House pauses bill to let sponsors tighten school disruption language after amendment debate

The House moved to circle House Bill 199 after a floor amendment and extended debate over how the measure would define penalties and its scope for K‑12 schools.

Sponsor Representative Carol Spackman Moss told the chamber HB199 seeks to give K‑12 principals authority similar to existing statute for colleges so school administrators may act to maintain safety "not only while in school, but also when arriving or leaving school." Moss said the change responds to a 1999 incident in the Granite School District where principals discovered the existing statute applied only to higher education.

Representative 17 offered a technical amendment replacing the word "penalty" with "misdemeanor" where the bill previously used the class‑penalty phrasing; the amendment was ruled in order and accepted. As debate continued, Representative Christensen (floor member) said the bill, "as now written, it's overly broad," and urged circling the bill to allow additional work and possible narrowing of scope.

The motion to circle — a procedural step that pauses final disposition so sponsors and affected members can craft further changes — was carried on the floor. Representative Moss said she was open to questions and amendments and would work with colleagues to refine the bill.

Because the bill was circled rather than passed on third reading, no final vote on the merit of House Bill 199 occurred during this session; the bill will be revisited after sponsors and interested members confer on potential language changes.