better utah | Alliance for a Better Utah

Press Release: Senate GOP Votes in Direct Contradiction to the Will of the People to Pass Medicaid Expansion Repeal Bill

Katie Matheson February 4, 2019

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 4, 2019 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Senate passed SB 96, “Medicaid expansion adjustments,” almost entirely along party lines. Chase Thomas, executive director of Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement. “Today’s Senate vote to pass the Medicaid expansion repeal bill is an affront to the

Sesión legislativa 2019: expansión de Medicaid

Better Utah January 29, 2019

Este vídeo apareció originalmente en Telemundo Utah. Mira el clip completo aquí. This article originally appeared in Telemundo Utah. Watch the full clip here. Esto es lo que usted debe saber sobre el tema del Medicaid durante la sesión legislativa 2019. Watch the full clip to hear Lauren Simpson explain what changes Utahans should be watching for in regards to Medicaid expansion

Who funds Utah legislators’ campaigns? Special interests provide 82% of money, while voters in lawmakers’ own districts gave only 6%

Better Utah January 27, 2019

This article originally appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. Incoming Utah legislators collected only 6 percent of their campaign donations during the 2018 election year from voters who actually live in their districts. The lion’s share of contributions — 82.4 percent — came from special-interest groups or out-of-state donors. Another 3.6 percent came from candidates’ own pockets or close relatives,

Commentary: Utah’s congressional delegation should put first things first

Better Utah January 23, 2019

This originally appeared as an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune. Much of the commentary surrounding the federal shutdown in Utah has been unfailingly bipartisan, perhaps in an attempt to show our federal delegation what coming together looks like. Republicans and Democrats alike have decried federal workers going without pay, insisting that both sides are to blame and that

Utah Lawmakers Aim to Derail Voter-Backed Medicaid Plan

Better Utah January 23, 2019

This article originally appeared in Public News Service. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY – Utah voters approved a ballot measure last year to enact full Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, bringing health care to 100,000 lower-income residents. But that isn’t the last word. A bloc of conservative state lawmakers, saying there isn’t enough money to pay for the expansion, are looking to “repeal and

Utah lawmakers running bills to tweak how ballot initiatives get before voters (and after)

Better Utah January 21, 2019

This article originally appeared in Fox 13 Salt Lake City. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — A series of bills are being filed in the Utah State Legislature, tweaking how ballot initiatives get before voters and what happens after they pass. Lawmakers insist they are not tampering with citizen rights to get a referendum, but one watchdog group questioned if it was “death by a thousand

Utah lawmaker proposes one of nation’s strictest abortion laws

Better Utah January 20, 2019

This article originally appeared in the Deseret News. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah lawmaker is proposing what would be one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the country. Rep. Cheryl Acton, R-West Jordan, has filed a bill to ban abortions in the state after 15 weeks gestation, with some exceptions. Acton said she decided to run the bill after learning

A Utah lawmaker wants to ban abortions after 15 weeks. If her bill passes, it would be among the most restrictive laws in the nation.

Better Utah January 18, 2019

This article originally appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune. Read it in its entirety here. A Utah representative has introduced a bill that would ban most abortions after 15 weeks of gestation, a law that would be among the most restrictive in the nation. The state’s existing law allows abortions up until a fetus is viable outside the womb, or well into the second trimester. By that point, Rep. Cheryl Acton

A tale of 2 Utahs: Group hopes lawmakers take steps to tackle urban, rural divide

Better Utah January 17, 2019

This article originally appeared in The Deseret News. Read it in its entirety here. SALT LAKE CITY — The Wasatch Front economy is booming, and Utah as a whole enjoys one of the lowest jobless rates in the nation. That is one snapshot of the state. The other view, that of rural Utah, is a starkly different profile with some counties experiencing a stagnant economy, high poverty rates

San Juan County clerk who falsified a document to oust Navajo Willie Grayeyes from ballot won’t face charges