Latest news with #SenateBusinessandLaborCommittee
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah bill to require voter ID changes again; effort to remove Utah from ERIC stalls
Election workers process ballots at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A hotly debated bill to phase out Utah's automatic voting by mail and to begin requiring voters to write the last four digits of their state identification number has undergone another round of changes. A new version of HB300 won approval from the Senate Business and Labor Committee on a 5-3 vote Monday evening, advancing the bill closer to its legislative finish line. It now goes to the full Senate for consideration. The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, acknowledged HB300 has 'changed a lot' since its original version, which would have originally drastically restricted voting by mail and required most Utahns to return their ballots in person at either a polling place or a drop box manned by at least two poll workers while showing their government-issued ID. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Last week, the bill was largely scaled back through negotiations by Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, to instead require Utah voters to write the last four digits of their ID on their ballot's return envelope beginning in 2026. It would have also slowly phased out Utah's current automatic vote-by-mail system by requiring all registered voters to opt in to receiving by-mail ballots by Jan. 1, 2028. Now, the latest version of HB300 provides even more time to implement those changes. Clerks will now have until Jan. 1, 2029 to rely solely on confirming the last four digits of voters' ID on their ballots rather than using signatures to verify their identities. 'We did that to give voters time to be educated on this process (and) to help our election officials' tackle the changes, Burton said, noting that HB300 would also use $2 million to 'start the education process so that the citizens know what's going on.' The latest version of HB300 would do the following: Starting in 2026, require voters with a valid state ID to include the last four digits of their state ID when returning a ballot through the mail or in a drop box. For registered voters who cast their ballot without an ID number, clerks would confirm their ballots by matching their signatures. Phase out Utah's current automatic vote-by-mail system by 2029. In order to vote by mail, Utahns would be required to obtain a valid state ID by Jan. 1, 2029 and opt in to voting by mail. By that deadline, clerks would also be required to rely on confirming state ID numbers on ballots rather than signature verification. Allows Utahns who are eligible to register to vote that also sign an affidavit stating that they're indigent to receive a state voter ID card free of charge. Beginning in 2029, voters who vote in person must present a valid ID, except in certain circumstances, in which a voter could sign an affidavit and present two forms of alternative ID (like a social security card, bank statement or paystub). By 2029, requires voters to opt in to receive by-mail ballots every eight years. Creates new ways for voters to opt in to voting by mail, including when renewing their driver's license, voting in person, or through an online portal. Restrict Utah's current deadline for by-mail ballots. Currently, Utah allows by-mail ballots to be postmarked by the day before Election Day in order for clerks to count them, but HB300 would require ballots to be in clerks' possession no later than 8 p.m. on election night, regardless of their postmark. Enhances the lieutenant governor's ability to investigate voter registration roll inaccuracies. 'We're doing everything we can to ensure we're not limiting the vote for anyone who desires to vote,' Burton said. Utah House passes scaled back bill to require voter ID, still allow voting by mail Beyond helping the lieutenant governor maintain voter rolls, Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Wood Cross, questioned what is the 'primary problem' HB300 is trying to fix. Burton acknowledged recent legislative audits 'did not find rampant voter fraud' but rather a 'few issues' with voter rolls. However, he said his aim is to add voter ID requirements. He pointed to a Pew Research survey that showed 81% of Americans 'believe and agree you should show your ID when you vote.' 'We have a good system (in Utah),' Burton said, 'but all this does is enhance an already good system so there's a certain level of confidence that some people may not have when they don't see people showing identification to vote.' Citing an outpouring of concern expressed from his constituents, Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, told Burton, 'I need to ask you: Does this bill make it harder for my constituents to vote?' Burton acknowledged that as changes are put in place from 2026 to 2029, 'It's probably going to be a bit challenging as they navigate that, but once they get on the cycle it's going to be very simple.' 'What they need to know between now and (2029), is that they'll need to opt in to vote by mail,' Burton said. However, clerks still expressed concerns with the bill. 'While many changes have been made, there are still substantial hurdles that this bill brings forward,' Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said, noting that in her county, more than 91% of voters have cast by-mail ballots. She also worried that the added requirements to review both the last four digits of voters' ID, in addition to signature verification, will 'at a minimum, double the amount of time' it will take for clerks to verify ballots. Utah election audit finds no 'significant fraud,' but raises concern over voter roll maintenance 'We're not quite there yet,' Chapman said about the bill. Iron County Clerk Jon Whittaker said clerks continue to have 'grave concerns' about HB300, even though he said it's in a better place than its original version. 