SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox held a ceremonial bill signing event on Thursday to promote a series of bills dealing with public safety and homelessness.
Outside the historic Rio Grande Building, an area that became notorious for crime and drug problems and a subsequent state crackdown, the governor spoke about the bills that passed during the Utah State Legislature that he believes will help communities across the state. Many of them were bipartisan bills.
"We’re removing fentanyl and holding people accountable who are distributing fentanyl, we’re taking care of law enforcement here in the state," Gov. Cox told FOX 13 News afterward.
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Bills that passed included new crackdowns on nuisance homes and the drug trade. Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, said one bill will get tough on illicit massage parlors and organizations that recruit youth to commit crimes. House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, pushed her bill on rehabilitation and jail capacity.
"We wanted to protect our folks who are most vulnerable and experiencing homelessness and we also wanted to protect the state’s resources," said Sen. Jen Plumb, D-Salt Lake City, who passed a bill to create an ombudsman to handle complaints by unsheltered people.
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There is also a bill that would set new rules for homeless shelters.
"Accountability is compassion. And so what this bill does is it enhances safety around homeless shelters," said Rep. Tyler Clancy, R-Provo.
In the crowd at Thursday's event were people like Amy Hawkins, the chair of Salt Lake City's Ballpark Community Council, who advocated for some of the new laws.
"A lot of these bills are going to add additional protections for residents and business owners around homeless resource centers, and even more importantly, the guests of the resource centers themselves," she told FOX 13 News. "I know some of the drug overdose bills in particular are going to really impact my community and enable law enforcement to get people the help they need earlier at the moment of overdose."
Other bills offer support for the families of fallen officers and vulnerable Utahns. Ashley Vigil's mother and grandmother drove up from Price to see the governor do a ceremonial bill signing for "Ashley's Law," which now implements a mandatory minimum sentence for abuse of an incapacitated adult. Ashley Vigil — who had Rett Syndrome and was unable to care for herself — was sexually abused repeatedly by her stepfather (she later died). The Vigil family said he did not face a stiffer sentence because of how Utah laws were crafted.
"If it had happened to me? Because I'm elderly or it happened to a child, he would have gotten 53 years," said Glenna Gilson, Ashley's grandmother. "But because it happened to someone who got caught in the gap, there was no mandatory sentence. He could have walked away the same day."
The bill signed by the governor now imposes a minimum mandatory sentence.
"It does make a difference if the victim is incapacitated," Paula Vigil, Ashley's mother, told FOX 13 News. "They can’t walk, they can’t talk, they can’t tell. The law needed to change and it did."
On Friday, Gov. Cox will hold a ceremonial bill signing event to call attention to bills dealing with children and technology.
