Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 145 First Substitute (2015GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Stephenson, H.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/27/2015

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines terms;
• creates the Physics Education Pilot Program;
• requires the STEM Action Center Board to prequalify one or more physics education consultants to provide high quality professional development, physics curriculum materials, and support for physics teachers;
• specifies criteria for the STEM Action Center Board to consider in prequalifying physics education consultants and selecting local education agencies to participate in the pilot program;
• provides a grant for local education agencies to implement the Physics Education Pilot Program; and
• requires the STEM Action Center Board to contract with an independent evaluator and report to the State Board of Education, the Governor's Office of Economic Development, and the Education Interim Committee.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

PHYSICS EDUCATION PILOT PROGRAM
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson
House Sponsor: 
____________
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill creates a pilot grant program for physics education in secondary schools.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines terms;
▸ creates the Physics Education Pilot Program;
▸ requires the STEM Action Center Board to prequalify one or more physics
education consultants to provide high quality professional development, physics
curriculum materials, and support for physics teachers; 
▸ specifies criteria for the STEM Action Center Board to consider in prequalifying
physics education consultants and selecting local education agencies to participate
in the pilot program;
▸ provides a grant for local education agencies to implement the Physics Education
Pilot Program; and
▸ requires the STEM Action Center Board to contract with an independent evaluator
and report to the State Board of Education, the Governor's Office of Economic
Development, and the Education Interim Committee.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
This bill appropriates:
▸ to the Governor's Office of Economic Development - STEM Action Center, as a
one-time appropriation:
• from the General Fund, one-time, $5,000,000.
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63I-1-263
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapters 113, 189, 195, 211, 419,
429, and 435
63M-1-3201
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2014, Chapter 318
ENACTS:
63M-1-3212
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
63I-1-263
 is amended to read:
63I-1-263.
Repeal dates, Titles 63A to 63M.
(1) Section 
63A-4-204
, authorizing the Risk Management Fund to provide coverage to
any public school district which chooses to participate, is repealed July 1, 2016.
(2) Subsection 
63A-5-104
(4)(h) is repealed on July 1, 2024.
(3) Section 
63A-5-603
, State Facility Energy Efficiency Fund, is repealed July 1, 2016.
(4) Title 63C, Chapter 4a, Constitutional and Federalism Defense Act, is repealed July
1, 2018.
(5) Title 63C, Chapter 14, Federal Funds Commission, is repealed July 1, 2018.
(6) Title 63C, Chapter 15, Prison Relocation Commission, is repealed July 1, 2017.
(7) Subsection 
63G-6a-1402
(7) authorizing certain transportation agencies to award a
contract for a design-build transportation project in certain circumstances, is repealed July 1,
2015.
(8) Title 63H, Chapter 4, Heber Valley Historic Railroad Authority, is repealed July 1,
2020.
(9) The Resource Development Coordinating Committee, created in Section
63J-4-501
, is repealed July 1, 2015.
(10) Title 63M, Chapter 1, Part 4, Enterprise Zone Act, is repealed July 1, 2018.
(11) (a) Title 63M, Chapter 1, Part 11, Recycling Market Development Zone Act, is
repealed January 1, 2021.
(b) Subject to Subsection (11)(c), Sections 
59-7-610
 and 
59-10-1007
 regarding tax
credits for certain persons in recycling market development zones, are repealed for taxable
years beginning on or after January 1, 2021.
(c) A person may not claim a tax credit under Section 
59-7-610
 or 
59-10-1007
:
(i) for the purchase price of machinery or equipment described in Section 
59-7-610
 or
59-10-1007
, if the machinery or equipment is purchased on or after January 1, 2021; or
(ii) for an expenditure described in Subsection 
59-7-610
(1)(b) or 
59-10-1007
(1)(b), if
the expenditure is made on or after January 1, 2021.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsections (11)(b) and (c), a person may carry forward a tax
credit in accordance with Section 
59-7-610
 or 
59-10-1007
 if:
(i) the person is entitled to a tax credit under Section 
59-7-610
 or 
59-10-1007
; and
(ii) (A) for the purchase price of machinery or equipment described in Section
59-7-610
 or 
59-10-1007
, the machinery or equipment is purchased on or before December 31,
2020; or
(B) for an expenditure described in Subsection 
59-7-610
(1)(b) or 
59-10-1007
(1)(b), the
expenditure is made on or before December 31, 2020.
[
(12) Section 
63M-1-3412
 is repealed on July 1, 2021.
]
[
(13)
] 
(12)
 (a) Section 
63M-1-2507
, Health Care Compact
,
 is repealed on July 1, 2014.
(b) (i) The Legislature shall, before reauthorizing the Health Care Compact:
(A) direct the Health System Reform Task Force to evaluate the issues listed in
Subsection [
(13)
] 
(12)
(b)(ii), and by January 1, 2013, develop and recommend criteria for the
Legislature to use to negotiate the terms of the Health Care Compact; and
(B) prior to July 1, 2014, seek amendments to the Health Care Compact among the
member states that the Legislature determines are appropriate after considering the
recommendations of the Health System Reform Task Force.