'Through a tremendous amount of work, this bill has almost become palatable,' he said. He also raised concerns about eventually dropping the signature requirement after 2029. 'I have my wife's social security number memorized,' he said. 'That's much easier to fake.' Shelly Jackson, deputy director of elections with the lieutenant governor's office, thanked Burton and other legislative leaders for negotiating with them on the bill, and while she said it still needs some work, 'we are supportive' of the new version. Pro-democracy groups including the Utah League of Women Voters of Utah urged lawmakers not to support the bill, arguing Utah's existing vote-by-mail system has helped increase voter turnout and election security. While the new version of HB300 is an improvement, Helen Moser, the group's director of voter services, argued it adds unnecessary hurdles to voting. 'HB300 would create immediate confusion for voters and clerks, by forcing new ID requirements and ballot verification steps, and you'd have very limited time to educate the public,' Moser said. 'Outreach would need to be significant to ensure all voters obtain the appropriate ID.' Moser also warned that after it takes full effect in 2029, Utah will likely see a decrease in voter turnout. Rob Axson, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, advocated for the bill, to bridge divides between those who think Utah's election system is fine the way it is, and those who believe it needs improvements. In a handout passed out to committee members, Burton also pointed to an 'election security scorecard' by the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that was behind Project 2025 — and said his bill will bring Utah's score from 33rd out of 50 states to No. 9. 'What exactly is that?' Vickers questioned. Burton said the Heritage Foundation is an organization 'that we've referred to' while drafting the bill, and he said, 'I've got several letters from them supporting the bill.' Ultimately, the Senate committee narrowly approved HB300 on a 5-3 vote, advancing it to the Senate floor. But two Republicans — Vickers and Weiler — joined Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, D-Salt Lake City — in voting against the bill. 'I'm concerned, first of all, that it makes it harder to vote,' Weiler said. 'People will perceive this as taking away something that they've enjoyed now for over a decade.' Burton, while urging support of his bill, said 'trust in elections is foundational to a free republic.' 'If a certain percentage of our population doesn't trust in the election process, then we have a problem,' he said, adding that polls have shown Utah could make some changes to improve trust. 'We're not producing this bill in a vacuum or an echo chamber. What problem are we trying to solve? Voter confidence and really to clean up voter rolls. Those are two things that must be done.' Another lawmaker's efforts to clean up Utah's voter rolls and make Utah the next state to break ties with a nonprofit that's meant to keep states' voter rolls up to date appear to have hit a dead end. An earlier version of HB332 that won approval from the full House, sponsored by House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, would have required Utah to end its membership with the national Electronic Registration Information Center, known as ERIC, a nonprofit that helps states maintain their voter rolls by sharing information across state lines. Utah one step closer to becoming next state to leave voter roll group ERIC However, Lisonbee — likely anticipating an uphill battle for her bill in the Senate — changed her bill in Monday night's Senate committee to strip out that provision. A new version of her bill would have also sought to require Utahns to have proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in a state election. But even with the changes, the Senate Business and Labor Committee wasn't having it. After previously passing out Burton's HB300 — which appears to be the flagship election bill both House and Senate leaders are backing during lawmakers' 2025 session — the Senate committee voted down Lisonbee's bill without any debate. A motion to favorably recommend it to the Senate floor failed on a 4-3 vote, with a member of Senate Republican leadership, Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, joining Vickers, Weiler and Pitcher voting against it. It's not clear whether Lisonbee will try to revive her bill. A request for comment to a House spokesperson was not immediately returned Tuesday. The 2025 Utah Legislature's 45-day general session is slated to end at the end of the week, required by law to adjourn before midnight on Friday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion: Keep legal gambling out of Utah
The Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine published an important and alarming investigation this week into the impact of the recent proliferation of sports gambling in the United States. In short, gambling is creating what could be a mammoth health crisis that American governments need to take seriously. This study examines the growth of sports gambling since the Supreme Court legalized it on the state level in 2018, and it asks important questions about the negative health effects that are silently harming too many individuals and families in the United States. For Utah lawmakers, this research comes just in time. Sen. David P. Hinkins, R-Ferron, is sponsoring legislation that would make pari-mutuel horse racing and wagering legal in Utah. The bill, SB156, barely passed out of the Senate Business and Labor Committee last week and is headed for the Senate floor. It deserves to be soundly defeated. Are Utah lawmakers no longer aware of the timeless wisdom passed down by generations who have seen, time and again, how gambling leads to corruption and despair? If this bill ever finds its way into law, social costs would follow, affecting individuals and families, and