Latest news with #LuzEscamilla
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
How the Utah Legislature impacted families this year
The Utah Legislature wrapped up its 2025 legislative session late Friday, having passed 582 bills. Utah families will be impacted by these laws — let's look at a few that passed and a few that did not. SB242 by Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, expanded coverage for infertility treatments, including in vitro fertilization, for anyone covered by the Public Employees' Benefit and Insurance Program. According to KSL, the insurance premiums for state employees will increase by about 37 cents per member per month. Doulas, trained to support and help pregnant, laboring and new mothers, could be covered by Medicaid if approved by the federal government. SB284 by Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, passed nearly unanimously and requires Utah to apply to the federal government for permission to expand its Medicaid plan to cover doula services by Oct. 1. HB129, by Rep. Ray Ward, R-Bountiful, will allow adopted individuals to access their adoption records when they turn 18. All Utah adoptions are currently sealed records. HB30 by Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, would have allowed Native American tribes in Utah to establish foster home standards and oversee child custody cases, ensuring community-driven, culturally aligned solutions for Native children. This bill never made it out of the Rules Committee after being introduced the first day of the session. HB100 by Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo, expands the free school breakfast and lunch program in Utah to families who qualify for reduced school lunch under current federal guidelines. This bill was a priority bill for the Utah Policy Project this year. The Utah Fits All scholarship has some new funding guidelines and accountability guardrails under HB455 by Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman. Homeschooled Utah Fits All students 5 to 11 years old will have access to $4,000 a year, while those 12 to 18 years old will get $6,000. Private school students are still eligible for $8,000 a year, the previous amount available to all. The new law also limits extracurricular expenses to 20% of the scholarship amount and limits physical education expenses to an additional 20%. Also — families can't buy furniture with this money. HB209, by Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, removes the requirement for homeschooling parents to attest to their own criminal background when choosing to homeschool their children. That means convictions for child abuse, domestic violence committed in the presence of a child, child abuse homicide, sexual exploitation of a minor and other felony offenses no longer need to be disclosed. No cellphones, smart watches or other devices in schools under SB178 by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan. This bill will go into effect this summer, impacting the 2025/2026 school year. While local schools and districts can create their own policies that are different, this is now the default policy across the state. HB104 by Rep. Rex Shipp, R-Cedar City, requires schools to teach firearm safety, beginning as early as kindergarten. The instruction would be required three times during elementary school, at least once in junior high and at least once in high school. Parents can opt out if they choose. SB189 by Escamilla and Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, would have allowed vacant, state-owned buildings to be retrofitted for licensed child care facilities. Under the bill, 40% of the slots would have been allocated for state workers and military families. However, this bill did not pass the Legislature for a second year in a row. The day after this bill was killed, and 44 minutes before International Women's Day, the Utah Legislature officially eliminated the Women in the Economy Commission, the group that had advocated for this plan. HB363 by Pierucci addresses newborn testing via heelstick screen that occurs shortly after birth. This bill requires a privacy consent form, and the destruction of the baby's blood sample, following the Department of Health's retention schedule, or immediately following the test if parents do not consent to the retention schedule. It also requires a newborn hearing screening. HB81 by Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, prohibits the use of fluoride in public water systems and prohibits local governments from passing or enforcing any rules or ordinances that would allow or require fluoride to be added to public water systems. Utah will be the first state in the nation to ban fluoride in drinking water once this bill goes into effect on May 7, 2025. SB24 by Sen. Don Ipson, R-St. George, creates a new criminal offense for child torture and amends definitions of child abuse and aggravated criminal child abuse. This bill was inspired by the Gavin Peterson and Franke-Hildebrandt cases. There will also be less money to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault this year, as Utah lawmakers either decreased requests for funding or denied them altogether. Rep. Gay Lynn Bennion, D-Cottonwood Heights, asked for $1.4 million for Utah's 16 domestic violence service providers, in spite of a surge in demand. The Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee