused saying, isn't it already required that we put in like Boost to post? If you're, if you're paying, if you're exchanging money to advertise yourself through a digital platform, yes it would require disclosure.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Hayes summarized that the bill clarifies existing disclosure questions in code, adds protection against attacks, and noted county clerk support.
▶ Watch at 1:45:43Read what they said
Um, thank you first of all for your consideration in the questions. I, I wanna clarify if you are, uh, disseminating an ad on something like Instagram, it currently already asks who pays for it. This is, this is adding clarity to code. Um, this is already a question that's being asked. We're just trying to update it in code. Um, and it also as, um, center NU is pointing out it, it does add a layer of protection, um, against attacks against you as well. So if for some reason if, um, I wanted to say that um, my opponent smelled funny and had never showered, I would need to disclose that that was paid for by me, um, …
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Hayes said the policy question is whether children should have access to free nutritious meals and argued that the bill's income threshold is a worthwhile investment.
▶ Watch at 44:00Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. All right. I, I apologize to the sponsor on the motion to hold. Um, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I know this, or, you know, the last week, I would just say this is the policy question, and I think the representative nailed down the policy question, and that is what children should have access to, to this nutritious meal at a free cost. And so that is the question. And the policy says in the bill that it should be for families that are making $60,000 or less for a family of four. And if we look at the cost of living and that right now, um, one out of 10 families in Utah facing food insecurity, …
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Hayes said food is a basic need and that funding school meals for children is worthwhile, citing the recent government shutdown's strain on food banks.
▶ Watch at 45:23Read what they said
Thank you. I think that, um, keeping people fed is, that's the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy, right? This is a basic level need. And when I think about the purpose of government, I think it is largely to fill needs that you cannot survive without. And food is a thing that you cannot survive without. And so I think anything, I mean, we recently saw when there was the government shutdown, just what a huge strain that put on food banks and things like that. People are dependent on feeding, and this is kids. I think we need to be, I, I, I can see nothing wrong with putting funding towards feeding kids.
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Hayes asked the sponsor where the bill stands in the funding process.
▶ Watch at 46:04Read what they said
Um, and I do have a question for the sponsor, if that's okay. Do you know where this is at in the funding process?
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Hayes said the funding question matters less than the policy of feeding children.
▶ Watch at 46:21Read what they said
Okay. So I think we should maybe not worry so much about the funding piece since it sounds like that's something that the Senator Cullimore is still negotiating on. And if it doesn't get funded, we don't have to worry about it. Um, and maybe focus on the policy, which again is about feeding kids. Thank
S.B. 180 School Nutrition Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Rep. Hayes said the sponsor summarized the bill well, mentioned earlier committee work on school lunch food waste, and supported a favorable recommendation.
▶ Watch at 54:29Read what they said
Thank you. I think the sponsor summed it well. I really fast, um, on the comment about food being thrown away. I think that the committee's already actually done some work in that area with the, um, that having to sit down for school lunch. Um, representative Voxer has lu out on this, and I see that maybe it didn't go as well in the Senate, but I'm hoping we can keep doing that next year so that it's kind of a holistic thing, right? And we're working on the full web, and I think that this is a piece of the web, so I hope that we favorably recommend it.
S.B. 119 School and Classroom Amendments · House Education Committee · Mar 3, 2026
Asked the sponsor to explain the need for the large fiscal note, noting she understood a similar process may already exist.
▶ Watch at 1:29:31Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'm wondering if you could speak a little bit more, um, you kind of covered it, but to the need. 'cause this is a really, really big fat fiscal note and my understanding is that this is kind of already happening. Um, and, and that's just what I've heard. Okay. Um, maybe not with the exact Utah standards, but it, it sounds like there's some sort of similar process in place. And if that is inaccurate, you can tell me. So, but I'm just wondering if you can speak more to, um, why we need to spend this much money on this Bill. Yeah.
S.B. 34 Public Education Revisions · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Moved to adopt the third substitute to SB 34.
▶ Watch at 1:14:24Read what they said
All right. Fantastic. In that case, I move that we adopt third substitute to SB 34.
S.B. 34 Public Education Revisions · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Moved to favorably recommend SB 34 as substituted and amended.
▶ Watch at 1:15:38Read what they said
Um, I move that we favorably recommend SB 34 as substituted and amended, Uh, motions in an order. Would you like to speak to it?
S.B. 34 Public Education Revisions · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Said the bill makes sense and addressed public concerns about the allocation of funds, stating the bill does not change suicide prevention funding levels and adds flexibility only for possible future shortfalls.
▶ Watch at 1:15:45Read what they said
Sure. I just think that this makes sense in a straightforward, and I'd like to see it move forward. Thank you to the members of the committee. Um, I just would like to address the concern of the, uh, two, uh, uh, members of the public who spoke to the, um, allocation of funds from, uh, the distribution money under subsection seven. They're referring to line 2010. Um, the state board of requested an accommodation if for some reason there was a change in appropriation, uh, that they'd be able to allocate those appropriate, the allocate those funds commensurately. So, I just wanna clarify that there isn't any change in funding for suicide prevention. And, uh, uh, but, but there …
S.B. 241 Early Literacy · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Asks how much of the bill is about retention compared with intervention.
▶ Watch at 2:08:23Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you for being here. Um, I, I applaud the goals of this bill. I'm really excited for it. Um, I think my question, I feel like I don't quite know how to phrase it in words that make sense yet, so I'm gonna do my very best and hopefully you understand what I'm saying. Um, but I, I would say 90% of the external dialogue going on around this bill is purely about retention. And I keep hearing about retention, and that's all that it seems. That's all that the, you know, external world outside of this room seems to think that this bill is about. So I'm wondering if you can speak to …
S.B. 241 Early Literacy · House Education Committee · Feb 27, 2026
Asks whether the large fiscal note reflects the personnel and teacher training needed to carry out the bill.
▶ Watch at 2:11:00Read what they said
Thank you. Um, I think I, I'm very excited about this, like I said, um, and I imagine, and this might be just very redundant, but it has a big, thick fiscal note. And so I imagine that is to make sure that they're the, um, personnel and teachers to ensure that this can happen. 'cause I, I might imagine that this would already be happening if they had the resources available.
H.B. 102 Victim Privacy Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Presents the bill, which lets crime victims use initials instead of full names on public documents, with carve-outs and a requirement that agencies keep full names available.
▶ Watch at 1:00:17Read what they said
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee. Um, so what this bill does is it gives victims of crimes the option of just having their initials on publicly available documents rather than their full names. So this is things like police reports, charging documents, um, it has carve outs. So in instances where it wouldn't make sense to only have initials, for example, you wouldn't say, don't stalk jd. You'd say Don't stalk Jane Doe. And it also requires that agencies keep a record of the full name so that if there is, um, a court order or reason to identify the victim's full identity that it is available. We don't wanna cut off that access. Um, I also …
H.B. 102 Victim Privacy Amendments · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Feb 26, 2026
Says people do not choose to be crime victims and the bill adds protection so the justice system works for them.
