Utah House advances package of bills including changes to infectious-disease rules, firearm retention and veteran housing

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 11 approved a package of bills on third reading and by voice or recorded tally sent them to the Senate, lawmakers said on the floor.

The most discussed measures included HB 294, which removes ‘‘orders of constraint’’ from state public-health code and adds a provision protecting people with documented disabilities from being denied services if they cannot wear a face covering; HB 195, which limits automatic firearm forfeiture as a condition of a plea-in-abeyance unless the defendant is or becomes a legally restricted person; and HB 78, which narrows sentencing disparities by treating attempts similarly to completed offenses in certain serious crimes. Lawmakers also approved HB 238 (allowing certain restricted DHHS accounts to retain interest), HB 266 (veteran housing collaboration), HB 222 (access to traffic accident evidence), and HB 276 (civil-commitment technical and procedural updates).

HB 294 was presented and explained by Representative McPherson, who said the bill removes the ‘‘orders of constraint’’ language added in 2021 and preserves local health departments’ ability to respond to communicable diseases and bioterrorism events while restoring due-process protections tied to ‘‘orders of restriction’’ in the code. McPherson said he worked with the Department of Health and Human Services and 13 local health departments; he also offered and the House adopted amendment 2, which clarifies that health-care…