From Jan. 18 to March 4, 2022, the Utah State Legislature will be meeting for the 2022 General Session.

In the United States, every state is free to decide how they would like to set up their legislature. In Utah, that comes in the form of a House with 75 members and a Senate with 29 members who meet annually for 45 days, beginning on the fourth Monday in January.

During this 45-day period, state legislators introduce, debate and vote bills into law, after which they are sent to the governor to be signed or vetoed. This is conducted in an open session, meaning citizens are able to attend committee meetings and floor sessions to listen and make comments.

U Representatives and Their Plans

The University of Utah locations falls under House District 24, represented by Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost, and Senate District 2, represented by Sen. Derek L. Kitchen.

Kitchen graduated from the U in 2013 with a degree in political science. He was elected to his position as state senator for District 2 in 2018. Before that, he served as a member of the Sale Lake City Council, representing downtown and the U.

In addition to his work as a legislator, Kitchen is also a small business owner, operating the Mediterranean restaurant Laziz Kitchen.

Kitchen says that his number one goal in the Utah Senate is to help increase affordable housing, an issue he says is relevant to many students at the U. 

“At the end of the day, we all need a safe, secure place to call home … we shouldn’t be spending more than about 30 or 33% of our income on housing,” Kitchen said. “Student Housing goes really quickly once it’s put on the market. And so that will always be an issue especially as the university and the city of Salt Lake continues to grow.” 

In terms of issues relevant to students at the U, Kitchen is also concerned about sexual assault and the affordability of higher education. 

Kitchen maintains close communication with the U and has provided mentoring and shadowing opportunities for ASUU presidents, including current president Jess Wojciechowski. 

Two of the bills Kitchen is sponsoring in the 2022 General Session include S.B. 117: the Utah AntiDiscrimination Act Amendments and S.B. 112: Pretrial Restorative Justice Amendments.

S.B. 117 is a bill that protects race-based hairstyles. Kitchen says it was born out of a suggestion from a constituent, which he highlights as an example of the power of engaging with local legislators. 

“A resident that I represent came to me and said, ‘All right, Sen. Kitchen, I want you to work on this policy, what do you think?’” Kitchen said. “The bill itself is designed to ensure that if you’re a Black person with an afro or locks, or braids … you cannot be fired from your job simply wearing your hair naturally … this is a really important bill if we want to create a safe and welcoming place for the diversity that exists in the state of Utah.” 

S.B. 112 is a bill that aims to provide a pathway for young people in the criminal justice system who have committed mid to low level crimes to leave through alternatives to jail time, such as community service or therapy.

“Obviously, we don’t want people to commit crimes, but we also don’t want to send people to jail if we don’t need to,” Kitchen said. “If we want to move forward in a criminal justice system that actually heals people and creates a broader sense of community safety, we’ve got to start rethinking the way that we approach justice, especially among young people.” 

Dailey-Provost was also originally elected to her position in 2018. Previously, she had worked on Capitol Hill as a public health policy advocate. In addition to being a legislator, she is currently a Ph.D. student at the U, pursuing a doctorate in public health, as well as a public health graduate research assistant.

Dailey-Provost’s public health background heavily influences the legislation she has introduced. 

“I definitely like to take my love of public health issues and apply them in the policy space,” Dailey-Provost said.

Currently, the District 24 that Dailey-Provost represents includes only parts of the U, reaching as far east as the health sciences part of campus and the honors dorms. When redistricting takes effect in January of 2023, she will come to represent the new District 22, which will include the entirety of the U. 

“I like to brag that the honors dorms are my constituents … in a couple years, assuming that I will run for reelection and [serve another term], I’ll get all the dorms on campus,” she said. 

Dailey-Provost says she is regularly in contact with passionate U students about legislation. 

“I hear from University of Utah students on a regular basis several times a week, who care really deeply about specific policy issues … the opioid crisis, homelessness, access to health care, gender equality, LGBTQIA+ rights, disability rights, air quality,” Dailey-Provost said. “It’s just an honor to be able to represent people who care so deeply about the same things that inspired me to serve.” 

Dailey-Provost credits her contact with students at the U for some of her policy ideas. One example is H.B. 102, Contraception for Inmates, a bill which she first sponsored in the 2021 General Session. The bill addresses the issue of inmates not being allowed to continue using contraceptives when they go to jail because it is deemed unnecessary.

