A Legislative Pay Raise? Really?

Every state employee with whom I have regular contact is worried they may not have jobs due to budget cuts at the end of the legislative session, but a raise for the Legislators? No problem.

From DNews:

SALT LAKE CITY — The Executive Appropriations Committee accepted a report from the Legislative Compensation Commission that lawmakers' salaries be increased, starting with the 2011 Legislature, from $117 a day to $130 a day.

It is unclear if lawmakers will accept the raise, which is automatic unless they act in the 2010 session to stop it. Legislators have already cut their own pay by 10 percent this year.

They did that because of budget constraints and the fact that most state employees didn't get a pay raise in 2009 and may not get one in 2010, either.

BYU Profs to Legislature: Global Warming is real

Why do BYU Professors hate America?

(via KSL)

PROVO, Utah (AP) -- A group of scientists from conservative Brigham Young University has criticized state lawmakers over their recent handling of the climate change issue.

The 18 scientists rebuked legislators in a letter sent Oct. 26, five days after the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee heard from Roy Spencer, an Alabama climatologist who doubts human activities are largely responsible for climate change.

The scientists criticized lawmakers for giving the "fringe" position of Spencer equal weight to that of the broad, scientific consensus that climate change is occurring largely because of human activities.

"We have no specific political agenda to support but agree that whatever action is taken, it should be informed by the best available scientific evidence," the scientists wrote. "We encourage our legislators not to manipulate the scientific evidence to suit any political agenda."

The 18 Ph.D.s at the school specifically refuted Spencer's claim that his critics have ignored natural cycles. The scientists called that assertion "patently false," saying natural climate variability has been extensively studied.

They also took issue with Spencer's allegation that researchers were simply "jumping on the climate-change bandwagon for prestige and monetary gain."

"When members of the Legislature give this kind of testimony too much weight, it puts all of us at risk by promoting poorly informed decisions," the letter says.

Rep. Christopher Herrod, a Provo Republican and committee member, said the scientists misunderstood Spencer's science.

"The more they say there is consensus, the more they lose credibility," Herrod, a real estate developer and entrepreneur, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

"There is no consensus. Send us a study that addresses all the points that were made. (Without that) they are hurting their case," he added.

The scientists said they agreed with the scientific consensus, but noted that their political views vary, as do their ideas about "how society ought to respond to threats posed by a warming climate."

Summer Rupper, a BYU climate scientist, led the letter-writing effort.

Utah's Hottest Politician

Warchol:

Lesbian lawmaker Rep. Christine Johnson has been crowned (is that the right verb?) one of the nation's "SexyPants" elected officials by the blog Queerty. She was the only female to get the title:

Honestly, our search for sexy lesbian politicians mainly taught us that the most electable lesbians seem to prefer grandma glasses and perms, but Johnson's a refreshing exception — still pleasantly dykey (short hair), while also electably ladylike (matching jewelry!)

.

I will readily admit that I have had a crush on Rep Johnson for a few years now. There, I said it. However, it's not just her looks:

Johnson told QSaltLake magazine that she was flattered and embarrassed by the title and would have rather been honored for her intellect.

I'll take her intellect over that of anyone else on the hill.

The looks and the brain: Utah's hottest Legislator, regardless of sexual orientation.

Contact Your Legislator Without Loking Like an Idiot

More importantly than not sounding like an idiot is making sure you actually get your stuff read by your legislator instead of thrown out by their intern.

So, with that in mind, please read the following from Curtis over at Blue in Red Zion, with commentary by me:

1) Always use formal titles - Always refer to the person you are writing to with their formal title, and do it throughout the message. Even if you know the person personally, I would still strongly recommend calling them Representative or Senator.

Last year, when I was on the Hill, I made the mistake of calling my favorite English Teacher I never had at Olympus by the wrong name. I called he Carol, which earned me a glare. The I called her "Ms. Moss, I mean Spackman-Moss," which got me another glare, until I came up with the appropriate name: "Representative Spackman-Moss."

2) Be sure to reference the specific bill you are interested in by bill number and name. The proper format is H.B. (for "house bill" as an example) 1 - the name of the bill here. If you are writing someone other than the bills sponsor, also be sure to include the name of the person proposing the bill.

I've heard from many people who have either been Legislators or interns that a Legislator will read several letters/emails about the same bill at once, so this makes it easier to get your letter read when it will do the most good. Also, with as mny bills as there are every year, it's hard to keep up with them and will allow them to look it up.

