Promises Kept – Lincoln Fillmore

More local control and equitable funding in education

SB196 (2017) Removed administrative bureaucratic reporting requirements
SB240* (2017) Would have increased school-level control of budgets and spending
HB368 (2017) Requires review of education funding streams to increase efficiency and increase local control
HB293 (2018) Provided the Equity Pupil Unit so that low property-value districts with many students (like Jordan) will receive equitable funding; also gave local principals more control over education dollars
SB104 (2020) Local Education Levy State Guarantee Amendments – Another step toward equity funding for students in lower funded districts like Jordan
SB195 (2020) Background Checks for Minor Employees – Addresses the problem if schools want to hire someone under 18 years old, by law no one can see the results of the required background check.
SB142 (2021) Reforms the generation, distribution, and flexibility of education funding, and guarantees that money generated for equalization can’t be swept to other uses just because more money was collected than estimated. This guarantee is the next step in the Equity Pupil Unit to increase funding for lower-funded, growing school districts like Jordan.
SB153 (2021) – Fixes the personal exemption problem created by 2017 federal income tax changes which increased state income taxes for Utah families by doing away with the tax exemption for dependents. This bill will reinstate the state dependent exemption and lower state income taxes for Utahns with children or other dependents.
SB62 (2022) Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program Amendments – This bill extends the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program to siblings of special needs students so they can have the opportunity to have their siblings go to school with them the same as any other student.
SB118 (2022) – I dropped this bill and was the Senate sponsor for H.B. 113 – Students with Disabilities Funding Amendments, which does the same thing my bill did. This is a multi-year effort that works on a broad scale to correct the convoluted funding formulas for Special Education students so that funding can actually flow to where the student is attending school.
SB191 (2022) Brings flexibility and accountability to schools and parents that want to try new things by allowing them to make a proposal to their local school board, and State Board, for a waiver of regulations, to try innovative solutions.
SB45 (2023) Statewide Online Education Program Amendments – Expands the Statewide Online Education Program treat junior high students the same as high school students
SB55 (2023) Public School Instructional Materials Requirements – Ensures parents will be involved in the process and can view instructional materials before a school board adopts them for use in the classrooms
SB65 (2023) Charter School Authorizers Modifications – Requires charter school authorizers to follow Administrative Procedures Act (like the State Board of Education) when making policy.
SB77 (2023) Education Scholarship Amendments – Prohibits private schools from charging a scholarship student more in fees than other students based solely upon the scholarship student being a scholarship recipient and brings transparency and accountability to state scholarship programs
SB83 (2023) Public Education Funding Equalization – Culmination of a multi-year project to create a permanent program to ensure that all children get adequate education funding, even when living in lower property tax neighborhoods.
SB222 (2023) Effective Teachers in High Poverty Schools Incentive Program Amendments – Will ensure that excellent teachers get paid extra for their work helping under-privileged students in high-poverty schools
SB13 (2024) Education Entity Amendments – Creates standards for cities and counties to set fire, food, safety, and parking requirements for “Micro Schools,” which are small groups of home schools cooperating in a home or storefront. Up to this point, there have been no guidelines for these entities.
SB44 (2024) Alternative Education Scholarship Combination –Consolidates two state scholarship programs for students with special needs into one and matches the standards with other scholarship programs.
SB64 (2024) Effective Teachers in High Poverty School Incentive Program Amendments – Requires the State School Board to inform teachers who may qualify, about the incentives for teaching vulnerable students that are already in place.
SB65 (2024) Online Student Funding Amendments – Fixes a loophole in state law exposed by the growth of online students, ensuring those students who attend virtually, do not generate matching funds that are designed to pay for school buildings.
SB137 (2024) Teacher Empowerment – Empowers teachers by putting in place changes to better support them in being effective in their classrooms and more accurately evaluate their effectiveness. It allows development money to be spent on travel to covered conferences and removes chronically absent students from evaluations. Originally it addressed the serious issue of student behavior, but this was removed to continue working on the issue over the interim.
SB173 (2024) Market Informed Compensation for Teachers – Creates a program to pay our best teachers bonuses. The bonuses would be tiered with $10,000 going to the top 5% of teachers, $5,000 for the next 6% to 10%, and $2,000 going to the next 11% to 25%. Teachers in high poverty schools would receive double the bonus. School Districts and Charter Schools will define the criteria for use in their schools.
SB217 (2024) School District Bonding Amendments – Mandates school districts must publicly disclose information pertaining to their outstanding bond debts at least 30 days prior to issuing a new bond and at the close of the fiscal year. By ensuring the timely dissemination of this critical information, we aim to fortify the fiscal health of districts and enhance trust and confidence.
SCR1 (2024) Concurrent Resolution Recognizing School Support Staff – The legislature has dedicated funding and praise for teachers in recent years. This resolution recognizes school support staff (lunch workers, custodians, teacher’s aides, etc.) and encourages districts to ensure those positions are properly supported and compensated.
SJR3 (2024) Joint Resolution Concerning the Success Sequence – Asks the State Board of Education to find where “The Success Sequence” can fit in the secondary school curriculum so students learn repeatedly the steps they can take to live a life out of poverty. This sequence includes finishing high school, getting a job, and getting married before having children.

