×
×
homepage logo
SUBSCRIBE

Tales From Utah Valley: Legislature will soon be in session – get ready

By Laura Giles - Special to the Daily Herald | Jan 18, 2025

Jeremy Hall

Laura Giles

The Utah State Legislature will soon be in session. The general session will run from Tuesday through March 7. This is a time of year that many people look forward to and many dread. Whichever way you feel about it, it’s our government in action, and the decisions made will affect all of us Utahns.

Bills will be filed, meetings will happen, debates will occur, decisions will be made, laws will be passed. Becoming educated about and getting involved in the legislative happenings is important and rewarding.

Important issues that directly impact citizens of the state are always part of the yearly session. Some of these include education, health care, wages, public safety, law enforcement and transportation. Many of the issues directly impact the children of the state. We should all take an active interest.

On the Legislature’s website, le.ut.gov, information and ways to get involved can be found. The calendar shows the Legislature’s schedule, including times when committees and subcommittees will be meeting. There are also instructions for watching a legislative meeting online and there are even livestreams available for viewing.

Wondering about new bills, the status of each and who is sponsoring them? That information is also available on the website. Not only is it interesting to read about the various bills, it’s important to know what could possibly happen in our state.

This is the part that scares some people. After all, many decisions made during legislative sessions make a large impact on people’s lives. Decisions, such as those about education, can be either good or bad for the people of Utah.

The “Get Involved” section of the site’s Legislative Guide provides great information about understanding the legislative process, how to find out which legislators represent you, how to contact your legislators, how to encourage family and friends to become more involved, and what to do if you are unable to reach your legislator. “Be persistent! Remember that your senator represents approximately 70,000 citizens and your representative represents approximately 40,000 people,” it states.

It is important to reach out to our legislators to let them know how we feel about the issues. They have been elected, after all, to be a voice for those who voted for them.

A big question that often comes to mind is whether or not our legislators are doing the job that we elected them to do. Here are some questions to ask ourselves: Does my legislator listen to and communicate with constituents? Does my legislator vote how his/her constituents would vote? Does my legislator sponsor and support bills that are important to the community and will have a positive impact? Or, does my legislator focus on “fluffy” issues that are unimportant to the community? Does my legislator respond to my inquiries and concerns?

Laura Giles is a longtime contributor to the Daily Herald and a Utah Valley community member.