Gov. Spencer Cox signs two controversial proposals into law

Gov. Spencer Cox signed another 176 bills from the 2023 Legislature into law on Mar. 14, completing roughly half of the measures passed by Utah lawmakers during their recent general session.

SALT LAKE CITY – In a surprise move, Gov. Spencer Cox has signed into law two controversial bills from the Legislature that landed on his desk Saturday, Jan. 28.

Those two bills – the first passed by the 2023 General Session of the Legislature – are Senate Bill 16 (Transgender Medical Treatment and Procedures) and House Bill 215 (Funding for Teacher Salaries and Optional Education).

“Legislation that impacts our most vulnerable youth requires careful consideration and deliberation,” Cox said after signing SB 16.

“While not a perfect bill, we are grateful for Sen. (Mike) Kennedy’s more nuanced and thoughtful approach to this terribly divisive issue.”

As originally proposed in the Senate, Kennedy’s bill would have placed a four-year moratorium on transgender surgeries and the administration of puberty-blocking hormones for minors while more research was conducted on those treatments.

In the House, however, the efforts of Rep. Katy Hall (R-South Ogden) ensured that the revised bill outlawed transgender surgeries for minors and transformed the moratorium into an outright ban.

With the governor’s signature, SB 16 will now take effect immediately. Additionally, doctors will now be subject to litigation if a former patient regrets having had gender-related surgery.

“We will continue to push the Legislature for additional resources to organizations that work to help this important Utah community,” Cox added.

“While we understand our words will be of little comfort to those who disagree with us, we sincerely hope that we can treat our trans- gender families with more love and respect as we work to better understand the science and consequences behind these procedures.”

The other proposal signed into law by Cox tied a scholarship program allowing parents to use $8,000 in state funds for private schooling to a $6,000 compensation increase for public school teachers.

That measure is certain to incense members of Utah’s teachers’ unions, who have staunchly opposed school choice for years. But Cox defended HB 215, saying that the new law “strikes a good balance.”

“Our top priority this session has been a significant increase in teacher compensation and education funding,” he explained.

“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.”

The $6,000 pay raise for public school teachers was included in the governor’s budget for Fiscal 2023 that was unveiled in mid-December. But the attached funds for school choice came as a surprise during legislative deliberations last week.

“School choice works best,” Cox also remarked, “when we adequately fund public education and remove unnecessary regulations that burden our public and make it difficult for them to succeed.”

Cox also thanked teachers and educational leaders who pushed for more accountability measures in HB-215 that were not included in the original proposal.

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8 Comments

  • KA January 29, 2023 at 9:20 am Reply

    Again, I ask, how often are minors in Utah getting transgender surgeries? All I see is a bunch of hand-wringing and “what about the chirrrennnnnn?” squawking with no statistics or studies of any kind being offered.

    • Enough January 29, 2023 at 4:08 pm Reply

      It because these laws are based off of religion. Not science. And bigoted politicians. That’s why there is a ban on abortions now as well. They don’t care about the people. And idiots keep voting them in.

      • Poor Crybabies and Freaks January 29, 2023 at 11:40 pm Reply

        Here we go again. Women have absolutely no legal right to an abortion. A right cannot be derived from a privilege and as we know, engaging in sexual intercourse is a privilege not a right. One has to provide consent in order to have sex with another, which is why we have laws against rape. Only women who are raped have a legal right to an abortion precisely because they did not consent. Guess what?…women and men can actually decide to behave responsibly when they decide to sleep together. Abortion is murder and women who engage in consensual sex and abort their children are guilty of murder. This is based on law, not religion, Enough. When you have a legal right to engage in a behavior, you do not have to ask anyone for permission in order to do so. If you own your car, you do not need to ask anyone for permission to drive it, yet if someone takes your car without your permission, you have legal standing in order to prosecute the individual for violating your right as a property owner. This is an elementary example as you seem to need a bit of schooling on what defines a legal right and a privilege. In order to have sex, both parties are required to give consent to give each other access to their bodies. Because consent is given, sex is defined as a privilege. And based on law, a legal right cannot be derived from a privilege. Your arguments are emotionally driven, they are solely based upon soliciting heartaches from well-meaning, yet ill-informed individuals such as yourself. Access to abortion has been extremely limited, or outright banned in quite a few states, some of which have no predominant religious affiliation within; perhaps people are beginning to value life, perhaps people are beginning to see how irresponsible women and men have grown accustomed to acting in regards to their sex lives. Perhaps some people actually have morals, Enough. Imagine that.

        • Pete January 30, 2023 at 1:20 pm Reply

          I once again would like to point out that this person posting these comments is totally insane

          • Poor crybabies and freaks January 30, 2023 at 3:12 pm

            Once again, I’d like to put forth the proposition that Pete is a political provocateur who is compensated for inciting divisiveness and distractions so people don’t look into the truth. Political provocateurs rarely, if ever, present rebuttals to arguments because they lack the knowledge in order to do so, courage, and integrity as their loyalty is purchased by the highest bidder.

    • Ttunac January 30, 2023 at 6:44 pm Reply

      Yeah, I saw this:
      https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32345113/

      • Resilience is key January 30, 2023 at 7:58 pm Reply

        Sucidality is extreme high amongst transgender youth, and I agree we ought to address the underlying mental/emotional factors which contribute to the increased rate of suicide by our youth. We need to reflect and practice the importance of personal responsibility for our own mental health, teaching resilience and how one can insulate themselves from internalizing “interpersonal microaggressions” as being truths. The internal locus of control each individual has the capability to develop is much more stable in the maintenance of self-worth and protecting individuals from falling into destructive behaviors. When one only conforms to societal norms/standards/laws because they are afraid of getting caught engaging in deviant acts, after a while, this “fear” becomes an insufficient buffer. When one values themselves, they are less likely to engage in suicidal ideation and other self-destructive behaviors. We cannot continue to place responsibility for our individual mental health upon society which is what is being bred as the new normal. We need to be resilient ourselves, and to teach our children the same underlying principles in order to break the cycle of suicide and self-destruction.

        • Ttunac January 30, 2023 at 10:51 pm Reply

          82% of transgender individuals have considered killing themselves and 40% have attempted suicide.
          I can’t tell if it’s post op. I’m assuming it is. It looks like transitioning won’t save lives. They need some other help.

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