Do better at helping those who can’t help themselves

SB153 (2016) Self-Reliance Training in Public Welfare Programs
SB242 (2016) Directs more money to school children with intensive special needs
SB75 (2017) Enhances protection for children’s welfare
SB39 (2019) Provides new community- and family-based treatment options to people with mental illness at lower cost to taxpayers
HB332 (2020) Special Needs Scholarship Amendments – Creates income tax credit for corporations that donate to a scholarship granting organization that provides scholarships to students with special needs
SB240 (2022) Health Care Liability Insurance Amendments – Requires a home health company participating in the Medicaid program to carry liability insurance to protect both the State and families on Medicaid.

Push back against federal intrusion and control

SB209 (2017) Makes the state less dependent on federal dollars
HB363 (2017) Requires local approval and accountability for new federal applications

Give you more control over your life and government less

SB94 (2017) Making property taxes more transparent and accountable
SB154 (2017) Expanded the rights of homeowners on their own property related to generating energy
HB82 (2017) Allows for the local use of street-legal ATVs
SB65 (2018) Free Range Kids—allows parents to be parents without fear of government interference
SB101 (2018) Limits government ability to make a major adjustment to property assessment
SB86 (2019) Allows for new kinds of savings accounts by easing regulations on banks and account holders
SB107* (2019) Would have eased local government restrictions on how you use your own property
SB179 (2019) Increases transparency and accountability when local governments consider tax increases
HB198 (2020) Eminent Domain Limitations – Limits the use of eminent domain for a public park in the case of a century farm, which is a farm that has been in the same family for 100 years or more.
HB202 (2020) Local Government Nuisance Ordinance Reform – Decriminalizes local code violations (like an overgrown lawn, dog getting out) that are not injurious to others
SB142 (2020) Delivery Driver Age Requirements – Changes the age for delivery drivers from 19 to 18
SCR10 (2020) Concurrent Resolution on State Employee Benefits and Providing Refund from the State Health Insurance Pool – Allows state employees more flexibility in how they are compensated and returns to the state over eighteen million dollars in excess money held in reserve by the state health insurance pool
SB71 (2021) Property Acquisition Amendments – Protects property owners from having their property held unusable during things like feasibility and environmental studies. – *
SB72 (2021) Open and Public Meetings Amendments – Put into statute that votes cannot be taken in a closed session of a public meeting, unless it is to open the meeting
SB73 (2021) Vehicle Registration Fee Amendments – Removes a duplicate registration fee when a leased vehicle is purchased mid-year
SB86 (2021) Amendments to Price Controls During Emergencies – Requires probable cause to launch an investigation of “price gouging” and establishes a “clear and convincing” evidence standard for conviction. This bill would help to avoid the situation a West Jordan resident faced being investigated for the potential “crime” of offering to sell her extra baby wipes to her neighbors and protect citizens from the government launching intrusive “investigations” based on frivolous allegations.
SB88 (2021) – Local Option Sales Tax Distribution Amendments – Requires ZAP taxes to be fairly distributed across the county, rather than concentrated just in Salt Lake City.
SB91 (2021) – School Accountability Amendments – This is a multi-year effort to reform school accountability away from bureaucratic accountability and to parental accountability – This bill was combined with SB142 which passed
SB110 (2021) Tax Commission Appeal Amendments – Requires the tax commission to stay similar cases while a single tax year’s dispute is adjudicated. The government shouldn’t be able to litigate taxpayers into compliance with unclear rules.
SB115 (2021) Retirement System Transparency Requirements – Requires the small number of organizations that participate in Utah Retirement Systems (URS) that have not been captured by previous transparency bills, to report data to the State Transparency website. Their retirement is managed by URS, which is guaranteed by Utah taxpayers in the unlikely case of URS’ financial failure, and should therefore, be reported to taxpayers.
SB206* (2021) Tax Rate Amendments – Reduces the income tax rate based on growth in tax collections
SB25 (2022) Property Tax Deferral Program – Allows homeowners over 70 years old and who have lived in their home for at least 15 years, and have sufficient equity in that home, to defer property taxes until death or sale of home.
SB57 (2022) Bring separation of powers back to county government, removing the District Attorney’s ability to “pre-veto” council resolutions by withholding legal analysis.
