Utah House approves multiple Senate bills, authorizes 3% pay increase for in‑session staff

The Utah House of Representatives approved a slate of bills and a pay resolution during its Feb. 2 floor session.

Most notable, the House adopted SJR 5, a joint resolution authorizing pay for in‑session employees, after the sponsor said the resolution provides a 3% raise for pages, "green coats," kitchen staff and other session workers. The waiver of the normal one‑day rule to consider the measure passed and SJR 5 passed on third reading, recorded as 71 yes, 0 no. Representative Dunnegan sponsored the motion to lift and Representative Dunnegan presented the resolution.

The body also moved and passed several Senate bills on third reading with largely unanimous support. Highlights with recorded tallies and brief descriptions follow:

- HB 154 (county personnel requirements): sponsor explained the bill creates an option for a career service council or referral to an administrative law judge in rural counties; vote recorded 67 yes, 4 no; bill will be transmitted to the Senate.

- SB 15 (apportionment of business income amendments): described as a technical cleanup from Revenue & Taxation; vote recorded 71 yes, 0 no.

- SB 16 (tax credit amendments): removes the automatic three‑year repeal for a historic preservation tax credit; vote recorded 71 yes, 0 no.

- SB 13 (State Facility Energy Efficiency Fund amendments): requires the state building board to monitor actual savings from projects financed by the fund and report annually; vote recorded 73 yes, 0 no.

- SB 24 (Utah Housing Corporation sunset extension): sponsor said the Utah Housing Corporation, which receives no appropriations, finances housing and would have its sunset extended to July 1, 2026; sponsor noted the corporation has backed more than 25,000 multifamily units and mortgages for more than 77,000 homebuyers; vote recorded 73 yes, 0 no.

- SB 33 (occupational safety and health amendments): changes the statutory term from "discrimination" to "retaliation" for employee reports to OSHA and creates a more structured adjudication path; sponsor said the change had wide stakeholder support; vote recorded 72 yes, 0 no.

- First substitute SB 21 (repeal of health and human services reports and programs): after being circled earlier, the bill was uncircled, presented as a cleanup repeal of obsolete reporting requirements, and passed 71 yes, 0 no.

Where a roll call or vote tally was recorded, the House clerk's announcement has been used. Several bills were placed on consent or referred to standing committees earlier in the session and were reported by committee chairs before final action.

What happens next: Bills that passed on third reading will be returned to the Senate for its signature or further action as appropriate. The House also placed several other measures on the third‑reading or consent calendars and referred bills to committee for further work.