Dear Friends and Neighbors,

The Legislature convened for September interim. As the chair of the Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Interim Committee, I covered a variety of subjects, including tele-government, industry standards regarding levels of stray current and voltage and the impacts it has on livestock, carbon free power projects and audit reports. Access committee presentations here and meeting materials here.

You can also access other interim committee discussions and committee materials here.

Here are some COVID-19 updates from the state:

• Traditional unemployment insurance new claims decreased by 12% from the previous week to 2,298 claims. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance new claims decreased by 7% from the previous week to 709 claims. Pandemic Extended Unemployment Claims increased by 2.3% from the previous week to 1,186 claims. Read the report here.

• The next Virtual Job Fair will be held on September 24. More information here.

• The new Oil, Gas and Mining Grant Program began accepting applications. Companies in the oil, gas and mining industries that have incurred expenses because of COVID-19 are eligible to participate in the new grant program and can apply through the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. Read more here.

• The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development has changed its Safe In Utah grant amounts from $100 awarded per full-time employee to $250. The Safe In Utah program includes grants for businesses' COVID-19 response. More information here.

• Intermountain Healthcare’s weekly COVID-19 update included that hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients are at a comfortable level. It also states that there have been increased COVID-19 outbreaks among student ages 15-24, but there have not been significant spikes in elementary and junior high schools, indicating that if students follow protocols, they can stay relatively safe. Watch the full update here.

• As of September 17, at 1:00 p.m. Utah's private and public laboratories have administered 735,178 tests with 60,658 testing positive. There are currently 120 people hospitalized with COVID-19. There have been 437 fatalities, with an estimated 50,108 recovered. Additional information can be found here.

Tuesday, September 22, is National Voter Registration Day. If you have not done so already, please register to vote! It is a quick and simple process. Click here to register to vote, update your voter information or update your ballot mailing address.

Additionally, the Utah Office of Elections released a statement clarifying misinformation about the state’s mail-in-ballot process in Utah. All active registered voters in Utah automatically receive their ballots in the mail and do not need to request a mail-in ballot if they are registered to vote. Read the full statement here.

Kind regards,

Senator Ron Winterton

Utah Senate District 26