SB75 (2022) Cities should not use traffic fines as a primary source of revenue for operations. This bill places a 25% cap on the amount of a municipality’s budget that can come from levying of traffic citations.
SB93 – (2022) Business Tax Amendments – Eliminates double taxation by exempting business personal property tax on items used in the course of doing business on which taxes have already been paid, for example post-it notes or printer ink. This practice is already standard for many businesses.
SB194 (2022) Medical Rationing Amendments – Brings transparency and the proper authority to the State Department of Health and Human Services. It requires that DHHS craft rules for Crisis of Care and Scarce Resource Standards, ensure that process be in full view of the public, and notify the Legislature regarding the rules they’ve adopted. Transparency is vital to good government, whether it be the Legislature, City Council, School Board, or any other government agency. If the State, through DHHS, is going to set policy for Crisis of Care and Scarce Resources, those discussions should absolutely be in full view of the people potentially affected by that policy.
SB197 (2022) Public Education Funding Amendments – Brings transparency and the proper authority to the State Department of Health and Human Services. It requires that DHHS craft rules for Crisis of Care and Scarce Resource Standards, ensure that process be in full view of the public, and notify the Legislature regarding the rules they’ve adopted. Transparency is vital to good government, whether it be the Legislature, City Council, School Board, or any other government agency. If the State, through DHHS, is going to set policy for Crisis of Care and Scarce Resources, those discussions should absolutely be in full view of the people potentially affected by that policy.
SCR7 (2022) Concurrent Resolution Calling on Local Governments to Treat Above-Trend Revenue Growth as One-Time Revenue – Encourages cities and counties to follow the State’s practice of treating an unsustainable spike in revenue as one-time, rather than an ongoing part of the government budget.
SB11 (2023) Retirement Fiscal Note Requirements – Protects taxpayers by ensuring that legislators see the long-term impact in the fiscal estimate for each proposed bill that changes retirement benefits for public employees to more accurately reflect the State’s liability.
SB58* (2023) Background Check Amendments – Would have required police to update expunged criminal records and private background check providers to update their records every 90 days to reflect updates.
SB174 (2023) Local Land Use and Development Revisions – Uses market-based incentives to increase supply of housing in order to help to meet the demand for lower cost housing. This bill addresses one of the issues leading to skyrocketing housing costs by streamlining processes, making them uniform throughout the state, to make them more predictable for property owners that want to develop their property. SB174 protects people’s right as individuals to petition their government through the planning commission, city council or county commission, to influence the decisions about development. It also protects the right of citizens to refer municipal actions to the voters.
SJR4 (2023) Joint Rules Resolution – Fiscal Note Deadlines – A companion to SB11, this requires an actuarial analysis to prepare the fiscal note when legislation affects public retirement benefits to more accurately reflect taxpayer liability.
SCR1 – Concurrent Resolution Supporting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2023) Recognizes the benefits from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that reduced taxes for most Utahns, and encourages the United States Congress to permanently extend the Act.
SB86 (2024) Local Government Bond Amendments – This bill ensures that local governments follow the Constitution when issuing long-term debt over a certain amount, closing a loophole that many have used by creating a separate entity to get around the legal requirement that voters approve long-term debt. This bill was amended to increase the one-time limit but also creates additional transparency and notice requirements to protect voters.
SB168 (2024) House Affordability Amendments – Creates a framework for cities to approve and inspect modular (not mobile) homes. These homes can significantly cut down build time and reduce costs. It also adjusts the first-time homebuyers program to account for variability in housing prices between areas. The House added a provision allowing cities to create zones for smaller lots and single-family homes below a certain price point that are owner-occupied and not rentals. This was a bill developed by the Commission on Housing Affordability which I Chair.
SB245 (2024) County Sales and Use Tax Amendments – Ensures a more appropriate distribution of Salt Lake County’s voter approved ZAP tax, which the Legislature is tasked with allocating, to ensure our Southwest County area receives a more appropriate share of the taxes we pay in.

