Utah Senate re-passes uninsured-motorist identification bill after procedural recall

The Utah Senate voted to pass House Bill 2, the uninsured motorist identification program, after the House recalled the bill for a procedural revote. President Lane Beatty announced that HB 2 will be signed in open session and returned to the House for enrolling.

The recall was explained on the floor as a question of whether HB 2 had received a proper second reading before being placed on the consent calendar. Senator Peterson moved, under suspension of the rules, to place HB 2 at the top of the second-reading calendar and to consider the bill for second and third readings and final passage immediately.

Senators approved the suspension and then proceeded to a roll-call vote. President Beatty reported the result as 27 aye votes, no nays and two absences. "House Bill 2 has 27 aye votes," the president said, and directed that the bill be signed and referred back to the House for enrolling.

The move to recall and re-pass the bill was framed on the floor as a technical correction to ensure procedural compliance rather than a substantive re-opening of the measure. The Senate clerk read the communication notifying the body that the House had returned HB 2 to the Senate for further consideration.

The president said the bill would be signed in open session and sent back to the House. No amendments or substantive debates were reported during the re-reading and final passage recorded on the floor.

The next formal step is the president's signature in open session and the House's final enrolling procedures.