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Legislative Session Week 3 Updates
YWCA Utah hosted a legislative break in the House and Senate. We also joined prominent family foundations, community organizations, child care providers, and individuals in signing an open letter urging Utah leaders to take action on child care. Read on for more information, get updated on bills we support and oppose, upcoming advocacy days, and for pictures from our Color Collective writing series.
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YWCA Utah Hosts Legislative Break
The legislature allows organizations to host a legislative break during floor time to provide issue education and snacks. This year, we shared delicious tamales and spoke with over 40 legislators about the safety, sanctuary, and trauma-informed care we provide for people escaping family violence through direct shelter, transitional housing, and walk-in services at our Salt Lake Area Family Justice Center. Learn more here.
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Liz Owens, YWCA Utah CEO and Rep. Robert Spendlove (R) D-42, Executive Appropriations Vice-Chair. | |
Rep. Ashlee Matthews (D) D-37 & Mindy Maude, YWCA Utah VP of Domestic Violence & Residential Services in the House Break Room. | |
Shireen Ghorbani, YWCA Utah Chair-elect & Shawna Cuan, Board Chair, represent YWCA Utah in the Senate Break Room. | |
OPEN LETTER: INVEST IN CHILD CARE NOW | |
YWCA Utah, along with prominent family foundations, community organizations, child care providers, and individuals, signed an open letter issued by Neighborhood House and Voices for Utah Children urging Utah leaders to take action on child care.
"We are calling on the Utah Legislature to invest more dollars into the childcare industry. With cross sector collaboration between business, the philanthropic community, and government entities, we can address this crisis and become a model for the nation."
Click on the button to read the full letter and to add your name or organization to the list.
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Bills & Policies We Support | |
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Sponsor: Rep. Ashlee Matthews (D). This bill makes certain child care professionals eligible for child care subsidies and creates the Child Care Worker Wage Supplement Grant Program.
YWCA Utah strongly supports this bill because increasing wages for child care and early education professionals and increasing child care funding and subsidies are our tier one and tier two priorities.
Status: Awaiting introduction in the House Floor.
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Sponsor: Sen. Luz Escamilla (D). This bill would convert empty space in state office buildings for private providers to run child care centers.
YWCA Utah supports this bill because it is an innovative approach to a public-private partnership that seeks to address the child care crisis and increases funding and access to child care, which is our tier two priority. Read more about it here.
Status: Introduced in the Senate and sent to Senate Rules Committee awaiting committee assignment.
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$1.7M Funding Request for YWCA Utah Campus Safety & Security | Rep. Jen Dailey-Provost is sponsoring at $1.7M one-time appropriations request to implement critical upgrades to the safety and security infrastructure at YWCA Utah. We presented the request to the Executive Offices and Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee (EOCJ).The Executive Appropriations Committee (EAC) makes all final funding decisions toward the end of the legislative session. Stay tuned for action alerts related to this request. | | | |
Bills & Policies We Oppose | |
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Sponsors: Rep. Birkeland (R), Sen. McCay (R). This bill narrowly defines sex and prohibits transgender children and adults from using restrooms, showers, or locker rooms in schools and in public facilities that reflect their gender identity unless they have undergone gender reassignment surgery and have a birth certificate showing the corresponding sex. Potential criminal penalties include lewdness, loitering, and criminal trespass.
YWCA Utah and partners successfully lobbied to remove domestic violence shelters, rape recovery centers, and victim services from the second substitute of the bill.
While we consider that a small win, we would have rather the bill died because of the negative impact, increased potential for profiling, targeting, and violence against transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals.
Thank you to all who answered the call to action.
Status: Governor Cox signed it into law on January 30, 2024. Enforcement provisions will go into effect on May 1, 2024. The law will likely meet legal challenges as ACLU Utah cites serious constitutional issues and plans to sue the state. Read more here.
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YWCA Utah proudly stands with the transgender community and we welcome all transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming individuals who seek our services.
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Sponsors: Rep. Hall (R), Sen. Grover (R). This bill bans diversity, equity, and inclusion offices and training in higher education, the public education system, and government offices.
Status: Gov. Cox signed it into law on Jan. 30, 2024. It goes into effect on July 1, 2024.
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UDVC ADVOCACY DAY ON THE HILL | February 5, 2024 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. Registration is closed. Check out the 2024 UDVC Policy Priorities here. | | | |
Cydney Caradonna, Color Collective facilitator, and Evelyn Cervantes, YWCA Utah Director of Transformation and Belonging | |
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We had a great turnout for the first session of the Color Collective series.
The second session, First Peoples - Where We Come From, is on February 10, 2024. Find out more and register here.
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Get involved!
- Share action alerts with your network
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Join us on Friday, March 22, 2024 from 5-7 pm for our annual Legislative Recap where we recognize a Public Official of the Year and hear from legislators and community members and the inspiring advocacy work they do. More information to come! | |
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Follow Us On Twitter
Follow @ywcautah and Director of Public Policy, Gabriella Archuleta, on Twitter @_Gabe_Archuleta for LIVE updates during the legislative session.
Instagram @utahsy
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YWCA Utah | ywcautah.org | Business Line: 801-537-8604 | Crisis Line: 801-537-8600 | TTY 711
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