V. Lowry Snow

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Lowry Snow
Speaker pro tempore of the Utah House of Representatives
In office
January 19, 2021 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byEric Hutchings
Succeeded byJames Dunnigan
Member of the Utah House of Representatives
from the 74th district
In office
January 11, 2012 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byDavid Clark
Succeeded byNeil Walter
Personal details
Born (1950-08-21) August 21, 1950 (age 73)
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationBrigham Young University (BS)
Gonzaga University (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website

V. Lowry Snow[1] (born August 21, 1950) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives, representing District 74 since his January 11, 2012 appointment to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of David Clark.[2] He has lived in Washington County for over 40 years and is married to former high school music educator, Sheryl Snow. They have been married for 47 years and have 6 children and 17 grandchildren. They currently reside in Santa Clara.

Education[edit]

Snow earned his BS from Brigham Young University and his JD from Gonzaga University School of Law.[3]

Career[edit]

An attorney, Snow is one of the founding partners of Snow Jensen & Reece in St. George, where he has established himself as a real estate, civil litigation, business and land use planning attorney. He has represented a range of clients in the private and public sectors, including several municipalities. He is licensed to practice before the state courts of Utah and Federal District Court for Utah. He is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He has been recognized multiple years as one of Utah Business magazine's Elite Lawyers and also has been recognized by Super Lawyer for the past five years consecutively. Lowry has an AV Preeminent peer rating of 5 out of 5, meaning he meets very high criteria of general ethical standards.[4] For eight years, he served as a member of the Washington County Economic Development Council Executive Committee.[5]

Political career[edit]

Snow served as a board member of Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).[3] He was appointed to the Legislature on January 1, 2011, and was last elected on November 4, 2014.[6] While serving in the legislature, Lowry has successfully sponsored significant legislation dealing with education, criminal justice reform, protection of children and victims of abuse, water law, tax relief for citizens and protections for military veterans and the elderly.

The 2017 juvenile justice reform bill he sponsored was credited with helping to reduce the number of Utahn youth needing costly residential placements. The bill also is also credited with improving disparities in the availability of community-based treatment programs for youth across the state.[7]

During the 2022 General Session, Snow served on the Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee, House Education Committee, House Judiciary Committee, and the Utah Commission on Uniform State Laws.

One notable piece of legislation he worked on in his final General Session with the Utah House of Representatives was HB 147, Death Penalty Modifications, which prohibits the state from seeking the death penalty for aggravated murder committed after May 4, 2022. The bill ultimately did not pass in 2022 but may be revisited in a future session of the Legislature.[8] Snow brought up three points three points with the committee that heard the bill: “No. 1, the death penalty is broken. No. 2, the death penalty unintentionally can cause more harm to victim (family) members. No. 3, maintaining the death penalty means we run the risk, in our state, of executing innocent people.” Snow mentioned a 2018 report in the state that found, despite spending $40 million prosecuting death penalty cases in the last 20 years, the state only imposed two death sentences. “We have almost nothing to show for that,” he said. “How much better would it be to redirect that to helping the victims and the victims’ families?”[9]

Personal life and achievements[edit]

Snow lives in St. George, Utah.[10] During his life, Snow has served as chair of the Utah Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission; chair of the Washington county Economic Development Council; member of the Utah State GOED Board; chair of the Southern Utah Community Legal Center Advisory Board; member of the Kane County Hospital Foundation Board; member of the EDC of Utah Board; and board member of St. George Rotary.[11] While Snow will not be an elected member of the Legislature after the 2022 General Session, he has said that he will not yet fully retire from his professional career.

Elections[edit]

  • In 2012, Snow was unopposed for the June 26, 2012 Republican Primary[12] and won the November 6, 2012 General election with 12,435 votes (76.7%) against Democratic nominee Lee Ann Riddoch.[13]
  • In 2014, Snow was unopposed for the June Republican convention and won the November 4, 2014 General election with 7,229 votes (75.7%) against Democratic nominee Dorothy Engelman.[14]
  • In 2016, Snow ran unopposed an won as the incumbent of District 74.[15]
  • In 2018, Snow won 76.3% of the vote in District 74.[15]
  • In the most recent 2020 district election, Snow won 18,196 votes, approximately 73.4% of the vote, defeating challenger Kenzie Carter to claim the District 74 seat.[15]
  • In December of 2021, Representative Snow announced that he will not be seeking re-election for the coming term.[15]

2022 sponsored legislation[edit]

Bill Status
HB 42- Education Sunset Extensions Governor signed 3/15/22
HB 120- Uniform Partition of Heirs' Property Act Governor signed 3/24/22
HB 132- Uniform Easement Relocation Act Governor signed 3/24/22
HB 147- Death Penalty Modifications House/ filed 3/4/22
HB 179- Juvenile Record Amendments House/ filed 3/4/22
HB 208- Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Board Governor signed 3/22/22
HB 226- Higher Education and Corrections Council Governor signed 3/22/22
HB 248- Juvenile Amendments Governor signed 3/24/22
HB 249- Juvenile Recodification Cross References Governor signed 3/24/22
HB 265- Charter School Agreements and Renewals House/ filed 3/4/22
HB 299- Juvenile Justice Changes Governor signed 3/22/22
HB 390- Early College and Concurrent Enrollment Program Amendments Governor signed 3/24/22
HB 438- Point of the Mountain State Land Authority Amendments Governor signed 3/23/22

References[edit]

  1. ^ "V. Lowry Snow's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  2. ^ Herbert, Gary (January 11, 2012). "Governor appoints V. Lowry Snow to Utah House". Governor of Utah. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  3. ^ a b "V. Lowry Snow". Philipsburg, MT: Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  4. ^ "V. Lowry Snow". Salt Lake City, UT: Lowry Snow. March 29, 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  5. ^ "Lowry Snow". Salt Lake City, UT: Lowry Snow. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  6. ^ "V. Lowry Snow". Philipsburg, MT: Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-04-10.
  7. ^ "Washington County state Rep. Lowry Snow announces he won't seek re-election in 2022". Salt Lake City, Utah: The Spectrum. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  8. ^ "V. Lowry Snow". Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah State Legislature. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  9. ^ "Effort to Repeal and Replace Utah's Death Penalty Fails on 6 – 5 Vote in State House Committee". Death Penalty Information Center. Retrieved 2022-04-07.
  10. ^ "Snow, V. Lowry | Snow Jensen & Reece, P.C". www.snowjensen.com. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  11. ^ "V. Lowry Snow". Utah State Legislature. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  12. ^ "2012 Primary Canvass Reports". Salt Lake City, Utah: Lieutenant Governor of Utah. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  13. ^ "2012 General Canvass Report". Salt Lake City, Utah: Lieutenant Governor of Utah. Retrieved 2014-01-30.
  14. ^ "2014 Election Results". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2016-04-12.
  15. ^ a b c d "Lowry Snow". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-04-07.

External links[edit]

Utah House of Representatives
Preceded by Speaker pro tempore of the Utah House of Representatives
2021–2022
Succeeded by