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Utah House advances broad package of Senate and House bills; votes on infrastructure, education and social services
Summary
The Utah House of Representatives on March 7, 2018, moved a slate of bills back to the Senate and approved several concurrence items, including measures on incarceration reports, municipal licensing, payroll separation rules, early literacy, and homeless services. Lawmakers also adopted conference committee requests and returned multiple bills to the Senate for signature.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House of Representatives cleared a broad set of Senate and concurrence-calendar items during a March 7 floor session, approving measures that span criminal justice reporting, municipal business licensing, employee-pay timing, early literacy and homeless services.
The House accepted a conference committee for first substitute Senate Bill 64 (workers’ compensation health-care amendments) and later adopted a joint conference report and final passage for a revised incarceration-reporting measure. Fourth substitute Senate Bill 205 — described on the floor as a rewrite of an earlier substitute — passed the House by voice and was recorded as receiving 70 yea votes and 0 nay votes; it will be returned to the Senate for signature.
Other final-passage and concurrence actions included:
- First Substitute Senate Bill 158 (municipal business licensing): passed 63–0. The bill clarifies when municipalities may charge licensing fees for home-based businesses and requires municipalities to notify exempt businesses of their exemption.
- Senate Bill 197 (private security amendments): passed 68–0; it modifies training hours and firearms training minimums for licensed private security officers.
- Senate Bill 212 (separation-from-payroll amendments): passed 67–0; the bill clarifies that wages owed within 24 hours after separation apply to the wage portion of compensation and that commissions continue to follow contract terms.
- First Substitute Senate Bill 194 (early literacy program): passed 61–7 after brief questioning. Sponsors said the measure offers a targeted funding stream and technical support for local education agencies to diagnose and address early reading needs.
- Third Substitute House Bill 462 (homeless services amendments): passed 59–8. The sponsor said funding will come exclusively from the general fund rather than from the original formula; sponsors said opposition had largely been resolved.
Several other bills were concurred with and returned to the Senate, including House Bill 106 (education grants for people in the justice system) and substitute House Bill 322 (nonemergency patient transportation safety amendments), which the House returned to the Senate with a request that the Senate recede from its amendments.
The House also handled ceremonial business: Senate Concurrent Resolution 15, recognizing the 100th anniversary of Army warrant officers, was presented with warrant officers in the gallery and passed 65–0.
What’s next: Bills returned to the Senate will await signatures; conference committee work is scheduled where House and Senate versions diverge. The House paused briefly to move between the Senate third-reading and concurrence calendars during the evening session.