▶ Watch at 1:06:12Read what they said
Thank you. And thank you for having me here today. I just wanna say, um, people don't choose to be victims of crimes, and so I wanna add the protection so that the criminal justice system works for them the way it ought.
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · Senate floor debate (day 37) · Feb 26, 2026
Presents H.B. 417, which would let patients transport themselves between medical facilities when their medical team approves and they arrive within set time frames, and provides immunity for doctors at the originating facility.
▶ Watch at 1:33:26Read what they said
HB 4 71 creates a pathway for patients to transport themselves between medical facilities when is not medically necessary to be transported via ambulance. I think many of you'll like this bill. This came about because a constituent who was dealing with depression checked into the mental health receiving center and was later transferred to the hospital. This patient was required to take an ambulance and required a large bill after the fact, despite the fact that she could have transported herself. Currently, if a patient were to transport themselves, they would have to discharge themselves from the hospital, meaning they would have to give up a hospital bed, be being held for them, and be reexamined again, costing more …
H.B. 558 Elections Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Said cities are not inherently political, noting her blue city has a Republican mayor, and asked whether the bill would politicize local issues like zoning.
▶ Watch at 1:23:29Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, thank you for being here today, representative. I, uh, I have some holdups with this bill, and I think the main thing for me is that, um, cities aren't inherently political. Um, and I say this, I I represent a very big, I I represent a very blue city. I live in a very blue city and I have a Republican mayor. And that's, that's perfectly okay with me because she's a fantastic mayor and she does a great job. And I don't want zoning requirements necessarily to be a Democrat or a Republican issue. And so I, I've, I think we live in a very politicized world at this point. And I guess my …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · Senate Education Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Thanks the committee and says she will move an amendment when appropriate.
▶ Watch at 1:54:04Read what they said
Thank you for having me. I believe Representative Wilcox is still presenting in the committee that I'm also in, so, okay. That might be what's going on there. Um, thank you for having me today everyone. I really appreciate being here. Um, and just as a point of clarification, I will have an amendment that I'll need to move when that is appropriate, if that's
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · Senate Education Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Explains the amendment clarifies that commission members would be paid a per diem rate.
▶ Watch at 1:54:22Read what they said
The amendment is, um, just clarifying that members of this commission would be paid at a per diem rate. Okay. That's it. Okay. Okay.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · Senate Education Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Presents the amended bill, which creates an independent ethics commission for the State Board of Education using the same process that applies to legislators.
▶ Watch at 1:55:02Read what they said
Thank you. Committee, um, house Bill 1 94 is addressing a, a gap that we currently have in code regarding ethical oversight. So, currently all elected individuals and bodies in this state have some sort of external ethical overview, um, except for, uh, the State Board of Education. And so this is about creating, um, an ethics commission for them as well, so that everybody, all elected individuals in this state have that level of, um, accountability to their, um, to their citizens. So what this bill does is it establishes, um, the independent ethics commission. And if you're looking at the bill and you're like, wow, that is a lot of red, I wanna reassure you that none of …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · Senate Education Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Says complaints would be confidential and investigated by a commission rather than board members, as for legislators.
▶ Watch at 1:58:10Read what they said
Yes, that is correct. So currently, um, one of the issues, and one of the reasons that this bill was important to me to run is because if, if currently if a board member were to make a complaint against another board member, or if an employee were to make a complaint, it is not anonymous. It is not anonymous, and it is investigated by direct reports of the board. And it's essentially the board voting on the board. And like I, I, I think about if that were me, um, and I was having to investigate another representative, and for better or worse, I have my own biases. There's people that I love in the chamber that I serve, …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · Senate Education Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Says she is open to amendments and suggestions to make the bill better or broader, but would prefer not to hold it.
▶ Watch at 2:02:16Read what they said
Absolutely. Thank you for that. I, I firmly believe one of the great things about serving in a body with 103 other people is that we have 103 opportunities to make a bill better. And so I would, I mean, it's day 36, so I would, I would prefer not to take a suggestion of holding and continuing to work on it and through a very long list on the floor. But I'm always open. I'm always open to that. And I think if we can, if if the board or other members have suggestions, um, we can incorporate those or make it broader. I am very open to that.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · Senate Education Committee · Feb 25, 2026
Thanks the committee and the board, says the bill is not aimed at any person or group, and says she is open to more work on the issue.
▶ Watch at 2:03:58Read what they said
Thank you. And thank you again for having me today. And thank you for the, to the board for the work that they have done. I know this has been an ongoing discussion and issue, and I hope that, um, with this, hopefully we can give them a little bit of, um, clarity and put a button on it. Um, I also wanna add, this isn't about singling out any person or any one group or diminishing the efforts that have been done. This is just about creating a level playing field for elected officials across the board. Um, and if this committee would like to see more work done in that, I, I am always open to that. Um, …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Moves to adopt the third substitute of the bill in her name.
▶ Watch at 34:19Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Pro tem, uh, motion to adopt. Third substitute in my name
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Says the third substitute adds a coordination clause and coordinates with an earlier bill that also amends a section of code.
▶ Watch at 34:28Read what they said
I would thank you. This includes a coordination clause and that's all the third substitute does. Earlier this session, we passed a bill that also deals with section of code. So it's, it's a little important. We coordinate for that.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Explains that the third substitute adds a coordination clause tied to an earlier bill that deals with the same section of code.
▶ Watch at 34:28Read what they said
I would thank you. This includes a coordination clause and that's all the third substitute does. Earlier this session, we passed a bill that also deals with section of code. So it's, it's a little important. We coordinate for that.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Says the bill adds paid social media advertising, including paid influencer marketing, to the definition of paid political advertising, and adds a fine schedule requested by the Lieutenant Governor's office, applied once per advertisement, with an opportunity to be heard before fines are imposed and no rulemaking authority.
▶ Watch at 34:55Read what they said
Thank you. Um, this bill does two things. So first it updates the definition of paid political advertising to include social media. This does not include if you're just posting to posts. This is if you are exchanging money to have a political advertisement on social media. So this is, um, just ads that you run, but also includes influencer marketing. More and more we're seeing people market products, events, things like that by paying people with large product or platforms, um, to promote these. And so we wanna make sure that if that's happening in the political world, that we're just noting who is paying for that. Second thing that this bill does was at the request of Lieutenant …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Explains that the bill adds social media, including paid influencer marketing, to the definition of paid political advertising, and adds a fine schedule requested by the Lieutenant Governor's office, applied once per advertisement, with an opportunity to be heard before fines are imposed.
▶ Watch at 34:55Read what they said
Thank you. Um, this bill does two things. So first it updates the definition of paid political advertising to include social media. This does not include if you're just posting to posts. This is if you are exchanging money to have a political advertisement on social media. So this is, um, just ads that you run, but also includes influencer marketing. More and more we're seeing people market products, events, things like that by paying people with large product or platforms, um, to promote these. And so we wanna make sure that if that's happening in the political world, that we're just noting who is paying for that. Second thing that this bill does was at the request of Lieutenant …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Says she would prefer fines to misdemeanors and does not think anyone wants misdemeanors under this bill.
