On the floor Jan. 23: multiple bills pass or move to third reading, including judicial-notice, accident-notification, crime-prevention month, and filing-proced-

The Utah Senate took up numerous committee bills Jan. 23 and either advanced them to third reading or recorded final passage on the floor.

SB36 (Judicial Notice of Proclamation and Rules), sponsored in committee by Senator Lyle W. Hilliard, was reported favorably. Hilliard told senators the measure would allow courts to take judicial notice of certified proclamations and administrative rules to avoid extra authentication testimony and let cases proceed to the merits without the ‘‘technicality’’ of proving the proclamation’s certification. The bill passed by recorded voice/roll call (reported as 27 ayes, 2 absent) and was placed on the third-reading calendar.

SB40 (Accident Notification), sponsored by Senator David H. Steele, corrects reporting thresholds to align citizen reports with police reporting (raising a $400 threshold to $750) and extends the period for uninsured-motorist post-accident processing from 50 days to six months; Steele said the change reflects current practice and law from the prior session. Senator Petersen raised a drafting question about sentence clarity; the sponsor agreed to review it at third reading. The bill passed (reported as 27 ayes, 2 absent) and was put on the third-reading calendar.

SB42 would create statutory authority for an annual Crime Prevention Month in October under the Department of Public Safety for education and prevention efforts; Senator Baird said the governor recommended statute over a resolution. An initial motion to suspend the rules for final passage failed, but the bill was later recorded as passing and placed on third reading.

SB73 (Signing and Filing an Information), presented by Senator Hilliard, would allow a prosecuting attorney to sign and file certain misdemeanor informations without formal magistrate oath procedures that the sponsor said are largely perfunctory. The Senate adopted a small title edit and passed SB73 (24 ayes, no nays, 5 absent).

Separately, SB67 (income tax exemption for handicapped children) was placed on the consent calendar under suspension of the rules and noted as being placed there to stay. Several of the bills were reported to be noncontroversial and carried with large aye tallies; where senators raised drafting questions, sponsors agreed to address wording on third reading.