SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 has confirmed Sen. Brian Shiozawa will resign from the Utah State Legislature after being tapped to serve in the Health & Human Services administration.
Sen. Shiozawa, R-Salt Lake City, was picked to be regional director for HHS and will be based out of Denver.
Sen. Shiozawa is a medical doctor with expertise in health care legislation on Utah’s Capitol Hill. In 2014, he helped save the life of Senate Majority Leader Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe, who had a heart attack during the legislative session.
Most recently, Sen. Shiozawa signed on to a ballot initiative to support Medicaid expansion in Utah.
Republican delegates from Sen. Shiozawa’s district will pick his replacement who will serve until 2018. Already, a big name Democratic contender has emerged. Kathie Allen, who ran against John Curtis for Third Congressional District, announced on Monday she would seek that seat.