▶ Watch at 36:30Read what they said
Thank you. I really don't wanna misdemeanor and I don't think anybody else here does either.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House floor debate (day 36) · Feb 25, 2026
Gives closing remarks, saying she does not want the violation to be a misdemeanor and asks for support.
▶ Watch at 36:30Read what they said
Thank you. I really don't wanna misdemeanor and I don't think anybody else here does either.
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · Senate Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 24, 2026
Presents H.B. 417, which would let medically stable patients transport themselves between medical facilities instead of using an ambulance, without giving up their bed or being reexamined if they arrive within a set time, and gives immunity to the originating facility's medical team.
▶ Watch at 43:56Read what they said
All right. Well thank you for having me today, you guys. Um, I appreciate it and I will try to be fast. Um, HB four 17 creates a pathway for patients to transport themselves between medical facilities rather than having to rely on ambulances. This came about because I had a constituent who was dealing with depression. She checked into the, um, mental health receiving center and then was later transported to a hospital and, and got a big, big, big, big fat ambulance bill after the fact. So she was pretty frustrated by this sense. This wasn't as she saw it medically necessary. She wasn't bleeding out, she wasn't considered to be a danger to herself at the time. …
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · Senate Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 24, 2026
Thanks the committee and says she also thinks the bill is a good one.
▶ Watch at 46:48Read what they said
Um, thank you. I also think it's a great bill and like the Senate sponsor, so, oh, Wow.
H.J.R. 25 Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Secretary of State · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 24, 2026
Asks whether the Secretary of State would be a partisan race and about the choice to make the office partisan.
▶ Watch at 58:09Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I also have a series, if that's okay. Thank you. And I, I, I, since we're considering kind of both of these bills as a package, I realize this might not be the most appropriate questions for the piece that we're on, but I think that in order to vote on this, we need to fully understand everything that's going on. Um, so would the Secretary of State be a partisan race? Yes. Okay. Um, you, you said earlier that it's, it's not about parties, it's about getting the right person. I feel like we find often, um, that adding partisanship, I think we've, we've seen this in school boards and things like that. It add, …
H.J.R. 25 Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Secretary of State · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 24, 2026
Asks whether the office would be a scapegoat for election controversies and whether officials would be accountable to voters.
▶ Watch at 1:00:45Read what they said
Wonderful. Thank you. And then finally, I guess you, you keep talking about wanting to get the muck as you put it mm-hmm. Off of Lieutenant Governor. Are you just, are you, are we planning on just dumping that at the feet of whoever this person is? Like are they, are they, are they our election scapegoat as a state? Well, I wouldn't call it a scapegoat. They would run for that position and any type of controversy, they would be able to be accountable directly to the people as we don't have in the model that we have right now. We get, we get a lot of accusations and things that are said that attack someone who really ran …
H.J.R. 25 Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Secretary of State · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 24, 2026
Says she will vote yes but is undecided, and that the proposal deserves full House consideration.
▶ Watch at 1:28:16Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, I'm gonna be voting yes on this, but I wanted to speak to why, because I don't know if this is an idea that I fully love yet. Um, but it is, however, an idea that I am very intrigued by. And so I think that this is, as long as it doesn't take up like half a floor time worthy of the discussion from the whole house, because I think this is something that is going to be, um, it's gonna be very impactful. And so if, if we're presenting this and it is, I, I applaud you for running bold legislation and I think that it deserves the response of the full body. …
H.C.R. 13 Concurrent Resolution Regarding Technical Education · House Education Committee · Feb 20, 2026
Moved that the committee favorably recommend HCR 13.
▶ Watch at 31:01Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Chair. Uh, I move that we favorably recommend HCR 13, concurrent resolution regarding technical education.
H.B. 463 Special Education Funding Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 20, 2026
Hayes asked how the bill works and whether it addresses the shortage of trained special education educators.
▶ Watch at 40:57Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got just a couple questions if that's okay? Yep. Please go Ahead. Thank you. Okay. I wanna make sure I'm understanding this 'cause I think this is probably great, but I also don't quite know what's happening. Um, so is this, is this giving more hours of sped time? Like how does this work? Because my, my only question I guess is I keep hearing about how there aren't enough, um, educators or like trained educators in SPED classrooms. And so does this address that in any way? Or is this just creating more like I I just think I'm a little lost in the weeds. Yeah,
H.B. 463 Special Education Funding Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 20, 2026
Hayes summarized her understanding that the money would go to special education services, possibly hiring personnel.
▶ Watch at 42:25Read what they said
Okay. Okay. So to recap, to make sure I'm understanding, this is gonna generate more money for SPED services, which is gonna go directly to that program, which could look like hiring more personnel. Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 19, 2026
Rep. Hayes described the second substitute, which removes the provision on advertisements paid for by two entities, specifies that the advertisement is paid, limits fines to one per advertisement, and adds an opportunity to be heard; she also explained the current misdemeanor default.
▶ Watch at 1:42:31Read what they said
All right. Hello. Hello, hello, hello, committee, thank you for letting me take a second stab at this bill. Um, so we've worked with Lieutenant Governor's office and with members of this committee, which I thank all of them for, to hopefully address all of the questions and concerns that were brought up last time. Um, I am presenting to the second substitute. Um, so since you guys have heard the basis of this bill before, if it's all right with you, I'm just going to go through the changes and where the bill is now rather than, um, opining on the original. So what the second substitute does is it took, it completely takes out the whole, if two …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 19, 2026
Rep. Hayes said advertising would remain governed by current law until the effective date.
▶ Watch at 1:50:36Read what they said
It, it would be what is currently in code. So we, we currently have political advertising law, so it would be the law that as it currently stands,
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 19, 2026
Rep. Hayes said she did not know the answer and would look into the question.
▶ Watch at 1:51:10Read what they said
You know, I don't actually fully know the answer to that question, but it is a great question and I'd love to, something to look at. You figure it out after.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 19, 2026
Rep. Hayes thanked the committee for its feedback and said the bill had improved through the committee's work.
▶ Watch at 1:51:38Read what they said
I would, I would like to some. Thank you. Um, I do wanna express appreciation for the committee because I genuinely believe that one of the strengths of the legislature is that it's not, we're not individual fiefdoms. We have our ideas and we bring them to the table and then we make them better. And it's the fact that we have so many other people that are willing to take a look at these issues. This is something that I was interested in and I'm really glad that we're getting it to a point where other people can be interested and support it too. 'cause I think it's a policy change that's needed, but I think we're going to …
H.B. 502 School Attendance Modifications · House Education Committee · Feb 18, 2026
Said she had not been called to vote and that her vote was no. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 3:17:28Read what they said
Okay. Alright. I didn't get a, a call to vote, but I was a No.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House floor debate (day 29) · Feb 18, 2026
Presents H.B. 194, which would create independent ethics oversight for the State Board of Education, modeled on the existing legislative ethics structure, including a code of conduct, a five-member Independent Ethics Commission appointed by the board, and complaint procedures.
