Common Ground Bills to be Heard This Week

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On Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 2:00 p.m. the House Business and Labor Standing Committee will hear testimony on HB 267 Antidiscrimination Act Amendments. This bill by openly lesbian Rep. Christine Johnson, D-Salt Lake City, seeks to make it illegal for employers and landlords to fire or evict someone based on his or her sexual orientation or gender identity. At press time, the hearing is scheduled to take place in room 450 in the State Capitol main building.

At the same time, the House Health and Human Services Standing Committee will hear testimony on HB 288. Sponsored by Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, this bill would make it legal for gay and lesbian couples to adopt children. At press time, this hearing is scheduled to take place in room 30 in the House Building.

On Wednesday, Feb. 18 the House Judiciary Standing Committee will hear testimony on HB 160. This bill by Rep. Jennifer Seelig, D-Salt Lake City, would allow committed couples with proof of commingled assets and liabilities to apply for a Declaration of Joint Support, which would grant them inheritance rights and the right to make health decisions for a partner if she or he is unable to do so. Testimony is scheduled to take place at 9:15 a.m. in room 20 of the House Building.

The public is invited to attend these hearings.

To contact the representatives on these committees and urge them to vote in favor of these bills, refer to this list of email addresses.

House Business and Labor

Rep. James A. Dunnigan      jdunnigan@utah.gov      801-968-8594
Rep. Patrick Painter            ppainter@utah.gov        435-660-1147
Rep. Jackie Biskupski          jbiskupski@utah.gov        801-484-8369
Rep. Stephen D. Clark        sclark@utah.gov             801-374-6927
Rep. Susan Duckworth       sduckworth@utah.gov    801-250-0728
Rep. Gage Froerer              gfroerer@utah.gov        801-391-4233
Rep. Kevin S. Garn              kgarn@utah.gov           801-544-3533
Rep. Francis D. Gibson         fgibson@utah.gov         801-491-3763
Rep. Neil A. Hansen            neilhansen@utah.gov     801-393-1514
Rep. Brian S. King              briansking@utah.gov       801-583-5464
Rep. Todd E. Kiser             toddkiser@utah.gov       801-647-8499
Rep. Michael T. Morley        mikemorley@utah.gov    801-636-0296
Rep. C. Brent Wallis            bwallis@utah.gov           801-479-1683
Rep. R. Curt Webb             curtwebb@utah.gov      435-753-0215

House Health and Human Services

Rep. Paul Ray, (Chair)     pray@utah.gov      801-725-2719
Rep. Ronda Rudd Menlove, (Vice Chair)     rmenlove@utah.gov      435-458-9115
Rep. Trisha S. Beck      tbeck@utah.gov      801-243-1596
Rep. Bradley M. Daw      bdaw@utah.gov      801-850-3608
Rep. Phil Riesen      priesen@utah.gov      801-560-3055
Rep. Stephen E. Sandstrom      ssandstrom@utah.gov      801-224-2194
Rep. Evan J. Vickers      evickers@utah.gov      435-586-4399

House Judiciary Standing Committee

Rep. Lorie D. Fowlke (Chair)     lfowlke@utah.gov      801-225-0721
Rep. Don L. Ipson (Vice Chair)     dipson@utah.gov      435-673-8216
Rep. Sheryl L. Allen      sherylallen@utah.gov      801-295-8576
Rep. Jim Bird      jbird@utah.gov      801-280-9056
Rep. Francis D. Gibson      fgibson@utah.gov      801-491-3763
Rep. Keith Grover      keithgrover@utah.gov      801-319-0170
Rep. Eric K. Hutchings      ehutchings@utah.gov      801-963-2639
Rep. Kay L. McIff      kaymciff@utah.gov      801-608-4331
Rep. Kraig Powell      kraigpowell@utah.gov      435-654-1550
Rep. Jackie Biskupski      jbiskupski@utah.gov      801-484-8369
Rep. Christine A. Johnson      christinejohnson@utah.gov      801-661-3489
Rep. Brian S. King      briansking@utah.gov      801-560-0769
Rep. Mark A. Wheatley      markwheatley@utah.gov      801-264-8844