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House advances wide-ranging bills on consent and third reading; multiple measures pass
Summary
On Feb. 22, 1996, the Utah House cleared a long consent calendar and several third‑reading measures, including reforms on inmate litigation fees, municipal courts and forestry agency naming; many bills passed unanimously or by large margins and were transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
The Utah House of Representatives cleared a substantial consent calendar and approved multiple third‑reading measures during its centennial session on Feb. 22, 1996, sending a package of bills to the Senate.
Clerks read several Senate and House bills onto the floor and the House processed a sequence of consent items with minimal debate. Notable consent votes included House Bill 370, a measure to curb meritless inmate litigation by introducing an asset‑based filing‑fee test, which the House approved 62‑0 after sponsor remarks describing examples of frivolous lawsuits. Municipal and agency technical bills also moved forward: HB 344 (municipal justice court) passed 64‑1, and HB 364 (renaming and reorganizing the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands) passed 63‑0.
On the third‑reading list the chamber approved measures affecting state facilities and administrative processes. House Bill 336, aimed at prioritizing repairs and standardizing maintenance for state capital facilities, passed 70‑0 after the sponsor described the scale of state property and the need to prevent equipment failures. House Bill 418, clarifying secure‑area procedures tied to the concealed‑weapons statute for facilities such as correctional and mental‑health institutions, passed 65‑0 following a sponsor explanation.
Several other bills were read for second consideration and referred to committees after committee reports were adopted, as the House accepted multiple committee recommendations from Transportation, Revenue and Taxation, Judiciary, and Energy and Natural Resources panels. The body also authorized conference committee appointments where the Senate refused House amendments, and made routine procedural motions such as circling bills for later consideration.
What happens next: Passed measures will be transmitted to the Utah Senate for its consideration or conference negotiations where required. Several items adopted on Feb. 22 originated from committee amendments or were substituted on the floor; those technical changes will appear in the version sent to the Senate.
