House approves several bills on third reading, including permit and water rights measures

The Utah House advanced several bills on Feb. 27, 2008, approving measures on concealed‑weapons permits, livestock watering rights, kindergarten enrollment exceptions and revenue bonds for State Fair Park.

House Bill 195, sponsored by Representative Merlin Newbold, changes the concealed weapons permit process for nonimmigrant aliens by requiring a more rigorous background check, including record checks in the applicant’s country of origin, and allowing denial when foreign records are unavailable. The sponsor said the change responds to administrative rule review and security concerns following 9/11. The House passed HB195 by voice with the Clerk reporting 59 yes, 0 no; the bill was referred to the Senate.

First Substitute House Bill 208 (sponsored by Representative Michael Noel) was substituted on the floor after committee requests for clarifications from the Division of Water Resources and Wildlife Resources. Noel said the substitute followed an Idaho Supreme Court decision and clarifies when the state engineer can issue certificates or permits for livestock watering rights on public lands, allows the state engineer to charge fees for transfers, and authorizes the Department of Agriculture in certain circumstances to hold or auction rights with proceeds directed to a rangeland improvement fund. The House passed the First Substitute HB208 65–0 and referred it to the Senate.

House Bill 345 (Representative Eric Hutchings) allows a child who has attended kindergarten in another state for at least four weeks to enroll in Utah even if the child would otherwise miss the birthday cutoff; the bill passed 57–10 and will proceed to the Senate.

Representative Hendrickson moved to uncircle House Bill 497 (revenue bond authorization for State Fair Park) so Appropriations staff could provide background. He said revenue bonds could help the park become self‑sufficient by financing an arena to attract larger events. The House passed HB497 46–20 and referred the bill to the Senate.

Other procedural items included a Rules Committee report assigning additional bills to standing committees and a passed motion to refer any bills not reported out of committee after their last scheduled meeting back to Rules. The House adjourned and scheduled to reconvene at 9 a.m. the following day.

Votes at a glance (selected):

- HB195 (concealed firearm permit amendments): passed 59–0; referred to Senate. - First Substitute HB208 (livestock watering rights): passed 65–0; referred to Senate. - HB345 (minimum age for public education enrollment amendment): passed 57–10; referred to Senate. - HB497 (revenue bond authorization for State Fair Park): passed 46–20; referred to Senate.

All vote tallies and referral statuses are drawn from the House floor clerk’s announcements during the third‑reading calendar.

The House calendar includes additional items to be considered in the coming days, with the Speaker noting a likely focus on Senate bills the next day and a busy Friday of fiscal motions.