Friends and Neighbors,
We are more than halfway through the 2024 General Legislative Session and time is certainly moving quickly. In the coming weeks, we will focus on passing bills that will have regional and statewide impact.
The legislative process only functions with input and feedback from those we represent. I appreciate the engagement from our district this session, and I hope you will continue to stay involved and reach out with feedback.
Each Friday, I post a video update about the session on my Facebook page. Watch last week’s update below.
Protecting Youth from the Harms of Social Media
Utah is leading the nation with landmark legislation to help safeguard kids and teens from the growing mental health crisis tied to social media. In our state, 88% of parents believe social media has a detrimental impact on children and youth, and nearly half of teens nationwide, ages 13 to 17, said using social media makes them feel worse. A staggering 53% of teen girls in Utah have persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a 61% increase since the invention of social media.
I am sponsoring S.B. 194 and my colleague is sponsoring H.B. 464 to protect minors from harmful product features and to empower parents. These bills continue the work of Utah’s previous landmark legislation to provide parents with enhanced tools and resources, including a strict age-verification process, default privacy settings and tools for overseeing a minor’s account.
It also requires social media companies to offer parents and legal guardians tools, including setting time limits, scheduling mandatory breaks, viewing total and daily average use time and seeing connected accounts.
I won’t stand by while social media companies exploit our youth. I will continue to put social media companies on notice and make sure parents have the tools necessary to protect their kids.
The Budget Process
Week four marks the last time appropriation subcommittees will meet during the session. Over the past three weeks, we have heard funding requests from constituents, organizations and stakeholders. Last week, we met as subcommittees and ranked all funding items in a master list. The lists will now be sent to the Executive Appropriations Committee for a final ranking. As the end of the session nears, these lists, along with the fiscal notes from all bills passed, will be consolidated into the final budget bill – known as the “Bill of Bills.”
In Utah, we are committed to balancing our budget. We never spend more than we have and are conscious to save funds in case of economic downturns.
You can learn more about the budget process and see what funding requests have been submitted here.
Citation Honoring Utah Firefighter Crews
Our Forestry, Fire and State Lands’ Fire Program and its wildland firefighting crews had a busy year in 2023. They spent over 100 days assigned to wildfire incidents, completing 25 hazardous fuels projects in the state and providing crucial support to over 30 fires across the country. It was our privilege to issue them an honorary citation on the chamber floor for their dedication to protecting our communities, enhancing our state’s resilience against wildfires and educating Utahns on proactive wildfire prevention. We are deeply indebted to the remarkable men and women who selflessly risk their lives to protect our state.