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Week 5: Death Penalty, Tax Reform & Rep. Chavez-Houck

KUER

 

Nothing in this world is certain but death and taxes, and legislators are tackling both in Week 5 of the session. This week we talk with reporter Whittney Evans about some surprise backers of a new death penalty repeal effort. We also look at the state's big budget surplus and try to divine what lawmakers might do with all that extra scratch. The Utah Legislature's bluest member Sen. Jim Dabakis announces he's done after this session, joining several other incumbents on their way out the door, like Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, our featured guest on 'Better Know a Lawmaker.'

Listen wherever you find podcasts, including iTunesStitcher and TuneIn. You can also listen above, and via KUER's mobile app

Bills & Issues Mentioned in this Episode:

Better Know A Lawmaker: Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck (D-Salt Lake City)

Credit Austen Diamond / KUER
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KUER
Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck.

Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck has represented District 24, covering the avenues and part of downtown Salt Lake, since 2008. She has decided that this will be her last session on the Hill. She hopes to return to being an advocate on several issues she's passionate about. That includes legislation she's tried unsuccessfully to implement over the years — such as her end of life options act, ranked-choice voting and independent redistricting. Chavez-Houck said it's been challenging being in the minority party on the Hill, but she feels she's started some important conversations. 

Nicole Nixon holds a Communication degree from the University of Utah. She has worked on and off in the KUER Newsroom since 2013, when she first joined KUER as an intern. Nicole is a Utah native. Besides public radio, she is also passionate about beautiful landscapes and breakfast burritos.
Julia joined KUER in 2016 after a year reporting at the NPR member station in Reno, Nev. During her stint, she covered battleground politics, school overcrowding, and any story that would take her to the crystal blue shores of Lake Tahoe. Her work earned her two regional Edward R. Murrow awards. Originally from the mountains of Western North Carolina, Julia graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008 with a degree in journalism. She’s worked as both a print and radio reporter in several states and several countries — from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to Dakar, Senegal. Her curiosity about the American West led her to take a spontaneous, one-way road trip to the Great Basin, where she intends to continue preaching the gospel of community journalism, public radio and podcasting. In her spare time, you’ll find her hanging with her beagle Bodhi, taking pictures of her food and watching Patrick Swayze movies.
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