UMA ON THE HILL:
SENATE PASSES RESTORATION OF FOOD SALES TAXHaving tentatively passed Senator Adam’s bill to replace the full level of food sales tax on Friday, the Senate this morning passed the measure and forwarded it to the House for their consideration. Probably the only bill of this type the House will consider favorably is one like SB-270 that reduces overall sales tax for all taxpayers to make the restoration of food tax revenue neutral. However, the House voted in caucus early in the session that they would not support any tax increase this session. UMA does not oppose SB-270 if it is revenue neutral.
SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES REPEAL OF POLICE FEE IN SALT LAKE COUNTY
After the serious opps last week where city and county officials forgot to inform the legislative sponsors of HB-226 to repeal the police tax in Salt Lake County, the same Senate committee reconsidered the measure this morning and passed a revised version that gives Salt Lake County until the end of 2012 to replace the controversial fee. The bill now goes to the second reading calendar in the Senate for consideration. While some are still not pleased with the delay in repealing the fee, it is expected to pass easily and be signed by the Governor. UMA supports the repeal but would have liked a shorter implementation period.
WATER QUALITY BOARD AMENDMENTS BILL CLEARS A HOUSE COMMITTEE
HB-438 considered in committee this morning proposes to increase the water quality board of the Department of Environmental Quality by two members representing agriculture. The measure, if passed by the House is likely to be viewed very negatively in the Senate. UMA opposes any amendments to DEQ boards until the UMA supported “lean/six sigma” process currently being implemented in DEQ. Our effort will be to stop it until the process agreed upon last year has had time to finish.
SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES REVISED RFID BILL
A House committee Friday approved unanimously a bill they killed the week before that stipulates restrictions on the use of Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID). UMA opposed the provisions of the original bill that could have impaired the ability of manufacturers and retailers to use RFID technology.
The substitute bill, sponsored by Rep. Wayne Harper (HB-224) removed all the provisions except for the prohibition for implanting RFID chips in a person without their permission.
UMA supported the second substitute bill in committee.
SENATE COMMITTEE SAYS NO TO HOME WC EXEMPTION
For the second time in a week a Senate committee has said no the Rep. Barrus’ bill to exempt home businesses from mandatory workers compensation insurance coverage. In its original form, HB-61 proposed to exempt from WC coverage the children of owners of home based businesses. It was modified going through the House to exempt only minor children of the owner performing tasks considered not hazardous. When the bill got to the Senate committee last week, Senators expressed concerns about what would happen to those exempted by the bill if there was an accident. The sponsor inquired of the insurance industry about the question, only to find that health insurance policies would cover the spouse but would not cover children. Barrus’ latest attempt this afternoon was to exempt only spouses and not children. The committee was not satisfied and urged the sponsor to take the issue to the Workers Compensation Advisory Council and ask them to review it and help find a solution. Finally, the committee “moved the agenda” which means they moved to the next item on the agenda, which has the effect of holding the bill in committee without action. This is often done as a courtesy to the sponsor rather than moving passage that would not get enough votes to pass, thus killing the bill or moving to “table” the bill. UMA opposed the bill because it exempts some workers and potentially impacts the trust fund contributed by all other employers in the state. UMA suggested to the committee sending the bill back to the advisory council for review and recommendation. The sponsor told UMA President Tom Bingham following the committee meeting this afternoon that he was proposing the bill for a constituent but that his constituent had failed to respond to requests to appear before legislative committees or otherwise get involved in the process. Rep. Barrus told UMA he has done all he can and will not pursue the issue further.
PARTISAN SCHOOL BOARD ELECTIONS STILL ALIVE IN SENATE
Despite opposition from the School Boards Association, UEA, PTA and one state school board member, Senator Stephenson passed his measure to change the way the Utah State Board of Education is chosen (SB-224). This bill would replace the current approach with a partisan election using the unique Utah political convention election process. Currently, a Governor appointed nominating and recruiting committee reviews candidates who have filed for the office and recommends three for each district to the Governor for his selection of two to appear on the ballot. The education community wants to return to a former time when state board elections were conducted by a non-partisan election. Yet, another approach is to turn the appointment of the state board of education to the Governor and confirmed by the Utah Senate.
UMA was involved in the effort several years ago to move to the current nominating committee system. UMA has not taken a position on any of this year’s proposals.
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RELOCATION IS AT LOWEST LEVEL
Employers CouncilA recent study of 3,000 successful job seekers, by the outplacement consultancy, Challenger, Gray and Christmas, found the lowest level of job-seeker relocation in the 25 years since it has been tracking this metric. Only 6.9 percent of job-seekers who found employment in the third quarter relocated for the new position – compared to a relocation rate of 13.4 percent in the same quarter a year ago. While this continues a long-term trend, the recent downturn did accelerate thepace.
APPLICANT COURTESY
Employers CouncilWith flocks of applicants applying for each job opening, have you overlooked the courtesy of responding to applicants? If an applicant receives no response, their opinion about your company will definitely be influenced. For example, think back on a time when a store clerk was less than courteous to you. What were your thoughts about not just the clerk, but the company?
After screening out an applicant, send a simple email or postcard to thank them for their interest and to let them know that they will not be getting an interview. Take time during an applicant interview to let the candidate know both your method and time line for getting back to them.
Then make sure that you notify them of your decision! Remember: this simple act of courtesy can mean the difference in how an applicant, their friends and acquaintances, feel about your company. Do not get the reputation in the community for having just a "black hole" for applications and resumes.
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