prioritized $1.3 million, but the final budget allocated zero dollars. There was also no money for strangulation forensic exam reimbursement, of the $260,000 requested. Rape crisis centers were hoping for $3.25 million in ongoing funding, had $1.625 million prioritized and instead received $600,000 of one-time money. Rep. Angela Romero asked for $300,000 of ongoing funds to staff the 24/7 Statewide Sexual Assault helplines available in both English and Spanish. The helpline received $100,000 of one-time money. HB106 gives Utahns a fifth year of tax cuts, lowering the income tax rate from 4.55% to 4.5%. The average Utah family will see annual savings of about $45. The bill also gives businesses a 20% tax credit for creating new child care options for employees and expands the child tax credit to include children who are 5 years old and under the age of 1.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah won't expand child care access this year
Children work with a staff member at Stepping Stones Tooele, a day care that shares a campus with Harris Housing and Switchpoint Tooele Community Resource Center in Tooele on Friday, May 24, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A bipartisan effort to retrofit old, unused state buildings into child care facilities that would enter into public-private partnerships with child care businesses died on the House floor in a 22-48 vote Thursday after intense debate between lawmakers. It's the second year in a row that Utah, which places high value on families, voted down a Child Care Capacity Expansion Act. SB189 was recommended as a solution to the child care crisis in Utah from the Women in the Economy Subcommittee under the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity. The subcommittee also conducted studies that concluded an estimated 75% of mothers with school-age children work, and that 74% of two-parent households with children under age 6 in Utah needed two incomes to cover household expenses. Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, the bill sponsor, ran a similar bill last year that died in the House due to fiscal concerns. Rep. Nicholeen Peck, R-Tooele, opposed the bill, saying she didn't think it was the government's responsibility to facilitate day care centers for the community, and adding that the phrase 'child care crisis' does not mean the same thing as it does in a third-world country, like Kenya, where 'there's a mom, in a hut, who drugs her children so that she can go out and work for a few hours to make enough money to get a bowl of rice, because there's literally no one around safe.' 'We might inadvertently be pulling children away from home-based child care, which actually gives them environments closer to their home environment, which is better for them socially and developmentally,' Peck said. Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, said many women in Utah don't choose to work, but have to. 'I just hate to compare us to another country when we live in the United States of America, and we are this family state that we claim to be here in Utah, but yet we don't want to provide a private-public partnership to ensure that our children are safe,' Romero said. 'I find that problematic.' Other critics of the bill said the state should be selling unused buildings. 'We should be selling them off or utilizing them for state-owned purposes,' Rep. Mark Strong, R-Bluffdale, said. 'We shouldn't be in the business of private child care.' Rep. Anthony Loubet, R-Kearns, said he had spoken to representatives of Utah's Division of Facilities Construction and Management, who, according to him, said they were concerned about the cost of retrofitting a building proposed for the project, and instead of the $2 million estimated cost to remodel the building, it would be $2.7 million. 'With us being very careful with how much money we're doing this year, I'm cautious about supporting the bill,' Loubet said. Rep. Christine Watkins, R-Price, said Utah needs to provide help to families. 'If you've never been in a situation where you have no place to take your children, it's awful,' Watkins said. 'I've been there, and we have many, many smart, strong, hard-working women who would like to go to work, but they don't have a place to take their children.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Doulas improve the experience of childbirth. Now their services will be covered by Medicaid in Utah
After years of being brought up in the Utah Legislature, a bill to have Medicaid cover doula services passed through both the House and the Senate. The bill's sponsor has also introduced a variety of bills focusing on children's health and welfare. SB284, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, will require the state to apply to expand its Medicaid plan to cover doula services. The bill passed through the Senate by unanimous vote last week, and on Wednesday, the House passed the bill with 55 yes votes and 16 no votes. The bill will now go to Gov. Spencer Cox for his signature. Escamilla has been working on getting this bill through passed for years, and was successful in 2025. During her time as a lawmaker, she says she has learned that persistence is important, also pointing out changes in the Legislature that helped this bill reach the finish line. 