▶ Watch at 28:17Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker Pro Tem. Uh, this bill is about correcting a gap in code. So currently every elected official and every elected body has some form of external ethical oversight except for the State Board of Education. So what this does is it creates independent ethical oversight for the state board. Um, it it's about creating parody. And what we did with this is we made it, uh, virtually identical to the legislatures because I don't think that I would be comfortable if we as a body asked people to hold themselves to a standard that we are not comfortable with. So, just to go over the details of this, um, it includes setting a code of conduct. …
H.B. 129 Education Board Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 17, 2026
Says the motion seems common sense and thanks the bill sponsor and committee.
▶ Watch at 39:18Read what they said
It seems pretty common sense. Alright, Thanks. And to the bill sponsor, I would appreciate that motion very much To the committee.
H.B. 129 Education Board Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 17, 2026
Says the clarification helps everyone understand the rules and roles, and asks for the committee's support.
▶ Watch at 39:50Read what they said
I'll and to the bill sponsor? Yeah. Thank you committee for your time. But this is, this is an important clarification just so that we all know what the rules of the game are and what everybody's role that we all play is. So I appreciate your support.
H.B. 364 Certified Teacher Librarian Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 17, 2026
Asked whether the bill addresses concerns found in a 2025 sensitive materials audit.
▶ Watch at 1:09:44Read what they said
Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you for being here today. It's fun seeing you on that side of the table. Um, you've touched on this briefly, but maybe you could just expand a little more. Um, we've talked a lot about sensitive materials as a committee, and there was recently an audit that came out in 2025, I believe. Um, are you aware of, does this, uh, bill help address the concerns that were found in the audit? And if so, how?
H.B. 364 Certified Teacher Librarian Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 17, 2026
Said she would support holding the bill but asked that the topic be studied in the interim given growing expectations on libraries.
▶ Watch at 1:25:20Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And I, I, I will support a committee motion to hold this, but I do wanna put it out there that I think if we choose to hold this bill, we should be putting it on the interim agenda because this is an important topic and we keep putting more and more expectations on libraries and on librarians. That's a thing that we've put a lot of effort into and a lot of dedication as a legislature. And if we do that, I think we need to make sure that they have the resources to handle our expectations. Well, we just passed a bill out of this committee asking up to make sure that LEAs proactively …
S.B. 152 Public and Higher Education Collaboration · House Education Committee · Feb 17, 2026
Noted there were no amendments or substitutes and moved to favorably recommend SB 152, saying it seems common sense.
▶ Watch at 2:28:42Read what they said
Thank you. There's no amendments or substitutes I'm seeing, is that correct? Okay, great. I think that's correct. Then um, in that case I move that we favorably recommend SB 1 52 Public and higher education collaborate, collaboration. All right, that motion is in order. Would you like to speak to the motion? Seems common sense. Alright.
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House floor debate (day 28) · Feb 17, 2026
Presents H.B. 417, which creates a pathway for patients to transport themselves between medical facilities with a doctor's approval when an ambulance is not medically necessary, with a required arrival time, no reexamination unless needed, and immunity for the originating facility or provider.
▶ Watch at 1:22:36Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will not be motioning to circle. Um, this bill creates a pathway for patients to transport themselves between medical facilities when it is not medically necessary for them to take an ambulance. So this was brought to me. I have a, a constituent who's dealing with depression, who was transferred from the crisis receiving center to a hospital, and afterwards ended up with a very large medical bill, um, for that ambulance ride. And looking into it, she was really confused because she was dealing with depression, but she wasn't a danger to herself at the time. She wasn't bleeding out or anything like that. And so she was curious as to why she ended …
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House floor debate (day 28) · Feb 17, 2026
Says the amendment is friendly and thanks the sponsor from Blanding for making rural counties included.
▶ Watch at 1:25:02Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a very friendly amendment. I'm very grateful to the sponsor from Blanding for working with me to make sure that we were more inclusive of our rural counties.
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House floor debate (day 28) · Feb 17, 2026
Thanks colleagues for their comments and encourages a yes vote on the bill.
▶ Watch at 1:26:07Read what they said
Thank you. I I appreciate the, the friendly comments on this bill, and I would encourage your vote. So thank you.
H.B. 102 Victim Privacy Amendments · House floor debate (day 28) · Feb 17, 2026
Said the bill lets crime victims use only their initials on public documents such as police reports and charging documents, while full names remain available to courts, with carve-outs for criminal protective orders and stalking injunctions.
▶ Watch at 1:45:41Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. This bill gives victims of crimes the option of using just their initials on publicly effacing documents. So that is things like police reports, um, charging documents. Uh, it requires that the full millions still be available, um, so that they can be found in response to a court order if that information is needed. And it has carve outs for, uh, criminal protective orders and stalking injunctions. Um, but that is the sum of the bill. I would love your support and then we can go to lunch.
H.B. 102 Victim Privacy Amendments · House floor debate (day 28) · Feb 17, 2026
Said the bill adds a layer of protection for victims who fear retaliation, especially in small and rural communities, and does not limit a defendant's right to face their accuser.
▶ Watch at 1:46:37Read what they said
Mr. Speaker, it is always good to know both sides of the story. This just adds a layer of protection for victims. People do not choose to be victims of crimes. This was brought to me by somebody who was in a, a, a situation and she was not comfortable putting her name on any publicly facing documents because she was afraid of retaliation from, um, from her abuser's family, frankly. Um, and this is especially important in small towns and rural areas where everybody knows everywhere. So this does not do anything to get in the way of a person's right to face their accuser. It just provides a layer of security for the victims so that the criminal …
H.B. 302 Government Speech Neutrality Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Asks whether a city could fly nonofficial flags at City Hall and whether schools could display a city's ceremonial flags.
▶ Watch at 1:32:39Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got just a couple questions if that's okay. Yes, please go ahead. Thank you. Hi. Um, okay, so I just wanna make absolutely sure I'm understanding. So if a certain capital city were to, um, fly, they could fly nonofficial flags like at City Hall and things like that? That's Correct. Okay. Um, and then could other government organizations specifically, I'm thinking schools display a certain capital city's ceremonial flags?
H.B. 302 Government Speech Neutrality Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Asks what the rules review of an adopted flag means and whether it has enforcement authority.
▶ Watch at 1:33:14Read what they said
Okay. But outside of those, all their other locations would be subject to whatever flags they want. Okay. Thank you. And then I, I'm hoping you can kind of expand, um, I think it's lines 81 and 82, and I apologize if I'm in the wrong version. Um, I, that's where it talks about, um, adoption of a flag being subject to review by the rules review commission. What is, what does review mean? Do they just have to like, look at it and say like, yep, that's a flag?
H.B. 302 Government Speech Neutrality Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 13, 2026
Says she will vote no because she values local control and believes municipalities should decide their own flags, while commending the sponsor's work.
▶ Watch at 1:50:18Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Ra. I assume he's not speaking to it. Um, thank you Mr. Chair. I I I'm gonna be voting no on this, but I wanted to explain why. 'cause I feel like there could be an assumption that this is a knee jerk. Oh no, it has to do with flags thing. And I wanna be clear. It's not that. And I actually, uh, commend the sponsor with, I think that this bill has a measure of grace to it that we don't often see in bills that sort of touch these sore points. And I, I am sincerely appreciative of, of that. 'cause I think a lot of us were a little nervous when we saw …
H.B. 197 School Materials Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Asks whether the bill would affect historical advertisements that appear in database research materials and whether it conflicts with a Senate bill on library policies.
