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Utah House Recommits Smoking-in-Vehicles Bill after Floor Debate on Enforcement
Summary
After a floor debate over enforcement and personal-property rights, the Utah House voted 39–31 to recommit Senate Bill 14 — which would make smoking in vehicles with children 5 and under a secondary offense with a $45 fine — to the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee for further review.
Representative Scott Menlove, sponsor of Senate Bill 14, told the Utah House the measure is aimed at protecting children from the harms of secondhand smoke and would make smoking in a vehicle with a child age 5 or younger a secondary offense punishable by a $45 fine that could be waived if the driver enrolls in a smoking-cessation class. “Children who are restrained in cars have no choice about going anywhere else,” Menlove said, citing health risks and correspondence from the American Cancer Society distributed to members.
The bill’s first floor debate highlighted a split between members who framed the proposal as a…
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