(ii) The Health System Reform Task Force shall evaluate and develop criteria for the
Legislature regarding:
(A) the impact of the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act;
(B) whether Utah is likely to be required to implement any part of the Affordable Care
Act prior to negotiating the compact with the federal government, such as Medicaid expansion
in 2014;
(C) whether the compact's current funding formula, based on adjusted 2010 state
expenditures, is the best formula for Utah and other state compact members to use for
establishing the block grants from the federal government;
(D) whether the compact's calculation of current year inflation adjustment factor,
without consideration of the regional medical inflation rate in the current year, is adequate to
protect the state from increased costs associated with administering a state based Medicaid and
a state based Medicare program;
(E) whether the state has the flexibility it needs under the compact to implement and
fund state based initiatives, or whether the compact requires uniformity across member states
that does not benefit Utah;
(F) whether the state has the option under the compact to refuse to take over the federal
Medicare program;
(G) whether a state based Medicare program would provide better benefits to the
elderly and disabled citizens of the state than a federally run Medicare program;
(H) whether the state has the infrastructure necessary to implement and administer a
better state based Medicare program;
(I) whether the compact appropriately delegates policy decisions between the
legislative and executive branches of government regarding the development and
implementation of the compact with other states and the federal government; and
(J) the impact on public health activities, including communicable disease surveillance
and epidemiology.
(13) Section 
63M-1-3212
 is repealed on July 1, 2020.
(14) Section 
63M-1-3412
 is repealed on July 1, 2021.
[
(14)
] 
(15)
 (a) Title 63M, Chapter 1, Part 35, Utah Small Business Jobs Act, is
repealed January 1, 2021.
(b) Section 
59-9-107
 regarding tax credits against premium taxes is repealed for
calendar years beginning on or after January 1, 2021.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection [
(14)
] 
(15)
(b), an entity may carry forward a tax credit
in accordance with Section 
59-9-107
 if:
(i) the person is entitled to a tax credit under Section 
59-9-107
 on or before December
31, 2020; and
(ii) the qualified equity investment that is the basis of the tax credit is certified under
Section 
63M-1-3503
 on or before December 31, 2023.
[
(15)
] 
(16)
 The Crime Victim Reparations and Assistance Board, created in Section
63M-7-504
, is repealed July 1, 2017.
[
(16)
] 
(17)
 Title 63M, Chapter 11, Utah Commission on Aging, is repealed July 1,
2017.
Section 2. Section 
63M-1-3201
 is amended to read:
63M-1-3201.
Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Board" means the STEM Action Center Board created in Section 
63M-1-3202
.
(2) "Educator" [
has the meaning
] 
means the same as that term is
 defined in Section
53A-6-103
.
(3) "High quality professional development" means professional development that
meets
:
(a)
 high quality standards developed by the State Board of Education[
.
]
; and
(b) the professional learning standards described in Section 
53A-3-701
.
(4) "Office" means the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
(5) "Provider" means a provider, selected by staff of the board and staff of the Utah
State Board of Education, on behalf of the board:
(a) through a request for proposals process; or
(b) through a direct award or sole source procurement process for a pilot described in
Section 
63M-1-3205
.
(6) "STEM" means science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
(7) "STEM Action Center" means the center described in Section 
63M-1-3204
.
Section 3. Section 
63M-1-3212
 is enacted to read:
 63M-1-3212.
Physics Education Pilot Program.
(1) As used in this section:
(a) "Endorsement" means the same as that term is defined in Section 
53A-6-103
.
(b) "Local education agency" or "LEA" means:
(i) a school district;
(ii) a charter school; or
(iii) the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
(c) "Physics education consultant" means a physics education consultant identified
under Subsection (3).
(d) "Program" means the Physics Education Pilot Program.
(2) (a) There is created the Physics Education Pilot Program to promote physics
education and increase the number of Utah secondary school students who take physics.
(b) Subject to funding for the program, the board shall develop and implement the
program to promote physics education in secondary schools.
(c) The program shall operate for five years, beginning on the first day of the 2015-16
school year.
(3) (a) In consultation with the State Board of Education, the board shall, through a
prequalification process under Section 
63G-6a-403
, prequalify physics education consultants
that an LEA, selected by the board under Subsection (6), may work with to implement the
program.
(b) The board may not prequalify a physics education consultant who does not have
experience implementing a physics education program in a secondary school.
(c) In evaluating statements of qualification submitted for the prequalification process
described in Subsection (3)(a), the board, in coordination with the State Board of Education,
shall ensure that the evaluation criteria weighs heavily the extent to which a physics education
consultant who submits a statement of qualification has demonstrated efficacy in:
(i) increasing enrollment in secondary education physics classes;
(ii) providing high quality professional development in physics education in
coordination with an institute of higher education;
(iii) providing professional development to teachers to prepare them to teach
mathematically rigorous physics; and
(iv) improving outcomes for students participating in physics classes.
