Dear Business Community,
This week and next represent the culmination of the Salt Lake Chamber’s year-round public policy and government relations efforts. We appreciate your engagement in the process—whether through generating ideas on one of our policy committees or boards, contacting your legislators, testifying on the Hill or staying informed about issues pertinent to your company—the collective voice of the business community is strong on Capitol Hill.
Of all the bills discussed and debated this week, we want to highlight two critical pieces of legislation that will impact our state’s future and ask for your help in securing their final passage:
- S.B. 136 Transportation Governance Amendments: Investment in multi-modal transportation is directly tied to economic development. S.B. 136 is a comprehensive transportation bill which increases funding flexibility in the Transportation Investment Fund to include transit projects by incorporating greater state oversight of the Utah Transit Authority as a way to enhance accountability and transparency. The bill also authorizes UDOT to consider land use and economic development in its project prioritization criteria and modifies motor vehicle registration fees. The passage of this bill ensures that Utah’s transportation system has the governance and funding structure necessary to support our population growth and future needs. S.B. 136 passed narrowly in the Senate and has been sent to the House for debate.
- H.B. 278 Paid Family and Medical Leave Amendments: Families are important actors in our economy. We want all employees to be able to work, provide care for their families, and contribute to our economic growth while balancing and preserving our state’s business climate. This bill would create a non-mandated tax credit for businesses that offer paid family and medical leave to employees. H.B. 278 will help the majority of Utah families by providing an opportunity for workers to have continued employment and income when they need to take limited time off to attend to specific family or health-related responsibilities and ensures employers can support families while still growing the economy. This bill narrowly passed in the house this morning and will now be sent to the Senate for further debate.
Please
contact your legislators
and ask them to support S.B. 136 (in the House) and H.B. 278 (in the Senate). You can find out more information regarding these and our other priority votes below.
As the session comes to a close, your voices are more important than ever. We urge your continued engagement in these final days and encourage you to check the Chamber’s website and social media channels for updates.
Best,
The Salt Lake Chamber Policy Team