'I also think that we're seeing more women in the Legislature, and some of the newer legislators are younger, and some of them, even their wives, have experienced working with doulas,' Escamilla said. 'We have more people that actually have experience with doulas. That helps a lot.' Annual health care costs associated with preterm delivery across the country is $26.2 billion, studies have shown that the beneficial impact of doula services is associated with an annual savings of $58.4 million. Escamilla said that not only are doulas cost effective, but having a doula helps provide a better health outcome for both the mother and the child. Doulas have been associated with 3,288 fewer preterm birth annually, and with having fewer C-sections. She added that while expecting mothers don't get a ton of face to face time with their physicians who have so many other patients, doulas are there for them through the whole process. These doulas act as a coach through pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum to help women understand everything that they are going through. 'The doula becomes the coach, and it helps you, it educates you,' Escamilla said. 'The whole experience becomes better.' The covered doula services would include: Training and registration requirements for doulas paid by Medicaid. Non-medical advice and information provided by the doula. Emotional support provided by the doula. Physical comfort provided by the doula. Medicaid-covered payments during an individual's pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum time. Once the bill goes into law after receiving Cox's signature, Utah will have to apply to amend the state's Medicaid plan to cover doula services before Oct. 1. 'It's all about kiddos,' said Escamilla, who each year introduces multiple bills focusing on children's welfare and health care as well as infants and expecting mother as with the SB284. This year the senator had five bills fall under this focus and she acted as the Senate sponsor for multiple House bills that focused on children as well. She said it is important to her to protect children and to pass legislation that looks out for them. 'We should put our money where our mouth is,' Escamilla said. 'It's something that's very important to me, because children they're one of the most vulnerable populations we have. No one else is going to speak for them. And they have, they don't have control over what they do or their lives, really.' Escamilla has also had bills fail this session, like SB221, which would have required child care workers to receive a background check and be CPR certified was stopped in the House. Another bill Escamilla bill that didn't make it through this year was SB189, which will be known as the Child Care Capacity Expansion Act. The bill, which failed on Thursday, would flip unused, state-owned buildings into child care centers. 'It's the nature of the beast, and being part of the minority, sometimes it takes longer, and you have to work harder, to get through the whole thing. You have to fight your way through. But I also, I trust the process, I do and in many instances, it doesn't work in my favor,' Escamilla said about bills that don't make it through. The senator pointed out that lately there have been multiple major child abuse cases, and that more needs to be done in response to those and to prevent similar things from happening again. 'We need to do more to red flag some of these cases of isolation, where DCFS can act and help,' Escamilla added.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Utah Senate shut down this House immigration bill. Why?
House Republicans launched the 2025 legislative session with a package of bills that would increase the consequences for immigration-related crimes. After six weeks of work, the Senate is slamming the door on some of them in a stated effort to limit the number of new criminal enhancements, while letting some pass through if they slim up. Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, told the Deseret News on Friday that the Senate is applying strict scrutiny because the House filed around 80 bills this session that would toughen up law enforcement responses. Senate Judiciary Chair Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, on Friday that he needed to be convinced Wilcox's bill, which enhanced penalties for street gang recruitment and theft, was necessary. 'We can't continue to enhance everything every year,' Weiler said. 'It's an unsustainable course.' On Friday, the Senate Transportation Committee signaled the end of the road for Rep. Matt MacPherson's proposal that would have discouraged unlicensed driving, with little discussion even after the bill passed with large margins in the House. The bill, HB392, was brought forward at the request of law enforcement across the state who reported a surge in interactions with drivers without a license. In 2023, unlicensed drivers made up nearly 50% of the 2,000 serious car crashes in West Valley City, according to data published by the city police department. Nearly 50% of individuals identified in hit-and-runs were also unlicensed. The bill would have allowed law enforcement to seize a vehicle without a warrant if the driver did not possess a driver's license, permit or privilege card. In addition to increasing the penalty for driving without a license from an infraction to a misdemeanor, the bill would have implemented towing and identification requirements similar to those followed by police officers in cases of reckless driving or driving under the influence. One of the biggest problems highlighted by law enforcement that the bill would have addressed was the inability for police to ticket these drivers because many of them do not have identification. The bill would have required police to take a quick fingerprint of an unlicensed driver. Following the hearing, MacPherson, R-West Valley, said the Senate's goal of filtering out criminal enhancements should not be applied indiscriminately based solely on factors like jail capacity or funding. 