(d) The request for statements of qualification shall require that a proposed physics
education consultant disclose all exclusive financial arrangements with education publishers,
education technology providers, or other education companies.
(e) After receiving an LEA grant application described in Subsection (5), the board
may prequalify a physics education consultant proposed in an LEA grant application, who was
not identified through the prequalification process described in Subsection (3)(a), as a
prequalified physics education consultant if:
(i) the physics education consultant proposed in the LEA's grant application meets the
qualification criteria described in Subsection (3);
(ii) the LEA had a contract or other relationship with the physics education consultant
proposed in the LEA's grant application prior to the LEA submitting the application under
Subsection (3)(a); and
(iii) the LEA's contract or other relationship with the physics education consultant
proposed in the LEA's grant application was granted in compliance with Title 63G, Chapter 6a,
Utah Procurement Code.
(4) The board shall require a prequalified physics education consultant to provide:
(a) high quality professional development in physics education, in consultation with the
State Board of Education and in coordination with an institute of higher education, that enables
an educator to receive an endorsement to teach physics;
(b) physics education curriculum resources of sufficient depth and breadth to eliminate
the need for physics textbooks; and
(c) support for an educator to further the teaching of physics through:
(i) classroom and physics laboratory technology that may include an interactive white
board; and
(ii) hands-on activities and experiments.
(5) (a) An LEA may apply to the board, through a competitive process, to receive a
grant to participate in the program.
(b) In a grant application, an LEA shall present a plan and describe how the LEA will
work with a physics education consultant prequalified under Subsection (3) to provide:
(i) high quality professional development in physics education;
(ii) physics education curricula; and
(iii) classroom technologies to further the teaching of physics.
(c) An LEA grant application may propose a physics education consultant who was not
identified as a prequalified physics education consultant under Subsection (3)(a) if the physics
education consultant proposed in the LEA grant application meets the criteria described in
Subsection (3)(e).
(6) (a) The board shall select LEAs to receive a grant.
(b) In selecting an LEA to receive a grant, the board shall consider the LEA's
willingness and plans to:
(i) sequence science classes so that students take physics before taking chemistry and
biology;
(ii) increase the number of students taking physics;
(iii) incorporate classroom education technology, which may include an interactive
white board, into physics classes; and
(iv) devote LEA resources, including instructional technology, to teaching physics.
(c) In selecting an LEA to receive a grant, the board shall select a diverse set of LEAs
representing a range of urban and rural locations, school districts, and charter schools.
(7) An LEA that receives a grant described in Subsection (6):
(a) shall use the grant to contract with a physics education consultant prequalified
under Subsection (3) to implement the LEA plan in the LEA grant application described in
Subsection (5); and
(b) may contract with a physics education consultant prequalified under Subsection (3)
without following the standard procurement process described in Title 63G, Chapter 6a, Utah
Procurement Code.
(8) The board shall contract with an independent evaluator to evaluate the pilot
program on:
(a) school level outcomes, including changes in the number of students taking physics
and advanced physics;
(b) individual student outcomes;
(c) educator outcomes, including the number of teachers receiving endorsements to
teach physics; and
(d) any other outcomes requested by the board.
(9) (a) The board shall report to the Education Interim Committee on the status of the
program on or before November 1 of each year of the pilot program, beginning in 2016.
(b) The board shall:
(i) submit a final report on the program to the Education Interim Committee on or
before November 1, 2019; and
(ii) ensure that the final report described in Subsection (9)(b)(i) includes the results of
the evaluation described in Subsection (8).
Section 4. 
Appropriation.
Under the terms and conditions of Title 63J, Chapter 1, Budgetary Procedures Act, for
the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2015, and ending June 30, 2016, the following sums of money
are appropriated from resources not otherwise appropriated, or reduced from amounts
previously appropriated, out of the funds or accounts indicated. These sums of money are in
addition to any amounts previously appropriated for fiscal year 2016.
To Governor's Office of Economic Development - STEM Action Center
From General Fund, one-time
$5,000,000
Schedule of Programs:
STEM Action Center $5,000,000
The Legislature intends that:
(1) the STEM Action Center Board expend appropriations under this section for the
physics education program described in Section 
63M-1-3212
 in fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018,
2019, and 2020; and
(2) under Section 
63J-1-603
, the appropriations provided under this section not lapse at
the close of fiscal year 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019.
Section 5. 
Effective date.
(1) Except as provided in Subsection (2), this bill takes effect on May 12, 2015.
(2) Uncodified Section 4, Appropriation, takes effect on July 1, 2015.
Legislative Review Note
 as of 2-3-15 9:43 AM
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel