Utah’s minority communities disproportionately affected by food insecurity
The Task Force on Food Security would aim to resolve the current barriers of food accessibility.
(Leah Hogsten | Tribune file photo) This Dec. 24, 2020, photo shows volunteers Leilani Vatuvei, left, and her sister Eime Vatuvi handing out food from the Utah Food Bank to needy families. During the pandemic, racial and ethnic minority communities were disproportionately affected by food insecurity. A bill in the Utah Legislature would create a task force to try to address the issue.
| Feb. 26, 2021, 11:01 p.m.
A bill advancing in the Utah Legislature would create a task force to address the issue of food insecurity in Utah and ensure minority families have access to healthy food.
SALT LAKE CITY State lawmakers are considering ways to limit the governor s power in an emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening their own hand in declaring when an emergency is over.
The Utah Legislature is also in a brewing firestorm over transgender rights as it wraps up its fifth week of meetings that included the House passing a ban on transgender athletes competing in girls sports in the K-12 public school system.
Vickers bill would limit the duration of a public health order to 30 days. It would also only allow the Legislature to extend or terminate an order and would give lawmakers the power to end an emergency earlier than that 30-day time period. The bill would also ban restrictions on religious gatherings and prohibits a local health department from issuing a restriction without the approval of the county executive, such as the county mayor or commission.
SALT LAKE CITY A proposed prohibition on doctors from performing gender reassignment treatments on minors stalled in a House committee on Friday after an emotional debate between doctors and LGBTQ advocates.
Under HB92, physicians and surgeons would be restricted from performing gender reassignment treatment on minors, including internal surgeries and facial feminization or masculinization surgeries. The bill would also prevent doctors from prescribing hormone therapy for minors who are considering transitioning.
Bill sponsor Rep. Rex Shipp, R-Cedar City, introduced a new version of the bill Friday that would prohibit such treatments for children under age 16 instead of 18. This is about protecting children. I have seven children of my own. I love them dearly. I have eight grandchildren as well, Shipp told the House Health and Human Services Committee.
It would be up to Utah’s individual school districts to decide if they want to require their students and staff to wear masks under a new bill proposed Thursday.