▶ Watch at 1:15:00Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I've got two questions if that's okay. Yes, please go ahead. Wonderful, thank you. Um, okay, first of all, just a little bit of clarification on the advertising piece 'cause I wanna make sure we're not, um, dipping into things we don't want to here. So my understanding is that in databases when you're conducting research and things like that, you might need to look at historical sources. Um, and those could include historical advertisements. So would this potentially target material in the databases?
H.B. 197 School Materials Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Asks whether any historical advertisement would be excluded from databases.
▶ Watch at 1:16:01Read what they said
So you, interesting. So just to clarify, you do not want any sort of advertisement that ever existed, like as a historical source or anything like that to be included in databases?
H.B. 197 School Materials Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Says the concern is not impeding students' ability to study historical sources.
▶ Watch at 1:16:52Read what they said
Sure, of course. And I understand that. I just wanna make sure that we're not impinging on, because like, I mean, I studied sociology, we looked at old ads and things like that as source material. And so I wanna make sure we're not impeding kids' ability to learn because I, I know what your intent is, I think.
H.B. 197 School Materials Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Asks whether the sponsor has worked with Senator Mikel on a bill about library collection policies.
▶ Watch at 1:17:32Read what they said
Okay, thank you. And then, um, my second question that I had is, have you worked at all with Senator Mikel? My understanding is that he is working on a bill that would, um, provide guardrails and parameters for the policy on library collections and things like that. And I wanna make sure that should both bills pass that this is not going to be in conflict with each other.
H.B. 219 Higher Education Civics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Said educators told her this already happens voluntarily, and said she will vote no.
▶ Watch at 1:59:54Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. And thank you for bringing this bill forward. Um, not to belabor, belabor the point, um, I think line 71 and 73 pointing out that an institution of higher education may voluntarily adopt this. I I just got texts from several educators saying that they do. And so I, this might be a fantastic idea. Um, but just based on what I'm hearing and how many, how much work we have to do as a legislature, it sounds like this is already something that's happening. So congratulations on your good idea. It's already happening. And I will be voting no, but thank you.
H.B. 399 Prohibition Against Student Character Tracking and Grading Systems · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Asks how HB 399 interacts with a recently passed health bill and other pending initiatives.
▶ Watch at 2:51:43Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Your chair. I've got a couple questions if that's okay. Yes. Uh, please note we do have two bills on the agenda following this one, and I suspect there's a few people here to speak to this bill. Of course. Thank you. Hi, thank you for being here today. Um, I, I have some concerns with this bill, but in terms of of clarification and questions, it is in direct conflict with some of, uh, a bill we've already passed this session as well as initiatives that members of this committee are working on. So, for example, we recently passed a bill out of this committee that, um, defined, uh, social health, which included an individual's ability …
H.B. 399 Prohibition Against Student Character Tracking and Grading Systems · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Asks how students will build workforce soft skills such as teamwork and communication if such teaching is removed.
▶ Watch at 2:53:04Read what they said
Okay, thank you. Um, and my other question, it Rick's kind of workforce development because we're seeing more and more, uh, soft skills being valued, like the ability to communicate well, to work together with teamwork and to have emotional intelligence that you can bring to the table. We're seeing that come up again and again, um, and why people are going through interview after interviews so that they can find people who not just, you know, can, can are proficient in Excel, but can work well in a team. And frankly, a a lot of the work that we've done as a legislature made sure that people coming out of high school are ready for the job force. So, …
H.B. 399 Prohibition Against Student Character Tracking and Grading Systems · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Thanks the sponsor and the chair.
▶ Watch at 2:55:17Read what they said
that we're having over and over again now. Wonderful. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
H.B. 399 Prohibition Against Student Character Tracking and Grading Systems · House Education Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Supports the motion to hold, citing concerns about unintended consequences that could limit educators' work with students.
▶ Watch at 3:33:52Read what they said
You, Mr. Chair. And I, I don't wanna be too belabor the point. Um, thank you for inspiring a robust discussion and giving my internal a lot of work this last week. It's what I did, representative. So, um, so I was homeschooled until ninth grade. And the number one question that I was always asking that my parents were asked was, well, what about socialization? We weren't asked, oh, is she gonna be up to date on reading and writing and all of that. People were worried that I wasn't going to learn how to be a little human that knew how to interact with other little humans. And I think we cannot underestimate the value that schools hold …
H.B. 443 Amendments to Procedure to Fill A Legislative Vacancy · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Moves to pass HB 443 out of committee favorably with no substitutes or amendments.
▶ Watch at 1:40:53Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move no subs or amendments. I don't move any subs or amendments, but I do move that we, um, pass out house bill 4 43 amendments to and to procedure to fill a legislative vacancy with a favorable recommendation.
H.B. 443 Amendments to Procedure to Fill A Legislative Vacancy · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 12, 2026
Says she sees possible unfairness when seats go unfilled but prefers returning the choice to voters, and asks the committee to support moving the bill.
▶ Watch at 1:41:11Read what they said
I would thank you. I, as some of my colleagues were pointing out, um, there could be potential unfairness to, to people when they're not filled. But I think there's already inherent unfairness in the system, and I'd prefer to give that power back to the voters when possible. I, I love and appreciate my delegates. I appreciate the work that they do and they hold, um, a substantial amount of power. And I think that creating a mechanism by which we can get more fair and accurate representation, rather than putting up the most extreme of either party is a good one. And I recognize that there are probably still some questions and I also recognize that we've got …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Presents HB 194, which would create an independent ethics commission for the State Board of Education modeled on existing legislative and executive ethics rules, and walks through the code of conduct, complaint, investigation and penalty sections.
▶ Watch at 1:57:41Read what they said
All right. Thank you committee. It's fun seeing you guys from over here. Um, house Bill 1 94, uh, creates an independent ethics commission for the State Board of Education. And the reason we're running this is because currently every other elected body in this state has some sort of independent ethical oversight. So this, this bill is just aiming to make sure that every elected official is playing from the same playing field when it comes to ethics and things like that. Um, the goal of it is to create parody, um, and make sure that, uh, everybody, school board members, employees are protected should there need to be, for some reason an ethical investigation. Um, and if you …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Explains that the board, not the commission, would vote on penalties and refers to the penalty section of the bill.
▶ Watch at 2:02:44Read what they said
Uh, and to be clear, the vote would be from the board members, not from the commission. Uh, yeah, let me, let me scroll to my lines. It's, um, 8 27 through 8 43 if you wanna follow along.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Lists the possible penalties, including public censure, written reprimand, removal from board leadership, limits on certain privileges, and recommending impeachment to the legislature.
▶ Watch at 2:03:16Read what they said
What is listed is, um, an issue of public censure, an issue of written reprimand. Remove a board member from any board leadership positions, deny or limit non, uh, any non constitutional right power or privilege of the respondent, that, et cetera. Um, and then recommend to the legislature impeachment, they do not have the ability to remove themselves. Okay.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says the executive branch ethics question is outside the scope of the bill and that she is not up to date on it.