3) Always mention why your opinion matters - more specifically, state that you live in the legislators district, city, county, or are a citizen of Utah. If you involved with an organization relating to an issue, mention that as well - if this is the case be sure to point out that you are acting as an individual.

Also, try to only contact your representative and/or the bill's sponsor. This is the most effective use of time.

4) Keep messages short, generally less than three or four paragraphs.

Because do you really want to read a novel in your inbox. (I know that because of it's length, 50% of my readers won't read this far.)

5) Avoid using arguments that are based on ideology - quoting scripture, party rhetoric, and/or sources that are less than reputable will make legislators ignore you and your message quick. This is especially true if you disagree with bill. If you agree, this still harms your argument and may cause a legislator to reevaluate their positions. Similarly, do use logic whenever possible; oftentimes when legislators write bills, they do not know about potential consequences to groups if the bill were to pass.

6) If possible, be sure to include personal stories that explain how this bill would help or hurt you, your family, your friends, your organizations, etc.

#6 is my favorite. If a bill riles you up enough to contact your legislature, then there is a reason for it. Tell them!

7) Be sure you have read the bill, or at the very least, read a summation of the bill from a reliable source, before writing - if you make inferences and logical leaps that are just not there, the legislator may ignore future correspondence from you.

I'm amazed at people who complain about something (a bill, an article, a blog post) that suggests something that will make it better. Something that is already in there. (.e. "Your post would have been better if you had made additional comments.)

8) Always sign your name to any message, it adds legitimacy and show you believe in your cause.

It makes you 50% less crazy.

And, I'd like to add a #9:

Write, even if you think your legislator agrees with you. A few years ago, there was an issue that I cared about being discussed at the Legislature, which I though my Representative was in agreement with me on, so I decided not to waste her time. When she voted the other way, she sent a reply that said that she had heard from more constituents disagreeing with her after her vote than had weighed in on either side before the vote. She honestly didn't know which way to go, and went with what she though best, a position that changed once constituents weighed in on the issue.

-Bob

New Laws Proposed for 2009

I just had a conversation with a spy at Republican Headquarters, who told me the following bills are going to e passed in next year's legislative session.*

-The Ethics committee will continue to meat in private, and still consist of four Democratic Legislators and four Republican Legislators. It will meet at an undisclosed location, and the Democratic members will only get half a vote.

-There will be a big change to Utah's liquor laws. The definition of "alcohol" will be change to include coffee.

-The Deseret News, with their obvious liberal bias, will no longer be allowed to call itself a newspaper. "Deseret Liberal Rag" will still publish the Church News, however.

-Cities will only be allowed to house the State Capitol or a Broadway-style theater, not both. And, Sandy's theater will be paid for by a special tax on people named Ralph, Peter, or Rocky.

-Income tax will be reduced by another half a percent. The budget shortfall will be made up by a user fee on Oxygen. Vouchers wil be given for people who want to buy private oxygen.

-Eliminating a level of bureaucracy, teachers will be paid in food stamps.

-Our two-party system will change. The party of Governor Huntsman will now be known as the "Jesus/Regan" party. The party of Nancy Pelosi will be known as the "Satan's Scumbuckets Party." The Constitution and Libertarian parties will cease to exist. The Green party will be reinstituted and given a voting voucher to help them steal votes from the Satan's Scumbuckets Party.

-Lobbyists will not be allowed to give any gift with a value of under $100. Jazz tickets shall be considered separate gifts (i.e. two Jazz tickets = two gifts)

-Any woman who runs for office must, by law, be as hot as Sarah Palin. Unless her name is Tina.

-Facing bankrupcy, the Legislature buys The Gateway and renames it the Orrin Regan Mall. This purchase is subsidized by a user fee on voting in Salt Lake County (outside of Sandy/Draper) and Park City.

-In addition to pledging allegiance to the American flag, school children will also be forced to pledge allegiance to the Seal of the State of Utah, and recite the Declaration of Independence, Gettysburg Address, Regan's second inaugural address, the Ten commandments, and Twelve Articles of Faith. Every school day.

-The LDS Chuch, by law, will have to drop the 11th Article of Faith.

