The sound of the gavel after 45 days of meetings on the hill was a great relief and gave a sense of accomplishment for delegates.  Representative Christine Watkins kept voters updated through the entire process each week on Castle Country Radio and now is eager to share her point of view on this year’s session.

“There were a few bills that unfortunately, were so close and we couldn’t get stuff back from the Senate; but it’s nice, we have a lot of people retiring,” stated Watkins. “You know that Governor came and was just so pleased with what we accomplished during the session so that was nice.” This session succeeded in passing 534 bills out of 1,300 that were filed, this is typical of what has been achieved in past years. Only a few were new laws but the vast majority of the bills were either amendments, revisions or clean bills. Last year over the summer, politicians recodified the education section of the Utah Code, which cut down on education bills this year.

Finding the middle ground on the Our School Now initiative came late in the session for legislators and resulted in keeping it off the ballot in November. If the initiative had been placed on the ballot and passed by voters, it would have been the largest tax increase in the history of Utah. “We passed a bill that would raise property tax, lower income tax by a small amount, and have up to about a $.10 increase in the gas tax,” explained Watkins. If this bill gets the yes votes in November funding will not only be used for education, but for B and C roads that have become a problem throughout the state. It was important to Watkins that the final decision would be made by her constituents.

The chair of Social Services, who happens to also be a State Representative, approached Watkins earlier in the session to voice his concern about the number of suicides and addiction problem that is faced in Carbon County. “He got two positions funded through our health department; these are new positions that will work on the drug addiction problem and our mental health and suicide problem,” stated Watkins. The anticipation of this funding is going to be a gigantic step in the right direction towards a positive change in our community.

Watkins is looking forward to filing for another run as Representative and looks forward to a successful campaign. Regardless of the outcome, she is honored to have represented District 69.