Utah House Concurred With Senate Amendments to HB 4001; Measure Passes 54-15

SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 19, 2006

The Utah House of Representatives voted to concur with Senate amendments to House Bill 4001 on Sept. 19, passing the measure 54-15 with six members absent. Representative Lockhart moved the concurrence and explained the Senate's changes as technical fixes, including restoring airport use for rural counties and revising ballot language to mirror the bill's defined term "regionally significant transportation facility."

Representative Lockhart said, "These are, fairly technical amendments.", and explained that one amendment returned "airport use" to the allowable uses for rural counties after it had been inadvertently omitted. She added that the other amendment revises the ballot language so it exactly matches the term defined in the bill, to avoid ambiguity.

With no members seeking further debate, Representative Lockhart waived summation and the House proceeded to the vote. The chief clerk announced a tally of 54 aye votes, 15 nays and 6 absent; the presiding officer ruled the motion passed. The presiding officer stated the bill will be signed by the speaker and referred to the Senate for the president's signature.

During the close of the roll, Representative Bowman asked that his earlier gesture be recorded as an "I" vote; the request was granted without objection and recorded as an aye.

House Bill 4001 concerns county option funding for regionally significant transportation infrastructure. The amendments adopted on concurrence restored airport use for rural counties and aligned the ballot language with the bill's own definition of the facilities eligible for funding. The measure now proceeds for final signature and return to the Senate.