Pope Francis reminds us regularly that our priority as Catholics is the needs of the poor. Unfortunately, much of that message was lost at the 2014 Utah legislative session. A few legislators did try to prioritize the poor during the session. Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, crafted a state Earned Income Tax Credit bill that would have put income tax dollars back into the pockets of the working poor. HB 218 Working Individuals and Families Credit offered a state credit equal to 5 percent of a filer’s federal EITC. As shown on the federal level, this money would be used to pay for necessities such as car repairs or groceries, or invested in longer term prosperity measures such as education or small business ventures. The credit was tied to passage of the federal Marketplace Fairness Act, so no state tax dollars were appropriated in the bill. The bill passed a House committee, debate in the full House and a Senate committee. However, despite the proven effectiveness of such measures, and the estimated 189,000 Utah taxpayers who would have benefitted, Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, the Senate sponsor, was unable to bring the bill to debate on the Senate floor. Medicaid expansion, or any plan to provide health coverage to Utahns living at or below 138 percent of the poverty line, similarly stalled. Legislators claimed a need to "go slow" on the issue, even though legislative and gubernatorial working groups have been reviewing possible scenarios for more than a year. Gov. Gary Herbert is moving forward with his health care plan, actively seeking necessary waivers from the federal government in order to implement his suggested coverage program. The governor will need legislative approval for his plan, which may be more readily available with assurances that federal waivers will be possible. Meanwhile, thousands of Utahns continue to be uninsured. Rep. Lynn Hemingway, D-Salt Lake City, attempted to start a debate regarding the minimum wage in Utah with his HB 73 Living Wage Amendments. There was little doubt about the bill’s fate, particularly after it was assigned to an unrelated committee, but committee members did at least acknowledge the importance of having a discussion about Utah’s minimum wage in the future. Business lobbyists also managed to end Rep. Tim Cosgrove’s, D-Murray, highly needed bill creating a task force to discuss the many issues that have arisen in mobile home parks. Low-income home owners in the parks have struggled for several years to address rapidly rising rental rates for the ground their homes occupy; ground that landowners find is more valuable as a future suburban development than space for lower income housing. While it appeared both sides of the debate agreed on the final bill, last-minute maneuvering assured its demise in the Senate. On the plus side, Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake, passed a bill providing tax credits for businesses that hire homeless individuals. Though some argued that businesses should do this without a government incentive, the relatively small number of credits will at least give the state a chance to see if the program helps reduce homelessness. Sanctity of life was also a focus of the session. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, passed several measures aimed at reducing Utah’s abysmal suicide rate. Three of his bills addressed the topic, including a bill allowing school counselors to discuss suicide with students who demonstrate suicidal ideation, another bill providing for suicide prevention programs in school, and a final bill to provide firearm safety, including safe storage and suicide prevention information, through mental health professionals, firearms course instructors and others. Rep. Eliason’s bills represent a few practical options for raising awareness about suicide and protecting vulnerable youth. Unfortunately, the impacts of air pollution on human life were not as persuasive to legislators as many had hoped this session. While a few air quality-related bills passed, two of the most important did not. Rep. Becky Edward’s, R-North Salt Lake, HB 121 would have allowed the Division of Air Quality to address Utah’s unique pollution concerns and enact stricter regulations than allowed by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The bill died in committee, in part due to opposing ideological concerns from both the right and left. Similarly, Rep. Johnny Anderson’s, R-Taylorsville, HB 388 would have allowed cities to place measures on the ballot asking residents if they would support increasing certain taxes to pay for more public transit. The bill passed the House with little opposition, but was not heard on the Senate floor.
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