Norman K Thurston

• S.B. 154 Protection and Advocacy Agency Reporting · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Says the bill formally defines the state Protection and Advocacy Agency, clarifies legislative intent about its duty to represent disabled individuals statewide, and asks the agency to report information to legislative committees.

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  Thank you Mr. Speaker. So this bill formally defines Utah State Protection Advocacy Agency and clarifies the legislature's intent regarding its responsibility to represent advocate for all disabilities disabled, individual statewide. It also will in intends or attempts to improve transparency and legislative oversight by requesting that the agency provides certain information to legislative committees about meetings held, services provided, population served, et cetera, et cetera, throughout the year. So this will enga strengthen public engagement and accountability and also, um, be the first time that the legislature actually has some type of a formal relationship with the State's Protection Advocacy Agency.

  ▶ Watch at 1:12:14

• S.B. 154 Protection and Advocacy Agency Reporting · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Explains that federal law requires a state protection and advocacy agency, that the governor designates it, that the state has had one for over 40 years, and that the bill puts its existence into state statute.

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  Yeah. So federal law requires the state to have a state protection advocacy agency. Federal law allows the governor to just designate that, whoever that is. So we need to have one. The governor designates one. Uh, so we've had one, I it's been over 40 years that the state has done this. The legislature has never really expressed an interest in this at all. It's just been something that the federal law requires and the governor does. So this now puts a marker in state statute recognizing that this thing does in fact exist.

  ▶ Watch at 1:13:50

• S.B. 154 Protection and Advocacy Agency Reporting · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Says the bill only requests that the agency report to the legislature and does not require it to change what it currently does.

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  Yeah, in fact, in fact, Mr. Speaker, it just requests that they report to the legislature. We we're not actually requiring them to do anything different than they're currently doing. We're just asking nicely.

  ▶ Watch at 1:14:25

• H.B. 385 Specialized Product Sales Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Yields to questions and asks the sponsor if she will yield.

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  Thank you. We'll sponsor yield to a series of questions. Representative, will you yield? Yes. Yes. Representative.

  ▶ Watch at 1:24:25

• H.B. 385 Specialized Product Sales Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Asks the sponsor to describe the difference between a tobacco specialty retailer and a general tobacco retailer in the bill.

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  Could you describe to us the difference between a tobacco specialty retailer and a general tobacco re retailer in the bill?

  ▶ Watch at 1:24:31

• H.B. 385 Specialized Product Sales Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Asks whether the Senate amendment clarifies separate categories and tiers of tobacco retailers.

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  And so this, the amendment made in the Senate clarifies that there are those separate categories and tiers of tobacco retailers. Is that correct?

  ▶ Watch at 1:24:57

• S.B. 147 Office of Inspector General of Medicaid Services Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Asked to reserve the right to make two motions on the bill.

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  You Madam Speaker ProAm, I would like to reserve the right to make two motions.

  ▶ Watch at 1:25:23

• S.B. 147 Office of Inspector General of Medicaid Services Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Explained that the bill makes the Office of Inspector General of Medicaid Services dependent within the Department of Government Operations with an advisory board, following a legislative audit, and moved to adopt the third substitute.

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  So colleagues, there's gonna be a motion to substitute and a motion to amend in just a second, but I wanna explain what the bill does because the, if I describe the substitute, it wouldn't make any sense. So what this bill does, the Office of the Inspector General has been around since 2011, and it's actually technically called the Office of the Inspector General of Medicaid Services. This was established to have better controls over fraud, waste, and abuse within the Medicaid program. It's had a rocky history. Uh, we've had some difficult challenges because it was established as a completely independent entity with no real oversight by anyone. So they were completely free to choose what they wanted, …

  ▶ Watch at 1:25:29

• S.B. 176 Landscaping Procurement Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Asks whether the sponsor will yield to a series of questions.

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  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield to a series of questions? Representative Tom Peterson, will you yield to a series of questions?

  ▶ Watch at 1:35:56

• S.B. 176 Landscaping Procurement Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Asks whether electric mowers would give snakes more or less warning before a mower reaches them.