“I learned about the problem with that from a graduate student that I was in school with, who took a class from Dr. Kyle Myers, who did her dissertation [on this issue] and later became faculty at the University of Utah … so I basically ran legislation based on Dr. Myers’ dissertation work,” Dailey-Provost said. 

In this legislative session, Dailey-Provost is sponsoring a number of bills, mostly centered on her expertise in public health. Some of these high-impact bills include H.B. 223: Diabetes Supplies Amendments, H.B. 212: Health Care Coverage Amendments and H.B. 74: End of Life Prescription Amendments. 

H.B. 223 would cap the price for certain diabetic supplies, including blood glucose monitors and insulin pumps. Dailey-Provost says the inspiration for the bill came from her constituents with diabetes, and emphasizes the important role which constituent advocacy plays in all of the bills she sponsors. 

“Almost every bill file I’ve ever opened was inspired by an idea that someone brought to me and I think thats it’s really important to demonstrate just how critical engaging in the process is,” Dailey-Provost said. “I’m grateful when diabetic patients came to me and said, ‘Look, we’ve got continuous blood glucose monitors, and we’ve got insulin pumps … they improve the quality of life for people living with diabetes exponentially. But they’re incredibly expensive.”

H.B. 212 is a bill that would protect people with disabilities from losing coverage through Medicaid by giving them an option to purchase its services if they no longer qualify based on income. Dailey-Provost says it is part of her broader goal to secure Medicaid as an affordable healthcare plan open for anybody to purchase. 

H.B. 74 would give people suffering from terminal diseases the option to obtain a prescription to end their life. Dailey-Provost says she inherited the bill from the prior representative who filled her position. 

“It’s a policy that I always supported anyway, having watched a loved one die a very long, painful death from metastatic cancer,” Dailey-Provost said. “I felt very compelled to continue to carry that torch.” 

On the personal and big-picture level, Dailey-Provost says her goal in her position as representative in the state legislature is to leave the world a better place for her daughters to live in and act as a role model for them. 

“The biggest goal I can give you for running for office at all is to make the world a better place. I have three daughters, and I’m really not okay with the state of the world,” Dailey-Provost said. “I also want them to see their mom succeeding in places that have been traditionally hard for women to succeed.” 

She wants to inspire other women to run for office as well. 

“I’m doing every possible thing I can to encourage other women to aspire to run for office someday … I would really, really love to see my successor when I retire from this seat be a woman of color,” Dailey-Provost said. “Engaging people to aspire to do this crazy job is always front of mind for me as well.” 

How to Get Involved 

Anyone can find their representatives no matter where they live on the Utah State Legislature website, as well as track bills they are interested in. All state House districts and half of all state Senate districts are up for election every two years.

People can also register to vote online. This option works for those whose Utah driver’s license or State ID Card matches the address they are registering with.

Those who don’t want to update their driver’s license to match the address they are registering with can fill out the following form and send it by mail or email it to the address [email protected].

It is also an option for students to maintain registration from their parent’s home and vote absentee from their parent’s home or their home state.

For those who want to vote in Salt Lake County, which may apply to many out-of-state students who would like to participate in Utah elections, they can register as long as they have been Utah residents 30 days prior to the election.

Sherrie Swanson, Salt Lake county clerk, clarified the requirements for out of state students via an email interview. 

“They may register online (if they have a Utah Driver License or State ID Card with an address that matches the address they are using to register with), or they can register with the paper registration form.  The paper form requires either a Utah Driver license, State ID Card number or the last 4 digits of their social security number, but not both,” Swanson said. 

All registered voters automatically receive mail-in ballots 21 days prior to election days. Party affiliation only affects who receives a ballot during primaries, and does not affect general elections. Swanson says that students can choose a mailing address which works best for them.

“A voter must list a physical address on their voter registration form so we can assign a voting precinct, but they can also include a mailing address, such as a PO box, where their ballot can be sent. Sometimes this is a better option for students to receive their ballots,” Swanson said. 

Election dates for 2022 can be found online. Other relevant resources for students who have questions about registering to vote can be found at the HRE website, the ASUU Virtual Participation Guide, the county clerk’s website or by emailing questions to ​​[email protected]. The County Clerk’s website also provides resources for voters who would like to learn about candidates.

[email protected]

@a_khatri_news