Utah no longer would be one of only two states (alongside Hawaii) that hasn't dipped its toe into the foolish wave of legal gambling. Residents of the Beehive State should be thankful they have stood firm so far against this national tide, which feeds off a destructive, something-for-nothing ethic. The research published in JAMA found that sports wagers have gone from $4.9 billion in 2017 to an astounding $121.1 billion in 2023. This pokes a deep hole into counter-arguments that say legalization was necessary to control and legitimize what has been a vast underground gambling culture. In fact, legalization has acted as leaven, growing and expanding gambling in ways far beyond the small amounts that may have existed before. Once the Supreme Court issued its 2017 ruling in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association, which struck down a law that prohibited states from allowing or promoting sports gambling, the proliferation started in earnest. Almost overnight, the number of states allowing sports gambling went from one to 38. The research found a substantial and corollary increase nationwide in the number of online searches related to gambling addiction. These searches included terms such as 'addiction,' 'addict,' 'anonymous' and 'gambling addiction hotline.' They are evidence of desperation on the part of people who have awakened to their own compulsive and destructive behavior patterns. These search terms were especially high in states that have allowed online sportsbooks, letting residents gamble any time they want using computers or smartphones. The 'key points' section of the investigation report says, 'These findings emphasize the need for public health efforts to study and address the potential harms associated with the rapid growth of sports betting.' And yet, researchers said, states that reap the financial benefits of legal gambling rarely allocate any meaningful amount toward the treatment or, just as importantly, prevention of those health effects. In most states, the amount set aside is less than $1 million, with many contributing significantly less. That is scandalous. Meanwhile, as we reported earlier, gambling companies have exhibited predatory behavior toward problem gamblers, often encouraging them to spend more. Last year, The Wall Street Journal said sports betting companies 'deploy so-called VIP hosts who form personal relationships with the biggest spenders, frequently handing out betting credits to encourage gamblers to deposit more of their money.' Often, those big spenders are compulsive gamblers who need help. The evidence against gambling, and particularly sports betting aided by smartphone apps, is mounting. We agree with Manhattan Institute fellow and City Journal editor Charles Fain Lehman, who wrote last year in The Atlantic that the nation doesn't need any more evidence to shut everything down. 'If the states are 'laboratories of democracy,' then the results of their experiment with sports gambling are in, and they are uniformly negative,' he wrote. 'Better to end the study now than prolong the suffering.' It's also better to end things now before major sports leagues suffer more gambling-related scandals, such as those that recently affected the NBA, NFL, Major League Baseball and the NHL. An America that is obsessed with sports should be concerned about the integrity of the games it loves to watch, as well as about the changing nature of sports, where spreads, parlays and proposition bets take precedence over team loyalties. Most of all, however, the nation should worry about the lives that are being ruined away from the spotlight, and the precious few resources those victims can turn to for help.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah's time change bill hits roadblock on Senate Committee
SALT LAKE CITY () — A Utah bill that would has come to a grinding halt on Wednesday. H.B. 120 – otherwise known as '' – was brought before the Senate Business and Labor Committee, which voted 7-1 to table the bill indefinitely. This means, for the time being, Utahns can still expect to adjust their clocks forward and back an hour twice a year. Dutch Bros has a new menu item that's only available in Utah (and one other state) The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Joseph Elison (R-Hurricane) and co-sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton). Under H.B. 120, Utah would permanently adopt Mountain Standard Time as its time of choice until the federal government allows for permanent daylight time – which Utah would then adopt. Utah has already passed a bill that would see the state switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time should enough surrounding states agree to the change and the federal government allow it. The surrounding state threshold has been met, meaning Utah is only waiting for permission from the federal government. Father-son duo survives night in Utah wilderness after finding 'miracle' backpack H.B. 120 unanimously passed through the House Government Operations Committee before earning the House's approval behind a 52 to 23 vote. However, Senate lawmakers seemed to prefer letting the federal government make the final decision. 'I do think when we make this change, we should do it with some other states,' explained Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross). 'We are a peculiar people, but I don't know that we want to be extra peculiar with our international airport and our surrounding states by standing out with a different timezone.' Sen. Scott Sandall (R-Brigham City) said the time change would also put Utah on a different time than Idaho for eight months of the year, complicating interstate commerce for his constituents in Box Elder County. Rep. Elison, however, argued that his bill is the only opportunity Utah has to stop changing the clocks now – something Hawaii and Arizona have already done. 'Bottom line is we can let this thing die, which it sounds like it will, or we can punt the ball to the federal government and hope that they take the lead,' said Rep. Elison. 'I'd rather take the lead in Utah personally, but I'm OK with the will of the body.' The Senate Business and Labor Committee's decision to table the bill makes it unlikely lawmakers will take up the issue again this year. This means it is effectively back in the hands of the federal government to decide whether or not to end the clock change and what time we'd observe moving forward. Yeonseung Kim contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Senators pump the brakes on bill to eliminate daylight saving time in Utah
