Libertas Institute Legislative Index (2013)

The Libertas Institute is a libertarian-leaning think tank located in Utah. In 2013, the organization released a legislative index for Utah state representatives and senators.

The index gave each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the prior legislative session on key bills that related to the institute's mission, which it characterized as promoting individual liberty, private property, and free enterprise.

2013 Index

The following bills were selected for inclusion in the 2013 Libertas Institute Legislative Index. Following each bill's number is the organization's summary of each bill and whether or not the Libertas Institute supported it.

1. HB103: "This bill prohibits teenagers from talking on the phone while driving unless it's with their parents, or to report an emergency." (Nay)

2. HB104: "This bill requires mobile telecommunications services (e.g. cell phone companies) to divulge private geolocation data about their customers when requested by 'a law enforcement agency or a public safety communications center' when the government official unilaterally determines that it 'is necessary in order to respond to a call for emergency services or an emergency situation that involves the imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury.'" (Nay)

3. HB114: "This bill would have invalidated future federal gun control laws that conflicted with state law regarding intrastate firearms, accessories, and ammunition." (Yea)

4. HB13: "This bill prohibits adults from smoking ... in a car when a child is present who is 15 years old or younger." (Nay)

5. HB147: "This bill provides funding for the already-existing Utah Marriage Commission, which was previously operating with federal funding." (Nay)

6. HB156: "This bill allows an individual who faces a termination of his/her parental rights to nominate a relative who may serve as legal guardian for his/her children." (Yea)

7. HB157: "This bill mandates that $100,000 of taxpayer dollars ... be spent annually to provide free hearing aids to children under three years of age who have hearing loss." (Nay)

8. HB233: "There currently exists nearly 10,000 words in state code which require and manage occupational licensure for funeral service directors and others involved in that profession. That licensure was set to sunset in 2018. This bill repealed that sunset." (Nay)

9. HB238: "This bill completely exempts hair braiding from occupational licensure, whereas previously it was believed by DOPL to fall within the general cosmetology requirements which included 2,000 hours of school." (Yea)

10. HB245: "This bill introduces a number of new regulatory restrictions upon business owners which violate the free market, including requiring immigration consultants to fill out an annual application and pay an annual fee, requiring owners or employees of a telephone soliciting business to submit to a background check and be crime-free for 10 years." (Nay)

11. HB268: "This bill would have allowed adults in Utah to conceal carry an unloaded weapon without needing a permission slip from the state." (Yea)

12. HB274: "This bill offered tax credits for businesses which employ a homeless person. While we emphatically support the employment of those who are in need, we believe that the tax code should not be used to manipulate behavior. "(Nay)

13. HB41: "This bill repeals a prohibition against a newspaper or publication printing something that may influence an election. Everything a person or organization says has the potential to influence an election." (Yea)

14. HB52: "This bill comes up annually, and simply added more drugs and scientific concoctions to a lengthy list of prohibitions. The war on drugs is a proven failure, so Utah should not be amplifying it." (Nay)

15. HB75: "This bill requires that legislation seeking to create new licensure or regulations must first go to a screening committee during interim to determine whether the proposal is necessary to protect publish health or safety." (Yea)

16. HB76: "This bill removes the requirement that individuals wishing to conceal carry an unloaded weapon must first obtain a permit from the state." (Yea)

17. SB114: "This bill would have made not wearing a seatbelt a primary offense when driving on a highway." (Nay)

18. SB131: "This bill increases penalties for assaulting a uniformed police officer or member of the military performing their duties." (Nay)

19. SB160: "This bill increases the penalty for a person who is convicted more than once of patronizing a prostitute. Consensual sexual activity is not criminal." (Nay)

20. SB267: "This bill would have provided tax-related incentives to help finance a mega hotel and convention center." (Nay)

21. SB39: "This bill would have required the state of Utah to develop and promote materials for parents to teach their kids the 'birds and the bees' and also would have required that school districts push the materials onto parents twice per year." (Nay)

22. SB52: "This bill would have criminalized cockfighting along with possession of fighting birds and being a spectator at a cockfighting event." (Nay)

23. SB55: "This bill would have provided funding for autism spectrum disorder treatment." (Nay)

24. SB71: "This bill would have created public preschools financed by private investments, which would then be paid back by the state (up to $10 million) if the program is successful." (Nay)

25. SB73: "This bill expands the duties and budget of the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) by creating the Outdoor Recreation Office." (Nay)

Complete Lists

Click [show] in order to expand the tables below with the full lists of rankings by legislator.

External links

• Libertas Institute
• Libertas Legislator Index 2013