Week 12 review

Week 12 Review-



This week was supposed to be the last week of the legislature for this session. However, due to some major concerns with the public school budget appropriation bill, the bill was killed and now JFAC must establish a new budget that includes remedies to the concerns in the budget.
I voted against the budget appropriation bill because I had serious concerns with the process that was taken to draft the budget as it was. Hopefully, by reviewing the budget again, we can create a public school budget that follows input and the education policies. A few of the other education bills have passed.
The Personal Property Tax (H 315) passed, which allows for $100,000 exemption on business personal property, and a $3000 exemption on a small item of tangible personal property. It provides a mechanism that protects local cities and counties from feeling a major tax shift. While I would like to see the whole tax repealed with the counties having revenue independence from state revenue, this bill was a reasonable and responsible step in the right direction.
This week, H219 and H280-the 2nd Amendment Protection bills, and S1133 the School Safety and Security Plan bill, have fallen prey to political games. H219 and H280 were held in the Senate State Affairs committee due to timing issues and legal questions. Because of these actions all three bills are stalemated. I urge you to call your Legislators and urge them to move forward with the bills that you are concerned about.
https://chumly.com/n/1b33f36