Utah Senate advances series of bills, including tougher vehicle penalties and university counsel authority

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Senate on Feb. 11 received committee reports, assigned legislation to standing committees and advanced several bills to third reading, including changes to motor-vehicle penalties, a measure that lets university presidents hire in-house legal counsel, and funding for school-based gang-prevention programs.

The Senate adopted a committee recommendation for Senate Bill 115, a motor-vehicle code revision that a floor sponsor said would restore higher penalty levels for many offenses and raise two sections — failure to deliver title and operating as an unlicensed dealer — to Class A misdemeanor status. "This bill changes the code and raises the penalty levels to their previous levels," the sponsor said, arguing the higher penalties would give "our enforcement division, the Motor Vehicle Business Administration, the power and the tools to police this industry." The clerk announced SB 115 passed with 25 ayes, zero nays…