▶ Watch at 2:05:03Read what they said
That is outside of the scope of this. So I'm not up to date on that, unfortunately. That's
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says the bill already has enough in it and she would discuss judicial ethics in the future, noting existing judicial conduct methods.
▶ Watch at 2:05:42Read what they said
I think this bill has enough red in it at the moment. I, I would be interested in a conversation about that in the future, but I wanna make sure that, um, I'm tackling one issue at a time. And my understanding is that through JPEG and things like that, there are methods, um, by which the judiciary is centered, or I wish I could remember what it's called. Representative Miller JC it, the, yeah, the bad judge club is what he calls it. Um, I, I like, yeah, the JCC, that's a much better name.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Explains the legislative-model comparison was chosen because the board acts as a rulemaking body, and that without an independent structure the board is effectively investigating itself.
▶ Watch at 2:07:14Read what they said
Sure. And we went with this, um, this as the model because it was the most direct correlation. I didn't want them to be, we, we looked at, do we want to compare this to, um, local governments, how, how local school boards, they're, they're also subject to independent ethics, but that's at the local level. Um, the state board acts more in a legislative role, right? They're a rulemaking body. Um, and so that's why we took this direction. It's, it, it felt like the most fitting, um, particularly concerning the fact that we're dealing with public interest in public good. And this should be transparent, this should be transparent. Um, and right now, because there isn't this independent …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says the board has an existing investigation process, that a Welton-led effort last year asked the board to draft a process, and that the board has not yet done so.
▶ Watch at 2:08:58Read what they said
Sure. And they do have, they do have some, a process in place currently. The process for, um, investigation, first of all, if someone would to be, make a complaint, so if employee were to say, Hey, I was treated badly in x, y, Z way, it would not be anonymous and the investigating would have to be done by direct reports to the board. So there's a kind of a conflict of interest there. Um, my understanding is that Representative Welton ran something last year, uh, encouraging them to, uh, draft a, draft a process. Um, there was an agreement that that would happen and it has yet to happen. So I can't speak to why they do or …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Answers the earlier question about what removal from committees, task forces and commissions would involve. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 2:09:52Read what they said
And then I have to go to my phone one Sec and then we do have one other light, so, Okay. Perfect. Um, so the lines 8 32, 3 8, 3 4, that would include things like, um, removal from subcommittee assignments, um, task force and commission assignments, and, uh, do things that would take away their ability to do anything besides voting potentially educators. So it'd be to say like, if, if somebody were to investigate me and say you did something wrong and therefore I unfortunately didn't get to serve on this lovely committee anymore.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says she has spoken with individual board members and that the board has no official position.
▶ Watch at 2:11:24Read what they said
I've spoken to individual board members as far as I am aware, the board does not have an official position.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Says the bill was prompted by a constituent, a former state board employee, who reported harassment by a board member and was told there was no recourse, and that there is no external ethics oversight for the board.
▶ Watch at 2:11:49Read what they said
Um, one of my constituents is a former state board employee. Um, and she, while, while she was an employee, dealt with harassment, um, from a board member. And when she tried to move forward with that, she was essentially told, well, there's nothing we can do. So that was where, what sort of drew my eye to this as an issue and to wonder why, why can't we do something? Um, and it turns out that there is no external ethical oversight. There is for every other branch of government and for every other elected position, but this doesn't exist for this particular subset of elected peoples. So we're just trying to try to, um, make sure that this …
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Explains the amendment changes the commission to elect a chair every other year instead of every year, following discussion with another representative.
▶ Watch at 2:16:49Read what they said
Yes. So the amendment, um, came after talking to Representative Corinne Peterson, um, again regarding that commission piece. So this takes it from being, they have to meet every year to elect a chair of the commission to every other year. So that we're, again, cutting back on that board and commission factor.
H.B. 194 Utah State Board of Education Ethics Amendments · House Education Committee · Feb 9, 2026
Responds to concerns, saying the bill protects free speech, that removal from committees requires a lengthy process, that the bill would move investigations away from board employees, and asks for support while remaining open to improvements.
▶ Watch at 2:22:34Read what they said
Thank you. And thank you committee members for engaging with me on this and to the board. Um, I appreciate the feedback and the comments. Um, just while we're here, and since I've got the microphone, I just wanna address a couple things that came up from every people's comments. Um, first of all, it is specifically stated in this bill that this does not impact a board member's freedom of speech or to do, um, or to speak in their role. The same way that we can speak on the floor in ways that, um, might not always meet HR policy. We, that does not impact this here. Um, second, there's discussion about taking away their ability to act. …
H.B. 102 Victim Privacy Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 5, 2026
Introduces House Bill 102, which lets crime victims list initials instead of full names on publicly available documents, with full names still kept for court orders and a carve-out for protective orders and stalking injunctions.
▶ Watch at 1:27:22Read what they said
I can tell. I promise I'll bring the same energy. Okay. Please proceed. I will. Thank you so much for having me today, committee. I appreciate it. And I think this is also a good bill. I'm just gonna put that out there. Um, which I think you guys think so too, because you actually did pass it last year. So if you're wondering why you're having deja vu, it's because you've already seen this. Um, so what House Bill 1 0 2 does is it gives, uh, victims of crimes the option to just list their initials on any publicly available documents. So that protects them. If for some reason they don't want that information to be out there, …
H.B. 102 Victim Privacy Amendments · House Judiciary Committee · Feb 5, 2026
Says a record of full names is kept for legitimate court purposes, including if serial accusations are suspected, and that the bill is meant to help victims report crimes.
▶ Watch at 1:39:35Read what they said
Thank you. And thank you for the committee's time and for the questions that were raised. I wanted to address a couple things. Um, the concept of like serial accusations was brought up, and that is why specifically, like we addressed this concept when we were working out this bill, and that is why that there is a record attached, uh, to say if there is a legitimate reason to find out the names that it is available. So if there are cases and you do think that this might be an instance of serial accusation, you'll be able to find that. Um, I brought this bill originally forward because I have a constituent, and I don't wanna go into …
H.B. 193 Transgender Medical Procedures Amendments · House floor debate (day 17) · Feb 5, 2026
Opposes the bill, arguing it singles out transgender people, applies to adults, and should leave medical decisions to patients and doctors.
▶ Watch at 1:28:09Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Um, I wanna clarify, if this was just about keeping public dollars out of elective procedures, then it wouldn't be called transgender medical procedures and it would probably include things like breast augmentations and reductions in hormone replacement therapy and things like that. This bill is singling people out. And I also wanna say that this bill focuses on adults, not minors. We have had years of discussion about transgender youth and I I don't always agree with my peers. I usually don't, but I cannot at least see where they're coming from. But as, uh, the good representative who just presented, said, when they become adults, they can do what they want. A lot of …
H.B. 193 Transgender Medical Procedures Amendments · House floor debate (day 17) · Feb 5, 2026
Opposes the bill, arguing that it singles out transgender medical procedures, focuses on adults rather than minors, and that medical decisions should be left to patients and their doctors.