-Bob

*(This is satire)

HB 139 bad for residents, business

One of my favorite companies around is XMission. And it has nothing to do with the fact that the founder of XMission is US Senate candidate Pete Ashdown.

I have never been a paying customer of XMission. However, I have used their free wireless internet numerous times at the Salt Lake City Library, Gallavan Plaza, and other locations where I have attended political events. XMission provides this access in public places free of charge to taxpayers.

And the thanks they get?

House Bill 139, sponsored by Rep. Bradley M. Daw. (R-Orem)

What does HB139 do?

*makes it a violation of Title 13, Chapter 11, Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act, to sell a device capable of wirelessly accessing the Internet without labeling the device to reflect that fact;
*defines terms;
*requires a person maintaining a public wireless network to attempt to restrict access to a minor;
*provides for a civil penalty against a person who does not restrict access to a puublic wireless network if a minor accesses material harmful to minors through that network; and
*provides for enforcement by the Division of Consumer Protection.

If bolded the most glaring part of the bill. It will require the use of either checking a picture ID or a credit card. However, kids can easily get their hands on a Visa gift card that works like a "real" credit card just by waling into a WalMart or Albertsons and buying one.

This is an example of the government getting involved where parents should be involved. If you really think that your child would use a public WiFi point to access porn, than you really need to concentrate on your parenting. Not to mention buying your kid a PSP, iPod Touch or laptop may not be the best idea.

I encourage all of you to email not only your representative, but also the entire House Public Utilities and Technology Committee, where HB 139 currently sits.


Rep. Michael E. Noel, Chair mnoel@kanab.net
Rep. Aaron Tilton, Vice Chair atilton@utah.gov
Rep. Jim Bird jbird@utah.gov
Rep. Melvin R. Brown melbrown@utah.gov
Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck rchouck@utah.gov
Rep. Janice M. Fisher jfisher@utah.gov
Rep. Lynn N. Hemingway lhemingway@utah.gov
Rep. Fred R Hunsaker fhunsaker@utah.gov
Rep. Steven R. Mascaro steven_mascaro@comcast.net
Rep. Kay L. McIff kaymciff@utah.gov
Rep. Bradley A. Winn bwinn@utah.gov

I'll be watching this bill and keeping you up to date on it.

-Bob

Breakfast and Tour at the Capitol

I had breakfast and a tour of the State Capitol this morning. It was great to see some areas I had never been to before.



Former Rep and Sen Patrice Arent snuck us in to the House and Senate chambers.



Representative Aagard has a nice ring to it....



Still some work to be done in the Senate Chamber...



The Governor's Ceremonial Office (he was using his real office next door.)

Utah's Legislature Page is frustrating

From Salt Blog:

Now that being said...go check out the Utah state legislature website.
You'll find the House Conflict of Interest forms under the House bar. Ok simple enough, now try and find the senate conflict of interest forms. You'd think they'd be under that senate tab right? Well turns out your wrong.
For more fun try checking out financial disclosure for candidates on the state election site. Think it would be listed under "Financial Disclosures"? Well that's a good, intuitive guess...but ultimately wrong.

Now for the ultimate exercise in websurfing frustration take any one of the vague and anonymously listed Political Action Committee's from a candidate's disclosure report and then try and go find any info for that lobbyist group on the state election offices Lobbyist registry.

If you can do that inside of 20 minutes I'll buy you a beer.

Hmm, let me hedge my bets a little bit, if you can find that info out in 20 minutes without whispering under your breath "what the fuck?" as you navigate these labrynth like websites--then I'll buy you a beer

I have to agree with Eric S. Peterson here. Whoever has been giving the state awards for their web site has never tried to do research on the legislators.

There have been very few days this year that I haven't gotten frustrated with the legislature's web site to the point of swearing. Those days have been days I haven't accessed the web site.

-Bob

"The Most Self-serving, Double-dealing, Conflicted Utah Legislators"

The week's Salt Lake City Weekly cover story is giving the "piggies" to "the most self-serving, double-dealing, conflicted Utah legislators" we have.

So, who are the winners? I'll tell you here, but you'll have to read the article to get the details.

Best Comedic Performance: Rep. Mike Morley, R-Spanish Fork
Best Original Plot: Rep. Aaron Tilton, R-Springville
Best Performance in a Supporting Role: Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab
Best Director of Conflicted Legislation: House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy

"Hell Hath No Fury Like a Pack Of Utah Legislators Scorned"

So says Paul Rolly in his column last Sunday.