Be open, accessible, and responsive to you (Each of these bills was initiated on behalf of a constituent or citizen who raised a problem):

SB52 (2017) Balances the interests of landlords and tenants in rental disputes
SB64 (2017) Allows a deferral of a state scholarship program
SB75 (2017) Enhances protections for children’s welfare
SB124 (2017) Updates regulations for child care providers
SB146* (2017) Would have removed “constables” from political interference
SB41 (2018) Will bring back the black and white Utah license plates
SB60 (2018) Allows an occupational license to be placed on hold for military service
SB102* (2018) Would have allowed darker tinting on a car’s windows
SB135 (2018) Limits insurance companies from denying claims without supporting evidence
SB47 (2019) Gives older children more say in their placement when parental rights are terminated
SB100 (2019) Will create digital driver licenses you can carry on your phone
SB106 (2019) Allows schools to bill a students’ insurance company for clinical services provided atschool
SB182 (2019) Protects dog owners against claims of injury by trespassers
SB75 (2021) Community Association Fund Amendments – Would allow HOAs to use restricted savings accounts during a declared emergency
SB46 (2023) State Holiday Modifications – Recognizes Diwali as a state recognized “commemorative day.”
SB85 (2023) License Plate Requirement Amendments – Eliminate tinted license plate covers and bring back the white-on-black license plate.
SB131 (2023) Motor Vehicle Insurance Amendments – Increases the minimum motor vehicle insurance coverage limit from $15,000 to $50,000 for property damage in an accident; and from $80,000 to $100,000 in any one accident whether arising from bodily injury or death of others, or from property damage. – Rep. Marsha Judkins in the House was running a similar bill so I dropped this one and floor sponsored HB113, which passed.
SCR2 (2023) Concurrent Resolution Regarding the Environmental Impact of Vehicle Idling – Provides data on fuel expended idling compared with restarting an engine; encourages Utahns to turn off their engines, especially in areas where sensitive populations congregate; and encourages certain businesses, organizations, and entities to place signs educating drivers on the fuel savings of restarting an engine instead of idling – purely voluntary
SB22 (2023) State Employee Benefits Amendments – Will remove politics from the policy-setting of state employee benefits.

* Did not pass