▶ Watch at 1:28:09Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Um, I wanna clarify, if this was just about keeping public dollars out of elective procedures, then it wouldn't be called transgender medical procedures and it would probably include things like breast augmentations and reductions in hormone replacement therapy and things like that. This bill is singling people out. And I also wanna say that this bill focuses on adults, not minors. We have had years of discussion about transgender youth and I I don't always agree with my peers. I usually don't, but I cannot at least see where they're coming from. But as, uh, the good representative who just presented, said, when they become adults, they can do what they want. A lot of …
H.B. 193 Transgender Medical Procedures Amendments · House floor debate (day 17) · Feb 5, 2026
Opposes the bill, arguing it singles out transgender medical procedures while other elective procedures are not targeted, that adults can make their own medical decisions, and that it will hurt constituents; urges a no vote.
▶ Watch at 1:28:09Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Um, I wanna clarify, if this was just about keeping public dollars out of elective procedures, then it wouldn't be called transgender medical procedures and it would probably include things like breast augmentations and reductions in hormone replacement therapy and things like that. This bill is singling people out. And I also wanna say that this bill focuses on adults, not minors. We have had years of discussion about transgender youth and I I don't always agree with my peers. I usually don't, but I cannot at least see where they're coming from. But as, uh, the good representative who just presented, said, when they become adults, they can do what they want. A lot of …
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 4, 2026
Presents H.B. 417, which creates a narrow pathway for medically stable patients to transport themselves between facilities with physician approval, arriving within two hours, without being reevaluated.
▶ Watch at 1:04:09Read what they said
Fantastic. Thank you, Madam Chair, committee members for having me today. Um, so four 17 creates a path for patients who are medically stable, where it is not medically necessary that they be transported via emergency medical, um, providers to transport themselves between facilities. So this came up, I had a constituent who was dealing with depression, who Uintah the crisis center. And then they made the determination that she should be transferred to HMHI. So they transported her there, they transported her via ambulance. Um, and later she got a big bill for that. And she was concerned because she was stable at the time. She was dealing with depression, but she wasn't considered to be a danger to …
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 4, 2026
Says she is open to working on the two-hour limit, noting the need to balance patient needs with hospital bed availability.
▶ Watch at 1:07:06Read what they said
I would be open to working with you on that. We, we kinda struggled with that about how we balance the needs of hospitals. Who, I mean, these beds are in short supply sometimes, and we don't want to be holding a bed for a patient for half a day and not have them show up when it could be going to someone else versus the balance of your situation. Yeah. Where, where there is, there is that difficulty in getting one place to another. So we settled on the two hours. Like I said, I would be open to working on that.
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 4, 2026
Says the bill lets patients choose any transportation method, such as public transit, rideshare, or a friend or family member.
▶ Watch at 1:08:03Read what they said
Yes. Um, so we give examples in there, but this is essentially saying that you are, you are the master of your own tech, transportation destiny. So whether that is public transit, whether that's Uber, whether that's phone a friend, or grab your own keys.
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 4, 2026
Says patients covered by federal emergency transfer rules are not affected by the bill, which applies only to medically stable patients, and that the amendment makes this clearer.
▶ Watch at 1:11:51Read what they said
Yes. Thank you for the question. So any patient that is covered by Mt. Aala would not be touched by this bill. This isn't like, if these are Venn diagram, the circles aren't touching. They're in, they're in different hemispheres. This is only for medically stable patients. And there is a specific carve out right now in the bill, um, for Mt. Aala. And then the amendment that we're running makes that even more clear. So if a patient is being covered by alah, that means they are not currently stable. This is only for stable patients. So they shouldn't be touching,
H.B. 417 Patient Interfacility Transportation Requirements · House Health and Human Services Committee · Feb 4, 2026
Thanks the committee, says she will keep working with Representative Monson, and says the bill creates a narrow pathway to address cost barriers to care.
▶ Watch at 1:18:51Read what they said
Thank you. And I just, I wanna say I appreciate the discussion and the questions today. Um, Representative Monson, I'm happy to keep working with you on this. I just wanna make sure that our, our constituents are getting the care that they need and the way that works for them. And oftentimes, costs can be a deterrent to seeking care. And so I think this carves a narrow pathway. It's not gonna cover everyone. There's probably gonna people be people upset by that, but I want to get the ball rolling and making sure that we're taking care of people in the way that they need. So thank you.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Presented H.B. 112, which adds social media to political advertising disclosure, requires disclosure of every entity paying for an ad, and sets fines in place of misdemeanors for certain violations.
▶ Watch at 1:25:19Read what they said
Thank you. Thank you for having me tonight. Committee, um, in the 2024 election, I noticed people, uh, using influencer marketing and it wasn't disclosed as to who paid for that marketing. And so I went and I looked in the code and it turns out social media is not in our list of political advertising. It's not currently included in code. So, um, I did what we always do and I opened a bill file about it and then I took it to Lieutenant Governor's office and they had some other ideas. And so that's why this bill has more than just, um, advertising. It's specifically social media. So this build us three things. I'm gonna talk you through …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said the bill does not require donor disclosure, only that the entity paying for an advertisement be listed.
▶ Watch at 1:35:51Read what they said
You're asking? No. Like, Like they're not gonna have to list their donors or anything if they don't Already. No, no, no, no. This is just if they paid for something. Yes. It's only if they're paying for something, it just has to be listed. We just want it to be really clear and transparent. Who is paying to advertise to you politically. So if more than one party is paying, if you, if you're putting money behind a statement about a candidate, we just want to know who the money is coming from.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said that if two entities split the cost of a mailer, both would be listed.
▶ Watch at 1:36:29Read what they said
to say from my committee Correct. If he didn't pay anything towards it. But if he, yes. If he's not paying, if we go halfsies, we list both. Yes.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Answered that the entity writing the check, the C4, would disclose the payment. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:37:08Read what they said
The C four. The C four discloses, right. The boost. So it's like if you, if you pay for something as rep incentive Pucci, you're not saying paid for by these five donors who gave Correct. That donated to your campaign. Okay. And you're just saying it was paid for by this committee. Okay, so it's the same thing. It's whoever, whoever's writing the check and whoever their donors are, doesn't, I mean, that's on disclosure's website.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said the disclosure applies when both entities are paying directly. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:37:42Read what they said
It's, it, it's when they're both paying directly. And so this is, I I don't know the mechanics of how that works. No,
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said the same logic would list the party when the party paid for the mailer. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:38:06Read what they said
Same, because if that logic applies, then when you go through the party, then it would just say the party because you technically gave the money to the party and the party paid for it.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said the candidate committee was the only disclosure in those cases, and that the issue was party-paid postage going undisclosed. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:38:26Read what they said
No, only the disclosure of the candidates committee. Okay. And so there was issue specifically with political parties paying for postage and then it not being disclosed.
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said the Lieutenant Governor's office proposed the fine amounts so that violations would not automatically be misdemeanors.
