Empowering Victims of Child Sexual Abuse
The person behind this bill is one of the bravest people Ken has ever met. It is well known that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be a victim of child sexual abuse by the time they turn 18 years of age. She was one of these victimized children. The damage caused to survivors (and their families) lasts a lifetime. A Utah study estimates the economic impact alone of sexual abuse exceeds $4 billion a year within our State. For decades, to recover such damages from the abuser, Utah law required a sexually abused child to bring their claim in court within one year, and later within four years, of turning age 18. A host of studies confirm that sexually abused children, who are usually conditioned not to tell on threats of harm to them or their loved ones, on average take until age 42 to overcome the fear and shame to bring damage claims against their abuser. Despite the unspeakable grief and pain of relating her experience in public legislative committees, she shared her story so that no other child would ever experience the nightmare forced upon her. Together with a throng of survivors and supporters, Ken and she presented these stories and consequences to legislative committees and throughout the state and passed HB287, which eliminated the statute of limitations for sexual abuse of children. Thanks to her, and so many other courageous survivors, someone who sexually abuses a child in Utah can never hide behind the passage of time to be held accountable for the damage they cause.
Restraining Federal Overreach
Jen Brown knows it is the structural balance of governing powers in our constitutional system that secures our rights. Seeing state and local matters increasingly taken over by Washington, DC - under both parties - Jen stepped up and rallied friends & neighbors to do something about it. She and her groups came to Ken, and together they crafted and passed HB209, Federalism Amendments. This bill creates a federalism database produced by an apolitical, nonpartisan university to track all federal action that appears to intrude upon state and local powers. State committees then recommend state powers and actions to restore and maintain the balance between the federal government and states. This federalism tracker is being used as a model for state collaboration around the nation. When issues are addressed the closest, your governing voice is the largest and most impactful!
Protecting Schoolchildren from Abuse
Amy Coombs is an advocate for victims of crime and a survivor of violence and sexual abuse. After hearing far too many experiences of children being sexually abused at school, Amy helped Ken create legislation that requires detailed training and best practices and policies in all Utah schools to reduce the likelihood (and hopefully prevent) child sexual abuse at school. Together, they researched laws around the nation and collaborated with victim support groups, teachers, administrators, law enforcement, and government agencies to refine and pass HB75. In light of recent, high-profile child sexual abuse at schools, Ken is working this year with prosecutors, school officials, victim support groups, and colleagues on a bill to close loopholes and further strengthen protections for children in our schools.
Prohibiting Pornographic Material in Schools.
Parents and leaders in Ken’s district and around the state were concerned that the materials available to their children at school were not appropriate. After reviewing these materials with them, it was clear that many were not only indecent, some met the definition of pornographic under existing Utah law. Together with these parents and leaders, Ken drafted and refined the language of HB374 Sensitive Materials in Schools and worked with legislators in the House and Senate and education leaders and organizations around the state to pass this bill, which received bipartisan support in both chambers. Since passing this bill, the Attorney General issued his guidance memo, and the state school board & school districts around the state are updating their sensitive materials policies to protect Utah school children from indecent and pornographic materials, which the Legislature previously classified as a public health crisis.
Halting Animal Cruelty
Constituents Heather & Taylor Brady love horses. They discovered that the brutal practice of horse tripping for sport had entered our state. Horse tripping takes out the front legs of a horse at a run, bringing the horse down and often injuring and maiming the animal. The Bradys came to Ken as their representative, wondering what could be done. Together, they researched and outlined the legislation, began teaching legislators about the problem and the proposed solution, and collaborated with a number of animal support, ranching, and rodeo groups. The result was that the Bradys – with their representative to navigate the process and bring all sides together and rally House and Senate members – passed HB261 with a unanimous vote in both chambers to put an end to this cruel “sport” in Utah.
Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence
Ryan Rassmussen was a sheriff's deputy who lives in District 39. He shared with Ken that victims of Domestic violence are often put immediately back in dangerous situations that called for police intervention, resulting in further threats, violence, and even death to these victims. Ryan wanted to do something to make this stop. He came to Ken, and together they crafted the legislation that would provide immediate protective orders for victims of domestic violence. They brought law enforcement and victims advocacy groups to the table, educated legislative colleagues in the House and Senate, and passed HB57 on a unanimous vote in both chambers. Ryan saw a problem and made all the difference!
Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself
Gary Welch was deeply concerned about his daughter. She had just escaped an abusive relationship and was staying with her father for protection and support. However, Gary had suffered a financial downturn in 2008-2009 and filed for bankruptcy to get a fresh start. Under Utah law, at that time, creditors could take away any firearm or ammunition valued at over $250. Consequently, Gary lost his firearms and his ability to protect his home and his daughter from a violent ex-boyfriend. Ken went to work researching bankruptcy laws and state exemption laws. Exemptions for firearms were all over the map, and most had not been reviewed for decades. Working with Gary, Ken brought several Second Amendment organizations, victims, law enforcement, attorney groups, and a host of concerned Utahns together and shared Gary’s story and their proposed solution with my colleagues. Once passed, HB 298 became the best firearms exemption law in the nation. Because Gary stepped up, Utahns today will not lose their rights under the Utah and U.S. Constitutions to defend themselves and their family should they happen to encounter financial misfortune.
Defending Small Business
Gary Leaney is a hard-working small businessman who lives in District 39. He thought it was arbitrary and unfair that, under Utah law, when a customer bounced a check to him, the banks could charge him $25 for each bounced check, but he, as the business owner, could only charge the person who bounced the check to him in the first place $15. This seemingly small matter affected businesses all over the state, costing them tens of thousands of dollars each year.
Saving Utah’s AAA Bond Rating
Susan Speirs is the president of the Utah Association of CPAs ( Certified Public Accountants). She, and the accountants she represents, became very concerned about the impact on essential government services in Utah and the drag on our Utah economy of runaway national debt & inflation fueling federal spending. Susan rallied her members, and together she and Ken assembled a core group of legislators and stakeholders around the state and the nation, to teach legislators about the perils of Utah's dependence on unsustainable federal debt and spending. Working together, they passed a slate of bills that became known as Financial Ready Utah to prepare the state against financial earthquakes. Every state agency, and every local government, is required to plan for how they will provide essential government services in the event federal funds (which comprise as much as 35% of Utah’s budget) are diminished. These bills helped save Utah’s AAA credit rating when the federal government shutdowns happened. As a result, states around the nation continue to follow Utah’s lead in such financial preparations.
Trauma-Informed Victim Protection
The constituents behind this bill have lived through a tragic history of traumatizing violence and abuse. Sadly, they found that Utah's criminal justice system often re-traumatizes victims of heinous crimes in the way they address the rights and needs of victims of crime. For them, and anyone else who might ever be in a similar situation, they wanted this to change. They mustered up their courage and, together with Ken, collaborated with victim support groups and amazing community-based domestic violence shelters, educated members of the House and Senate, presented the problem along with the proposed solution in House and Senate committees, and passed HB177. This bill instituted a Trauma-Informed Criminal Justice review and reforms statewide. Ken continues to work to empower and advance victim rights recognized in the Utah Constitution and adequate and effective victim services throughout all state and local governments.
Unanimous, Bipartisan Effort to Increase Education Funding
School community councils do amazing things to address the unique challenges their schools and their children face with the funds administered directly by these councils. If they had more funds, they could do even more incredible and unique things for their schools. However, Utah is more than $2 billion below average per-pupil funding for education, primarily because we have only 20% taxable land in our state. Realizing this huge funding gap can’t be addressed without resolving the vast disparity in taxable land, School community council members, School and County Officials, and many others keyed into this predicament, and we passed HB 357 and HCR 19. Every Republican AND every Democrat voted for this bill to hold the federal government to its promise to pay the fair taxable value to fund Utah schools and essential services. As the federal government has refused to pay their fair share, as promised, for federal-controlled lands, this year, the legislature and Attorney General have prioritized legal action to compel the federal government to honor its promise to our children and to our state.