Gov. Spencer Cox signs education funding and transgender health bills
Gov. Spencer Cox signs education funding and transgender health bills
SALT LAKE CITY (January 28, 2023) – Gov. Spencer J. Cox signed two bills into law 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 will be the first two bills of the 2023 General Legislative Session to be signed by Governor Cox.
On SB 16, Governor Cox made the following statement:
“Laws that affect our most vulnerable youth require careful thought and reflection. While it’s not a perfect bill, we’re grateful for Senator Kennedy’s more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue. More and more experts, states and countries around the world are suspending these permanent and life-changing treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences.
“We will continue to urge the Legislature to allocate additional resources to organizations working to serve this important Utah community. While we understand that our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree, we sincerely hope that we can treat our transgender families with more love and respect as we work to understand the science and ramifications behind these to better understand the process.”
On HB 215, Gov. Cox made the following statement:
“This calculation strikes a good balance. More than 90% of parents support schools in Utah, and so do we. Our top priority at this session was a significant increase in teacher pay and education funding. We commend the Legislature for supporting our teacher salary proposal, which will help address the state’s teacher shortage and give Utah teachers the much-needed raise they deserve. We also appreciate that HB 215 offers parents in Utah additional options to meet the needs of their families. School choice works best when we adequately fund public education and eliminate unnecessary regulations that weigh down our public schools and make it difficult to be successful. We are especially grateful for our teachers and education leaders who helped push for more accountability measures that were not included in the original bill.”
Information on the bills signed today is below:
- SB 16: Medical treatment and procedures for transgender people
- HB 215: Funding of teacher salaries and optional education
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