'I think that unless it is done with careful thought, you risk ignoring real problems in our communities that still rely on the rule of law,' MacPherson said. The Senate has shown a desire to address an increase in immigrant crime after four years of historic immigration as long as it pertains to repeat offenders or is very narrowly tailored to violent crimes. On Thursday, the Senate presented its consensus immigration law enforcement bill to the House where it received a unanimous recommendation for a floor vote with just one week left in the 2025 legislative session. SB90, Mandatory Jail Sentence Amendments, would require mandatory jail sentences for drug and theft crimes committed by individuals who were previously convicted of one of these crimes, deported and then found to have reentered the country illegally. Bill sponsor Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, referred to one instance of an unauthorized immigrant apprehended by local law enforcement who had previously been deported 11 times. 'They were clearly tied to organized crime,' Musselman said. 'There's almost a revolving door there. ... That's what this is trying to stop.' Musselman's bill would require someone who is convicted of a crime in Utah following criminal reentry into the United States to be sentenced with at least 90 days in jail for a class C misdemeanor, 180 days for a class B misdemeanor and 360 days for a class A misdemeanor or felony. The bill would prohibit an individual who receives one of these mandatory jail sentences from being turned over to the federal government for deportation until the person has served the entire mandatory jail sentence. It would allow local law enforcement to coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on deportation proceedings during the 14-day period before the final day of the individual's jail sentence. One of the central House bills related to state and national efforts to address crimes committed by immigrants underwent significant changes before the Senate said it could advance for a floor vote. Rep. Candice Pierucci's HB226 would partially reverse a 2019 law, passed unanimously, that decreased the maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor by one day, to 364 days, in an attempt to skirt federal immigration policy that allows the immediate deportation of legal or illegal immigrants who are sentenced to 365 days or more. After her bill failed in committee earlier this week, Pierucci, R-Riverton, was able to bring it back on Friday on the condition that she removed certain provisions. The bill originally increased penalties for nonprofit groups that knowingly transported unauthorized immigrants into the state. This portion was removed, as was language allowing DUI's to trigger automatic deportation. The current version of the bill would increase the minimum sentence by one day only for violent class A misdemeanors like sexual abuse and assault. During meetings with ICE officials over the last year, the state's one-day sentencing reduction was repeatedly identified as an obstacle for federal authorities seeking to work with Utah law enforcement to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, Pierucci said. 'Our 364 to 365 did make Utah somewhat of a target and somewhat of a magnet and made it difficult for us to work with ICE as they worked on deportation,' Pierucci told committee members. Pierucci's bill would codify law enforcement best practices of coordinating with federal immigration authorities before releasing an immigrant charged with a class A misdemeanor or a felony. It would also require the immigration status of arrested individuals to be submitted to a court as part of the probable cause statement and would give judges the presumption that individuals are considered a flight risk for bail if they are not lawfully present in the country. Escamilla voted against the bill, along with Weiler, arguing the bill would have a disproportionate affect on immigrants lawfully in the country, like green card holders, refugees and temporary visa recipients. 'These are misdemeanors and they are misdemeanors for a reason. And the moment we trigger that piece it's a completely different impact for lawfully present individuals,' Escamilla said. But this kind of disagreement is what makes the the bicameral system best for making good policy, according to Pierucci. On Wednesday, Musselman and Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, voted against Pierucci's bill. Three days later, after Pierucci narrowed the size and scope of her bill, they jumped on board. 'The House and Senate are very different,' Pierucci said. 'This is the way the process works.'
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Utah Senate shut down this House immigration bill. Why?