▶ Watch at 1:39:39Read what they said
Yep, absolutely. I did not come to those dollar amounts. The Lieutenant Governor's office came to those dollar amounts and I put it in my bill. And the reason behind having this is so that, uh, you don't get a misdemeanor because right now, since it is not specified in code, what the penalty is for violating this section and for, um, not disclosing properly political advertising, uh, because it's in election code, that's automatically a misdemeanor. So if your graphic designer excludes it and you don't look at the proof properly, and then you've got these billboards that say you could be in trouble, this was a suggestion. And so we put it in to try to ease a …
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said the county attorney step was added at the clerks' request because counties lack resources to investigate noncompliance. · speaker not certain
▶ Watch at 1:45:54Read what they said
Yes, that was, um, that was put in there at the request of the clerks. Um, since they don't have the resources to investigate this and to investigate non-compliance, This is kinda, this is kinda unique. Hmm. Does that answer your question?
H.B. 112 Political Advertising Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Feb 3, 2026
Said she supports the motion to hold the bill and will work on the questions raised.
▶ Watch at 1:48:56Read what they said
I would support that motion. I really appreciate being on this committee because I know it's a committee that's willing to sink its teeth in and work on things. And so I, I am hearing the questions. I'm like, those are good questions. Let's address them and make sure that this is the best piece of legislation that we can get it to be. Because I would love it. I don't wanna pass a bill that's not doing what we want it to do. So I, I would support that motion. Thank you.
H.B. 234 Education Testing Amendments · House Education Committee · Jan 30, 2026
Asks what group of peers norm-referenced results would compare students against: a single classroom, the state, or multiple states.
▶ Watch at 2:17:51Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I just wanna make sure that I'm fully understanding this. So the definition I have of norm referenced is that it compares a student's performance to that of their peers as opposed to the current standard, which is comparing to that of grade level proficiency. So what, um, group of peers, I guess are we looking at? Is this peers and students within a single classroom? And I apologize if this is in the bill and I missed it. Or is this statewide? Is this multi-state? I just wanna know how we're doing that comparison
H.B. 293 Public Education Student Athlete Protections · House Education Committee · Jan 30, 2026
Supports the bill and asks whether the eight-week moratorium could be optional given concerns about lost social connection.
▶ Watch at 3:05:58Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, I wanna start by saying I really like this bill. Thank you so much for bringing it forward. I'm glad that we were doing something in this space. Um, I've also heard concerns, um, specifically again about that eight week moratorium. That's that's a lot of time. That's two months. And I know that school sports, they, I mean, they teach you sports and physical skills, but those are also a huge opportunity for social connection. That is where a lot of the bonds that kids have are coming from. And we've, we're putting so much focus on trying to get kids off of screens and doing things and connecting with their peers, which we're, …
H.B. 227 Student Journalist Amendments · House Education Committee · Jan 27, 2026
Opposes the substitute motion, saying the committee should work on the bill rather than scrap it.
▶ Watch at 2:22:11Read what they said
Thank you. I'm opposed to the substitute motion. I just wanna take a moment to remind us that this is day eight. We have time and the, we're not here to be rubber stamps. We're here to work. And I think we're all committed to working. I think we have good comments in this committee for the bill. And to scrap it entirely as a concept is, is dismissive to the work that has already been done. I think we have the opportunity here to come together and create and work on a bill that is going to be really excellent and help student journalists, and we should take that opportunity and not shy away from it. So I pose …
H.B. 25 Candidate Petition Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Asked whether the majority rule counts signatures by where they were collected or where signers live.
▶ Watch at 1:02:44Read what they said
Thank you. I've got a couple questions if that's okay, Mr. Chair. That's fine. Thank you. Thank you for being here today. Um, I wanna make sure I'm fully understanding this 'cause I felt like solid on your original and this changes things a lot. So when you're talking about how it has to be the majority of signature, is that, like, do the majority of them have to be collect? So lets say I am in Utah County and I'm collecting signatures. Does that mean that the majority of the signatures have to have been collected in Utah County or that the majority of signers have to live in Utah County?
H.B. 25 Candidate Petition Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Asked whether county of residence is listed on signatures, and said the answer clarified the question.
▶ Watch at 1:03:25Read what they said
So even if I'm in Salt Lake County and the majority of the people who sign are from Utah County. Okay. And I, I apologize, I'm not sure. Is county of residence listed when you sign something? Yes. Okay, great. That clarifies that. Thank you.
H.B. 25 Candidate Petition Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Asked about a fee tied to incorrect signatures in the original bill and whether a fiscal note applies.
▶ Watch at 1:03:38Read what they said
Um, and then I'm curious, I I don't think there's a fiscal note on this one. My understanding was that, um, in the original there was some sort of fund, uh, fee associated for, uh, a clerk if it was the wrong signature. Is that or something going on with That? I didn't See that in there. I don't know, But that's gone now. Okay. So it shouldn't be a cost at all. Has that fiscal note made it online yet?
H.B. 25 Candidate Petition Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Said she was told there would be no fiscal note on the bill.
▶ Watch at 1:04:09Read what they said
Okay. I was told that there wouldn't be a fiscal note on it. Okay. Thank you so much. Thank you Mr. Chair.
H.B. 160 Statewide Initiative Modifications · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Says the concept is interesting and the sponsor should have the opportunity to work on it.
▶ Watch at 1:49:13Read what they said
Yes. I just think that this is a really interesting concept as has been demonstrated by the comments today and as the sponsor said, he's willing to work on it. And so I think we should give him that opportunity.
H.B. 132 Military Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Asks whether there are substitutes or amendments and says amendment one needs to be moved.
▶ Watch at 2:02:19Read what they said
Thank you Madam Chair. Are there no substitutes or amendments? Uh, we do need to, uh, move amendment one.
H.B. 132 Military Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 26, 2026
Moves to recommend the bill as substituted and amended with a favorable recommendation.
▶ Watch at 2:02:52Read what they said
Thank you. Um, I move that we recommend HB 1 32 military amendments as substituted and amended with a favorable recommendation.
H.B. 209 Voting Amendments · House floor debate (day 7) · Jan 26, 2026
Says she is not opposed to the concept but will oppose the bill, citing an audit finding of only one non-citizen on the voter rolls who did not vote, and fiscal costs to the state and local governments.
▶ Watch at 40:11Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, I wanna say I'm not opposed to the concept of this bill. I think it's important that we only have people who, who should be voting in elections, voting in elections. But as the recent audit pointed out, this isn't really an issue that needs solving here in Utah. We only had one non-citizen on our voter rolls and they did not vote. So with that in mind, and I don't know if the fiscal note has changed with the substitute, we're looking at a hundred thousand dollars from the state, $32,000 ongoing to local governments. And in a session where we're debating putting limitations on how local governments can tax themselves, I'm uncomfortable putting …
H.B. 209 Voting Amendments · House Government Operations Committee · Jan 21, 2026
Asks whether a voter's ballot type would be public for voters with public registration records.
▶ Watch at 1:11:58Read what they said
Thank you Mr. Chair. Just a quick question. Um, I'm curious, uh, because I know that voter voter registration, you've got three types, right? You've got the public, private, and withheld. So I am wondering if this information is for someone who has public, uh, voter registration, would their status of which type of ballot they receive be public at all?
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.