Gov. Spencer Cox signs education funding, transgender medical bills
Gov. Spencer Cox signs education funding, transgender medical bills
SALT LAKE CITY (Jan. 28, 2023) – Gov. Spencer J. Cox signed two bills today. He signed Senate Bill 16, Transgender Medical Treatment and Procedures, and House Bill 215, Funding for Teacher Salaries and Optional Education.
These two bills are the first two bills of the 2023 General Legislative Session to be signed by Gov. Cox.
On SB 16, Gov. Cox issued the following statement:
“Legislation that impacts our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation. While not a perfect bill, we are grateful for Sen. Kennedy’s more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue. More and more experts, states and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences.
“We will continue to push the Legislature for additional resources to organizations that work to help this important Utah community. While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures.”
On HB 215, Gov. Cox issued the following statement:
“This bill strikes a good balance. More than 90% of parents support Utah schools and so do we. Our top priority this session has been a significant increase in teacher compensation and education funding. We commend the Legislature for supporting our teacher pay proposal which will help address the state’s teacher shortage and give Utah teachers the much-needed pay raise they deserve. We also appreciate that HB 215 gives Utah parents additional options to meet the needs of their families. School choice works best when we adequately fund public education and we remove unnecessary regulations that burden our public schools and make it difficult for them to succeed. We are especially appreciative of our teachers and education leaders who helped push for more accountability measures which were not included in the original bill.”
Information on bills signed today can be found below:
- SB 16: Transgender Medical Treatment and Procedures
- HB 215: Funding for Teacher Salaries and Optional Education
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