One would think that Utah voters' overwhelming rejection of private school vouchers earlier this month would inject a little humility into the legislative leaders who tried so relentlessly to push the nation's first universal voucher law down the throats of their reluctant constituents.
But with the cumulative ego of the Republican-dominated Legislature reaching Godzilla-like proportions, it would take more than a thrashing at the polls to tame it. Hardly any time passed between the defeat of the voucher law and suggestions from lawmakers that tax credits be given to businesses which contribute to private school scholarships. That less-direct use of the public till to fund private schools would be just as unpalatable as the rejected law, but never mind.
There is more. The pro-voucher lawmakers have talked up the idea that the State School Board should be expanded from 15 to 29 members, resulting in one school board district for each Utah Senate district.
Politically tone-deaf legislators like Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, and Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, also have resurrected a proposal to make State School Board elections partisan. Political parties would nominate their candidates, who then would run for the board under their party labels. Going through the party convention and primary process would make school board members more accountable to their constituents, the senators claim.
Translated into English, that means they would be more accountable to the right-wing zealots who seem to control the Republican conventions, and less accountable to the more moderate people who actually comprise the majority of the Utah Republican Party.
After all, many of the convention delegates are the same folks, or at least cut from the same cloth, as the delegates to the 2000 GOP convention who booed Sen. Orrin Hatch, Gov. Mike Leavitt and former LDS Relief Society President Barbara Smith as being too liberal. Then they forced Leavitt into a primary against unknown, last-minute candidate Glen Davis. With a wider Republican electorate able to vote in the primary, Leavitt stomped the "message" candidate.

Senate Republicans put up a paper excuse for their support of people who torture cute animals

The Senate Site posted the following comment to my post "Utah Republicans Support Puppy Torture":

Utah Republicans Support Puppy Torture.

Must be an election year.

That is a lousy excuse for two reasons.

1) Because it says that torturing puppys is an election year issue, like flag burning and abortion.

2) Because it is the year 2007, therefore NOT an election year. 2008 is an election year.

Therefore, I hereby call out the authors over at The Senate Site and ask them to provide an excuse for why they all voted to turn this bill away. You may post it to your blog, or you may post it in the comments here.

It's all up to you.

-Bob

Utah Republicans Support Puppy Torture

Tribune:

Every dog has its day, but Henry will have to wait for his.
State lawmakers meeting in special session Wednesday punted consideration of legislation that seeks to impose tougher penalties for acts of animal torture, opting for more discussion, debate and a possible vote next year.

[...]

Sen. Jon Greiner, a Republican who is Ogden's police chief, said the Legislature may be making it a crime to drop an animal off near a shelter if the shelter happens to be closed.
He also noted other crimes - child abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, assault of a police officer, and assault of a school employee - that are Class A misdemeanors under Utah law.
"How do we get to a third degree felony [for animal torture] when we don't have enough respect for human life, sexually abused children, that we don't have a higher standard of care for them?" asked Greiner.

Actually, the saddest part of this is the fact that Senator Greiner doesn't know that as a member of the legislative branch of the Utah Government, he has the power to change the law.

The Third Ave:

As JM Bell pointed out, Michael Vick is a first time offender and will be pleading federal felony charges (and faces state felony charges as well). So would Sen. Christensen advocate giving Vick a second chance to hang, drown, and electrocute dogs?

And seriously, what's up with Ogden Republicans? They all love torturing animals?

JM Bell:

Absolute, unfiltered, concentrated chickenshit.

The Deseret News points out that the vote was along party lines. The headline should be on every story about this:

Utah Republicans Support Puppy Torture

Do Legislators pack heat into Jazz games?

After learning that four Utah Legislators made a show of turning their guns into the NRA before going into Hill Air Force Base and an Oil Refinery, it led me to ask one question:

Do these same legislators, when attending Jazz games on the lobbyists' dime, pack their guns? Or do they hand them to an NRA rep for safe keeping?

In case you didn't know, Energy Solutions Arena, a privately-owned facility, doesn't allow weapons.

-Bob

[UPDATE 8/20/07 4:08 PM] As per Misty's comment below, I don't want to infer that the legislators are packing heat into Jazz games. Trust me, if I knew for sure that they were packing heat, you would have heard about it from numerous sources by now....

