Governor Signs 82 Bills, Education Funding, Criminal Justice Reforms

Governor Signs 82 Bills, Education Funding, Criminal Justice Reforms

SALT LAKE CITY, March 31, 2015, Gephardt Daily – Gov. Gary R. Herbert signed 82 bills today, bringing the total number of bills the governor has taken action on to 479. In total, 528 bills were passed during the 2015 General Legislative Session of which 495 required action by the governor. The bill signing period officially concludes tomorrow.
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The list of bills signed today includes HB2, Public Education Budget Amendments. The bill appropriates funds for a four percent increase in the Weighted Pupil Unit and enrollment growth. In total, with the anticipated revenues from SB97, education funding increased by more than the $503 million amount the governor called for at the beginning of the session. Over the past four years, the state has invested more than $1.3 billion dollars of new money into education.

“Education has always been and will continue to be my top budget priority,” said Gov. Herbert. “Our young population is one of our biggest competitive advantages but we need an educated workforce to remain among the top performing economies in the nation. As our economy grows, I will continue to push for greater funding for education and for greater local control.”

The governor also signed HB348, Criminal Justice Programs and Amendments, aimed at reducing recidivism and improving treatment for non-violent offenders. The bill was passed as a result of the governor calling for a comprehensive review of the state’s criminal justice system in the 2014 State of the State address.

“We called on the foremost experts on public safety to create a new roadmap for our criminal justice system,” said Gov. Herbert. “Utahns understand our prison gates must be a permanent exit from the system, not just a revolving door. Just like every other area of government, we need to ensure we are getting the best possible results for each taxpayer dollar. We have taken significant steps to rebuild lives with a smarter, more efficient criminal justice system while enhancing public safety.”

Historically, Utah has maintained a modest incarceration rate while the crime rate has steadily declined. However, in the last decade, the state’s prison population has grown 22 percent. The state projected that without reform, the prison population would have grown by another 37 percent over the next two decades, requiring 2,700 new prison beds. This package of reforms is expected to eliminate 95 percent of that projected growth. Currently, the state’s recidivism rate, measured by the share of offenders returning to prison within three years of being released, is 46 percent.