Tag: Lauren Simpson

Supreme Court deals blow to freedom to vote

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 1, 2021 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the United States Supreme Court dealt another blow to the freedom to vote in Brnovich v DNC by upholding Arizona’s discriminatory voting laws and weakening Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act to make future challenges against anti-voter laws even more difficult.

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Utah’s conflict of interest problem

With the Legislative session now a month behind us, it’s a good time to reflect not just on what happened, but what we want the Legislature to look like in the future.  Utah has long resisted implementing meaningful ethical standards for public officials. As a matter of fact, a few years ago lawmakers decided to

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Better Utah responds to bill making signature-gathering for ballot initiatives harder

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 4, 2021 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, Utah’s Senate voted 22-7 to pass HB136 from Representative Teuscher, the bill which would make signature-gathering for ballot initiatives harder. The bill is backed by the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Florida-based conservative advocacy group that opposes Medicaid expansion. Lauren Simpson, policy director

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Better Utah responds to Endgame bill

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 3, 2021 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, Utah’s House of Representatives voted 51-20 to pass HB294, the pandemic “Endgame” bill from Representative Paul Ray. The bill would establish an “end date” to the pandemic based on arbitrary data.  Lauren Simpson, policy director for Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the

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Better Utah responds to reduced debate time in Utah House

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2021 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, with three weeks left of the session and some big bills still in the queue to be debated, the Utah House unanimously passed a motion which would limit floor debate time from ten minutes to five minutes.  Lauren Simpson, policy director of Alliance

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Better Utah responds to HCR 11

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2021 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the Utah House passed a second substitute to Rep. Joel Briscoe’s HCR11, Concurrent Resolution Recognizing Utah’s Clerks and Election Workers for Their Performance Related to Utah’s 2020 Election. The bill was substituted on the House floor, removing language recognizing the success of vote

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Press Release: Better Utah responds to HB197

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 5, 2021 Salt Lake City, UT – Today, the House Government Operations committee voted 7-3 to advance HB197, Voter Affiliation Amendments, (Representative Jordan Teuscher, R). The bill will continue on to the full House.  Lauren Simpson, policy director for Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement:  “When Utahns affiliate

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The secret to standing up to a conservative supermajority is on display in… Utah?

This article originally appeared in Mother Jones. Read it in its entirety here. At 4 o’clock on a Thursday afternoon, the lobby of Dragonfly Wellness is almost completely full. Clients perch expectantly on the lobby sofas, waiting to be buzzed through the locked door marked PATIENTS ONLY. This might not be an unusual scene elsewhere—medical marijuana is legal in more than 30 states—but this happens to

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Serving the one and serving the many

A few years ago on my way home from work, I came upon an older woman balancing a bag of groceries on her walker as she headed for her apartment. I quickly offered a hand and she and I went up the steps together as I carried her groceries. As I walked away, I felt

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Press Release: Senator Ipson comments about police violence are obscene

PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 20, 2020 Salt Lake City, UT – During a discussion on police K9 certifications during a Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee meeting earlier today, Senator Don Ipson made controversial comments about complaints about use of police dogs. Sen. Ipson voted to explore the issue in a future bill, but

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