Christine Watkins

This bill establishes a First Credential Program to help students and young workers obtain an initial industry-recognized certificate or license tied to real jobs. This bill pushes education dollars toward workforce-ready skills instead of endless degrees and bloated academia. CPAC supports career-focused education and pathways to work over debt-fueled higher-ed expansion and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-05 by a vote of 20-5. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-06 by a vote of 71-0. The bill later became law.

This bill updates homeschool law to clarify parent rights, streamline paperwork, and remove unnecessary government interference in home education. This bill trusts parents over bureaucrats and strengthens educational freedom. CPAC supports parental rights and school choice in all forms and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-03 by a vote of 20-5. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-06 by a vote of 69-1. The bill later became law.

This bill broadens or restructures state-supported refugee services, adding new programs, coordination, or funding for social and integration supports. This bill grows another social-service bureaucracy and risks long-term dependency instead of prioritizing security, self-reliance, and taxpayers. CPAC opposes expanding government-run refugee service systems that increase spending and dependency and opposed this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-05 by a vote of 28-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 67-7. The bill later became law.

This bill clarifies retention, access, and disclosure rules for election records, making it easier for the public and candidates to review how elections are conducted. This bill enhances transparency and makes it harder for officials to hide behind secrecy. CPAC supports robust public access to election records to strengthen trust and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-07 by a vote of 19-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 60-13. The bill later became law.

This bill revises the state income tax structure, reducing rates and/or expanding relief for Utah taxpayers and families. This bill lets Utahns keep more of their paychecks and restrains government appetite for revenue. CPAC supports cutting income taxes and returning money to taxpayers and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-05 by a vote of 23-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-27 by a vote of 61-11. The bill later became law.

This bill clarifies and strengthens protections for individuals to retain their firearms, including rules for storage, transfer, or seizure in specific circumstances. This bill pushes back against creeping confiscation and preserves core Second Amendment rights. CPAC supports strong protections against abusive gun seizures and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-03 by a vote of 20-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-11 by a vote of 72-0. The bill later became law.

This bill revises charter school funding formulas to ensure more equitable or student-centered funding that follows children to charter classrooms. This bill gives families more choice and limits the monopoly power of traditional districts. CPAC supports robust charter school funding and educational choice and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 25-0. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-14 by a vote of 70-0. The bill later became law.

This bill creates a strategic reinvestment framework for higher education, redirecting funds toward high-value programs and measurable outcomes rather than administrative bloat. This bill puts pressure on universities to justify their budgets and cut waste. CPAC supports performance-based higher-ed funding and efforts to rein in campus bureaucracy and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-04 by a vote of 21-5. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-04 by a vote of 63-9. The bill later became law.

This bill makes a series of adjustments to election law, including procedures for ballot handling, deadlines, and candidate or voter processes. This bill can improve clarity and reduce loopholes that undermine confidence in election outcomes. CPAC supports reforms that make elections more orderly and trustworthy and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-06 by a vote of 19-10. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-25 by a vote of 57-15. The bill later became law.

This bill protects religious expression and association rights for students and faculty in higher education, limiting universities’ ability to discriminate against people of faith. This bill pushes back against woke campus intolerance and speech policing. CPAC supports robust protections for religious freedom and free speech in higher education and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-03-07 by a vote of 21-6. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-24 by a vote of 64-3. The bill later became law.

This bill imposes new firearm storage requirements, dictating how law-abiding Utahns must store guns in their own homes and exposing them to liability if they fail to comply. This bill treats responsible gun owners like potential criminals instead of trusting families to make safety decisions. CPAC opposes government-mandated gun storage rules that undermine the practical right to self-defense and opposed this bill. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-14 by a vote of 4-4. The bill did not become law.

This bill revises the minimum basic tax rate used in education finance, tightening the rules around how and when it can increase. This bill protects taxpayers from stealth property tax hikes baked into school funding formulas. CPAC supports constraints on automatic tax-rate growth and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-07 by a vote of 19-8. The House passed this bill on 2025-02-19 by a vote of 41-27. The Governor vetoed this bill.

This joint resolution affirms the state’s primary authority to govern its own election laws and administration, pushing back against federal and activist encroachment. This bill sends a clear message that Utah will not surrender election control to Washington or unelected bureaucrats. CPAC supports state-led election governance and resistance to federal overreach and supported this bill. The Senate passed this bill on 2025-02-25 by a vote of 20-4. The House passed this bill on 2025-03-06 by a vote of 63-9. The bill did not become law.