Castle Country Radio is conducting weekly Legislative updates with Representative Christine F. Watkins while the general session is taking place this year. She will give a brief report on the dealings taking place on the hill twice a week, so she took time on Thursday, Jan. 26 to speak over the telephone.

Its looks as though teachers will be receiving a pay increase as Watkins explains, “They’ll have more money in their paychecks just because we’re giving them a big raise. But also, for some districts depending on how they do they’re benefit packages, sometimes teachers pay for that out of their salaries, their checks, and so we’ve also included a nice little chunk of change to help pay for that. So maybe that’ll put more money in their monthly check also.” This money will definitely help teachers out financially.

Next on the agenda is Senate Bill 16 that was developed by Senator Doctor Michael Kennedy. “It requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a systematic review of medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments and provide recommendations to us as a legislature. It also requires the Division of Professional Licensing to create a certification for providing hormonal transgender treatment,” said Representative Watkins. It will also require a healthcare provider to meet certain requirements before providing hormonal transgender treatment. The legislature would like to conduct some more studies on this topic.

House Bill 114 has passed through the committee and should be coming up on the floor. “This bill deals with people that want to come trespass on a farm or a ranch and hunt around and find animals and say, oh, this animal doesn’t look well I think I’m going to take it with me, so I can get it healthy again. So they don’t come in and ask anybody, they just walk in on private property they take animals that belong to famers and ranchers, then proclaim that they are going to make them well,” said Representative Watkins. This all stems from the Smithfield hog farm where individuals just came in took some piglets claiming they were sick and that they were going to nurse them back to health. They took the animals without permission from the farmer. They eventually were brought up on charges and that is what this bill is saying.