Initiative Would Pay Companies To Hire Workers In Rural Areas

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The state’s 2019 legislative session will kick off at the end of the month, and lawmakers are already proposing some interesting bills on Capitol Hill.

One initiative is seeking to boost unemployment in rural areas by paying companies to hire the people who live there.

It would pay companies up to $6,000 per job to companies that hire rural Utah workers who would then telecommute by working through a satellite hub or by working online.

Lawmakers hope the initiative will help with affordable housing issues, reduce commute times and pollution, and stimulate local economies.

Also being considered in 2019 is a bill to cut down on distracted driving by making it illegal to use a phone while behind the wheel; a bill that would ban anyone from possessing or selling synthetic urine, which is used to pass drug tests; and a bill that will create more specifications on what constitutes as a service animal.