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  So I am very passionate about certain animals, and in our backyard in the spring, the snakes come out to do what snakes do in the spring in our grass. And you can't see them in the grass until you're mowing the lawn. And we have tried electric mowers, we've tried battery mowers, we've tried gas powered motors, mowers. But when you find one of those snakes, or when your mower finds one of those snakes, it's not a pretty site. And I'm very passionate about the life and friendliness of those snakes. And so I would like to ask the sponsor if he thinks that electric powered lawnmowers would give those snakes more warning or less warning that we're …

  ▶ Watch at 1:36:04

• S.B. 201 Shelter Animal Euthanasia Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Says some animal shelters resist adopting best practices, that two shelters in second-class counties have weak governing boards, and that he is neither for nor against the motions.

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  Uh, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Um, there's been a lot of polite dancing around and I'm about to say the quiet part out loud. So there we go. All the eyes are over here now. Uh, they're over my time here. And I've, I've dealt with these bills as well that we have had a continual series of these bills, their animal shelters across the state. A new best practice becomes available, which makes sense. And the vast majority of them adopt that best practice because they say, that makes sense. We'll do it. We have two animal shelters that are being, can I say buts? Is that decorum all right? That, that are being buts and just resist adopting …

  ▶ Watch at 1:41:00

• S.B. 78 Property Tax Relief Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Expressed concerns that the deferral program may be sound policy but is unpopular with elderly constituents who want to keep the circuit breaker program, and that counties will struggle to create replacement programs; a brief exchange with a senator in the chamber followed.

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  Thank, thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have concerns with this bill on the policy of this bill itself. Um, the deferral program. I've asked my elderly residents and I've tried to explain them. I actually think the deferral program is probably the right policy, but it's extremely unpopular. The, uh, residents in my area that are complaining about, you know, fixed income people and I tell 'em about the deferral program and they're like, yeah, that's not gonna do it for me. That's not what we just like, why can't we just keep the circuit breaker program? So what I worry about this bill is we're gonna get rid of the state circuit breaker program. We're gonna allow the counties …

  ▶ Watch at 2:25:22

• S.B. 78 Property Tax Relief Amendments · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Apologized for losing his composure, said counties would have to design and fund programs, and said constituents prefer keeping the circuit breaker program and expanding its eligibility.

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  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I have never had that happen before. I apologize to my colleagues for losing my cool. Um, so we're putting this onto the counties. The counties have to decide to design a program. They have to figure out how to pay for the program. They have to figure out how to recover the, the re revenue from somewhere else. And what ends up happening is, is when they don't do it, the only option for those seniors is the deferral program. Now, like I said, the deferral program is probably the right policy. I can't argue with that. But what I worry about is that this is not the policy that my voters and my constituents …

  ▶ Watch at 2:26:31

• S.B. 295 Intellectual Diversity in Education and Government · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Asks the sponsor to yield for questions and asks for examples of non-curricular clubs allowed at each school level.

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  Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the sponsor yield to a series of questions? Representative? Uh, will you yield to a series of questions? Yes. Yes, sir. Representative Thurston, could You give me an example of non-curricular clubs that would be allowed at all levels? Elementary, junior high, high school, Non non-curricular. Yeah, sorry, Mr. Speaker, non-curricular clubs. Yes.

  ▶ Watch at 2:41:56

• S.B. 295 Intellectual Diversity in Education and Government · House floor debate (day 45) · Mar 6, 2026

  Raises concerns that the amendment excludes religious and political topics from non-curricular clubs and may conflict with First Amendment protections.

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  Well, I'd like to ask you then, the amendment that you just adopted said, um, non-curricular clubs that do not relate to religious issues. Oh, I apologize. Yes, you're right. I'm sorry. Yes. Non-religious, non-political or public policy or social justice. I apologize. Yes. So, um, this is my concern, and I probably should have mentioned it when we're discussing the amendment, but it's still relevant. First Amendment is a pretty important thing, and courts have held that religious speech is one of the most highly protected along with political speech. So we're saying if you want to get together and talk about chess, no problem. You want to get together and talk about the 10 Commandments. You want to …

  ▶ Watch at 2:42:48

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