A bill that would have allowed Utah to ditch daylight saving time appears to have reached the end of the road. The Senate Business and Labor Committee voted Wednesday 7-1 to table HB120, which effectively halts its progress during the remaining weeks of the legislative session. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Elison, R-Toquerville, had previously passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 52-23. "We like to brag in the House that we're closest to the people, and I think that was reflected in the vote," Elison told KSL following Wednesday's committee hearing. "To not let it go onto the floor of the Senate, I think, is unfortunate." The bill is the most tracked proposal of the session, according to Elison, who said the majority of Utahns want to put an end to the semiannual changing of the clocks — a practice that is only slightly more rooted in tradition than efforts by Utah lawmakers to abolish it. Utah already has a law on the books that would move the state to permanent daylight saving time, if and when the federal government OKs it or if several neighboring states adopt the same policy, but Elison said adopting permanent standard time is the only way to immediately eliminate the clock changes each spring and fall. "There's never going to be an argument finalized and determined as far as which is better," Elison told the committee. "That's not the whole point of this bill at all. The point of this bill is simply saying if people want the clocks to stop (changing), this is the only thing that we have the authority to do as a legislative body." Although Utahns are overwhelmingly opposed to springing forward and falling back, they are split on whether to adopt daylight saving time — which is currently in effect during the summer months — or standard time — which leads to an earlier sunrise during the winter. A 2022 Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that 41% of registered voters in the state prefer daylight saving time, 30% would like to see permanent standard time, while about a quarter support the current system of going back and forth. One of the biggest concerns expressed by those who are opposed to changing the clocks is that it can disrupt sleep routines — especially for people who are neurodivergent or have other special needs. That is the case for Stacy Muhlestein, a Monticello resident who spoke in favor of the bill during Elison's committee presentation. "This is an important issue for families like mine — families that have young children, those with neurodiverse family members and those who have unique medical needs," she said. "For our families, the changing of the clocks does not affect just one hour of sleep. It causes weeks of upheaval with many nights of repetitive sleep loss." She said those "unseen negative effects from the constant changing of the time are quietly suffered in our most vulnerable households" and urged lawmakers to advance HB120. Dustin James Harper, another constituent, shared similar sentiments. "I can say without irony that this bill will affect my family's well-being more than any other legislation being debated this year," he said. "If the bill passes, my family will be better off. The same is true for the hundreds of thousands of families with young children in Utah." Jay Pea, a Phoenix resident and longtime advocate for permanent standard time, said standard time is more attuned to the natural rising and setting of the sun and comes with myriad health benefits. "It's the honest clock and it balances the morning and evening light fairly which benefits our sleep, our mood, our health, our safety, our education, our economy," he said. However, the bill faced stiff opposition from groups like the Utah Farm Bureau and the Utah Recreation and Parks Association which argued that the extra daylight in the summertime is valuable for their industries. "It will have a severe negative impact on the construction industry," said Taz Biesinger with the Utah Home Builders Association, noting that many cities have noise ordinances that prevent workers from starting until 7 a.m. Eliminating daylight saving time, Biesinger said, would force construction workers to toil in the "heat of the day." Ryan Peterson with the Utah Golf Alliance said the game is a big economic driver for the state, and losing an hour of daylight in the summertime would be problematic. "It will be a very negative impact on the game of golf," Peterson said. Vicki Lyman, a Delta resident, also voiced opposition to HB120. "We very much appreciate daylight saving time," Lyman told lawmakers. "As I raised my children, it was great to have that extra hour in the evening to go do activities with them." Elison acknowledged the arguments on both sides, but he said a majority of Utahns want the practice of switching their clocks to change. "It's a big issue for a lot of families," Elison told KSL, "and the fact that somebody can't adjust their golf game by an hour, I think, is kind of crazy." Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, expressed sympathy for families with young children and special needs, but he said the better move is to go to daylight saving time year round. Weiler moved to table the bill. "I just don't want to have to go through this again," Weiler said. Elison told him that isn't likely. 'I don't think this is going away,' he said.