House Republicans launched the 2025 legislative session with a package of bills that would increase the consequences for immigration-related crimes. After six weeks of work, the Senate is slamming the door on some of them in a stated effort to limit the number of new criminal enhancements, while letting some pass through if they slim up. Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, told the Deseret News on Friday that the Senate is applying strict scrutiny because the House filed around 80 bills this session that would toughen up law enforcement responses. Senate Judiciary Chair Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, on Friday that he needed to be convinced Wilcox's bill, which enhanced penalties for street gang recruitment and theft, was necessary. 'We can't continue to enhance everything every year,' Weiler said. 'It's an unsustainable course.' On Friday, the Senate Transportation Committee signaled the end of the road for Rep. Matt MacPherson's proposal that would have discouraged unlicensed driving, with little discussion even after the bill passed with large margins in the House. The bill, HB392, was brought forward at the request of law enforcement across the state who reported a surge in interactions with drivers without a license. In 2023, unlicensed drivers made up nearly 50% of the 2,000 serious car crashes in West Valley City, according to data published by the city police department. Nearly 50% of individuals identified in hit-and-runs were also unlicensed. The bill would have allowed law enforcement to seize a vehicle without a warrant if the driver did not possess a driver's license, permit or privilege card. In addition to increasing the penalty for driving without a license from an infraction to a misdemeanor, the bill would have implemented towing and identification requirements similar to those followed by police officers in cases of reckless driving or driving under the influence. One of the biggest problems highlighted by law enforcement that the bill would have addressed was the inability for police to ticket these drivers because many of them do not have identification. The bill would have required police to take a quick fingerprint of an unlicensed driver. Following the hearing, MacPherson, R-West Valley, said the Senate's goal of filtering out criminal enhancements should not be applied indiscriminately based solely on factors like jail capacity or funding. 'I think that unless it is done with careful thought, you risk ignoring real problems in our communities that still rely on the rule of law,' MacPherson said. The Senate has shown a desire to address an increase in immigrant crime after four years of historic immigration as long as it pertains to repeat offenders or is very narrowly tailored to violent crimes. On Thursday, the Senate presented its consensus immigration law enforcement bill to the House where it received a unanimous recommendation for a floor vote with just one week left in the 2025 legislative session. SB90, Mandatory Jail Sentence Amendments, would require mandatory jail sentences for drug and theft crimes committed by individuals who were previously convicted of one of these crimes, deported and then found to have reentered the country illegally. Bill sponsor Sen. Calvin Musselman, R-West Haven, referred to one instance of an unauthorized immigrant apprehended by local law enforcement who had previously been deported 11 times. 'They were clearly tied to organized crime,' Musselman said. 'There's almost a revolving door there. ... That's what this is trying to stop.' Musselman's bill would require someone who is convicted of a crime in Utah following criminal reentry into the United States to be sentenced with at least 90 days in jail for a class C misdemeanor, 180 days for a class B misdemeanor and 360 days for a class A misdemeanor or felony. The bill would prohibit an individual who receives one of these mandatory jail sentences from being turned over to the federal government for deportation until the person has served the entire mandatory jail sentence. It would allow local law enforcement to coordinate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on deportation proceedings during the 14-day period before the final day of the individual's jail sentence. One of the central House bills related to state and national efforts to address crimes committed by immigrants underwent significant changes before the Senate said it could advance for a floor vote. Rep. Candice Pierucci's HB226 would partially reverse a 2019 law, passed unanimously, that decreased the maximum sentence for a class A misdemeanor by one day, to 364 days, in an attempt to skirt federal immigration policy that allows the immediate deportation of legal or illegal immigrants who are sentenced to 365 days or more. After her bill failed in committee earlier this week, Pierucci, R-Riverton, was able to bring it back on Friday on the condition that she removed certain provisions. The bill originally increased penalties for nonprofit groups that knowingly transported unauthorized immigrants into the state. This portion was removed, as was language allowing DUI's to trigger automatic deportation. The current version of the bill would increase the minimum sentence by one day only for violent class A misdemeanors like sexual abuse and assault. During meetings with ICE officials over the last year, the state's one-day sentencing reduction was repeatedly identified as an obstacle for federal authorities seeking to work with Utah law enforcement to deport immigrants who are in the country illegally, Pierucci said. 'Our 364 to 365 did make Utah somewhat of a target and somewhat of a magnet and made it difficult for us to work with ICE as they worked on deportation,' Pierucci told committee members. Pierucci's bill would codify law enforcement best practices of coordinating with federal immigration authorities before releasing an immigrant charged with a class A misdemeanor or a felony. It would also require the immigration status of arrested individuals to be submitted to a court as part of the probable cause statement and would give judges the presumption that individuals are considered a flight risk for bail if they are not lawfully present in the country. Escamilla voted against the bill, along with Weiler, arguing the bill would have a disproportionate affect on immigrants lawfully in the country, like green card holders, refugees and temporary visa recipients. 'These are misdemeanors and they are misdemeanors for a reason. And the moment we trigger that piece it's a completely different impact for lawfully present individuals,' Escamilla said. But this kind of disagreement is what makes the the bicameral system best for making good policy, according to Pierucci. On Wednesday, Musselman and Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, voted against Pierucci's bill. Three days later, after Pierucci narrowed the size and scope of her bill, they jumped on board. 'The House and Senate are very different,' Pierucci said. 'This is the way the process works.'
