When constituent Eric Moutsos shared his story about being denied a promotion for refusing to comply with arrest and citation quotas, I agreed to consider legislation. After word got out, dozens of other officers came forward and shared their stories. Punishing or rewarding police on the basis of quotas can result in violations of civil rights and erode the relationships between police forces and communities. Watch a short video of the floor debate.
After a few years trying, I was finally able to get Utah auto dealers and Tesla to agree to a compromise that lets Tesla sell their new cars directly to consumers. The caveat is that should they ever franchise, they will fall under franchise regulations. This is important for economic development and efforts to improve air quality. Watch the KUTV story here.
I partnered with Senator Dabakis to pass a resolution emphasizing the importance of civil liberties on our public college campuses. It was noted that I am as Republican as they come, and he is as Democratic as they come, but fundamental civil liberties, such as free speech, are a non-partisan value and the essence of our American free society. Read more here.
I was successful in changing a long-held exemption for Higher Education institutions from the public and open process called "administrative rule-making." The significance of this is that only our prisons, state mental health institutions and higher education have this exemption and are allowed to simply pass policies. Administrative rules have the force of law and all of the inherent protections of administrative law. Policies do not. My bill will now require higher education institutions to undergo the rigorous and transparent rule-making process in cases that involve civil liberties. This is huge as most of our public institutions have policies that violate student civil liberties. Read more here.
I co-sponsored and advocated for a bill requiring women with dense breast tissue to be notified that there is a significant chance their mammogram missed signs of cancer and that they may want to consider an additional test. Women, like me, with dense breast tissue have a 4-6 times higher chance of cancer and a much higher chance of not detecting it with a mammo alone. Watch this 1 minute video of debate on the floor.