Susan Speirs
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 we assembled a core group of legislators and stakeholders around the state and the nation, to teach legislators about the perils of Utah dependence on unsustainable federal debt and spending. Working together, we passed a slate of bills that became known as Financial Ready Utah to prepare our 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 our lead in such financial preparations.
Ryan Rassmussen
“Ryan Rassmussen was a sheriff #39, deputy who lives in our District 39. He shared with me that victims in Domestic violence often put immediately back in the 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 me and together we crafted the legislation that would provide immediate protective orders for victims of domestic violence. We 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!”
Ryan Rassmussen
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, bring the horse down and often inuring and maiming the animal. The Bradys came to me as their representative wondering what could be done. Together, we 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.