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Dear Neighbor,
One more week has passed, and it’s official: we only have two more weeks left of the session and a whole lot left to do. The House floor experienced a few interesting debates this week and more legislation has made its way through, becoming one step closer to becoming a law.
Senator Margaret Dayton’s bill, SB 11, Utah State-made Firearms protection Act, attracted more than one raised eyebrow as Governor Herbert was put to the task to pick up a pen and sign the bill. Battling between a fight for state rights, and the possibility of being challenged on the basis of constitutionality by the federal government, no one was completely certain what the Governor would decide to do. Here’s an interesting look at the conflict reported at the beginning of the week by the Salt Lake Tribune. However, it was made official yesterday when the Governor decided that the fight for state sovereignty was worth the risk, SB 11 was signed and made a law.
The House floor also held an intense debate between two house bills, HB 80 sponsored by Representative Lorie Fowlke and HB 141 sponsored by Representative McIff. These two bills deal with the issue of property rights vs. fishermen rights. Many riverbeds containing a surplus of fish and other opportunities of water recreation are privately owned. The Utah Supreme Court in the past year ruled that the rivers were owned by the state and thus open to use by fishers and others for recreation. HB 80 narrowed the Supreme Court’s ruling, specifying terms and acting as a compromise. HB 141 rejects the ruling and acts in favor of private ownership. In the end, I voted in favor of HB 80 which I found to be a clearly defined compromise while HB 141 leaves the door wide open for litigation between the two parties involved. Nevertheless, HB 80 failed, and HB 141 has been passed onto the Senate for consideration.
Representative Herrod’s Eminent Domain bill, HB 143, passed through the house on Thursday. This bill authorizes the state to exercise eminent domain authority on property possessed by the federal government. However, the passing on the floor did not occur before a passionate discussion in the house Natural Resource Committee. A map of the United States was displayed with the title,”Who really owns the west?” Utah had a faint blue border, while 70% of the land mass was covered in red indicating the federal government’s domain. “It may not be a quick, easy battle but it's one worth fighting," said Rep. Kerry Gibson. "Go for the fight, boys. What else can we do but work hard and stand up for the correct principles? And, in this case, I think we've found a battle worth fighting” (Utah Lawmakers seeking to seize federal land).
I also experienced my fair share of fun when it came to fighting for the principles behind a bill this week. H.B. 150 – Administrative Subpoena Amendments, gives law enforcement the capability to gain subpoenas on electrical addresses like computer IP addresses, and e-mail in order to track criminals using these tools to assist in child stalking, assault, and other actions. I sponsored this bill with the support of the Attorney General’s office. New tools are being used for committing crime, thus law enforcement needs to have new tools to investigate these crimes. In the end, however, we decided to narrow the scope of the bill to ensure private protection and limit it to gaining subpoenas in matters of kidnapping, cyber stalking, and sex offenses against minors. The bill passed on the house floor Friday afternoon.
Lastly, keep a look out for the 210 Census form in mid March and be sure to fill it out (http://2010.census.gov/2010census/). Once again, I thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and express interest in the state of Utah. I sincerely request to please contact me with any comments or concerns that you may have, I appreciate the knowledge that you provide. Have a great first week of March.
Best,
Brad Daw
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