Special Session Wednesday -- School Districts and Puppy Torture

Governor Huntsman has called the legislators into special session this coming Wednesday, August 22. This is to fix problems that have arisen in the school district split controversy.

Oh, and there's one more major thing they are discussing.

Remember when, at the end of the session, the legislators pushed until beyond the last minute the puppy torture bill? And how, when they "passed" it too late on purpose, they could say that they tried, but "ran out of time," thereby thrying to appease supporters of the bill, yet not actually have it go into effect?

Well, Gov Huntsman is calling their bluff. Puppy Torture is on the agenda Wednesday.

-Bob

Government Porn

There was a meeting up on Capitol Hill on Wednesday about more regulation of the internet.

More regulation by the big-government-favoring Utah Legislature.

They propose making ISPs who block kids from accessing porn be able to get a certificate of wholsomeness.

The problem isn't with ISPs. If an ISP is knowingly allowing kids to access porn, they are breaking the law as it is.

However, the problems aren't what the "experts" they had at the meeting said:

Ralph Yarro, a parent volunteering his time to stem what he calls a crisis of inappropriate material flowing over an unregulated Internet, understands the confusion lawmakers face, saying there is a huge "generation gap" between what teens and pre-teens can do on the Internet and what their parents understand.

Cheryl Preston, a law professor at Brigham Young University who has been studying various legal methods to keeping Internet porn out of the reach of minors, said when she discusses the problem she often hears the argument: "What are these kids' mothers doing" and why are they not watching what their children are doing on the computer?

But many parents aren't tech savvy, she said. "The mothers are just glad to see their kids doing their homework on the home computer."

Beyond that, however, is that many teens know how to get around filters in the home computer — or know where they can get open-access wireless Internet "where they can watch porn all day long," said Yarro, who heads a group called CP80, which advocates congressional action to set up family-friendly Internet groupings that would filter out porn Internet addresses.

The problem is that parent's aren't keeping an eye on their kids. They are letting them have computers in their rooms. I hate to tell Mr Yarro this, but in order to get to open-access wireless internet, they need someone to provide them with a computer to get the internet. They can't just stand there and have the images magically appear. Who is providing them with the computer?

Oh, and annother problem that we have in our big government doing this:

The discussion in the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Study Committee was often technical, with committee members having to be brought up to speed on various terms and applications.

"My brain is on the edge of frying, trying to understand" the technology involved, said committee co-chairman Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City.

-Bob

(All quotes from Deseret News, 4/19/07)

The Best Legislature Money Can Buy

Bob Van Velkinburg, while speaking of vouchers, has the following to say on The Utah Amicus:

Why would so much money be spent on this voucher issue? It is estimated that almost $500,000 was spent by people and organizations who favor vouchers.

Even more curious is why would an organization based in Wisconsin called "All Children Matter" want to spend $290,000 of their money to support this issue in Utah? Of course this organization is heavily funded by the Wal-Mart and Amway Heirs but what dog do they have in this fight?

Then there is the local Utah organization called "Parents for Choice." They paid back the Republican Party $70,000 for the cost of their dirty tricks flyers. Another $110,000 in direct contributions to their candidates. Parents For Choice PAC shelled out $58,000 to their picked candidates. Another $58,000 to elect their School Board candidates.

So you can see why Utahns can say with some degree of pride, "We have the best Legislators that money can buy." (emphasis mine)

Not only do we have Parents for Choice in Education, who even got their name on the bill, puchaseing our legislatue, we also have Energy Solutions and ReAL Salt Lake paying top dollar to play in the game.

Money is the root of all evil. It has the power to corrupt even the best people.

-Bob

This guy makes me look nice

(Hat tip: Part of the Plan)

From Today's Salt Lake Tribune:

I don't doubt the earnest desires of most individual legislators to want to make a difference in the lives of those they claim to serve. But since it's widely known that too many chefs can spoil the soup, these good intentions too often get left out of the recipe.
As a collective body, the Utah Legislature is the biggest bunch of self-righteous, self-serving, bloviated buffoons that ever sucked air. Rampant disregard for the electorate is evidence of an assumed moral superiority that separates them from the reality in which the rest of us dwell.
Utah's legislative whoredom, with its lust for speculative soccer ventures and nuclear waste storage, is proof that integrity is not only for sale in Utah politics; it's cheap and easy too.

David E. Jensen
Holladay