Senate reads dozens of bills for first time and assigns measures to committees

SALT LAKE CITY — During the Jan. 15 opening of the Utah State Senate, the clerk read the titles of Senate Bills 1 through 73 and multiple resolutions for first reading. The president placed a set of bills on the second-reading calendar and assigned many bills to the appropriate standing committees for early committee work.

Among the measures read for the first time were bills on single-family residence zoning (SB 1), a Promontory rail restoration project (SB 15), education and school provisions (multiple SBs), measures relating to the Olympics (SB 54 and SB 58), criminal and traffic statutes, and committee-reserved appropriations and resolutions (SCR 1, SJR 1–7). The president said several of the bills scheduled for second reading had already undergone committee review in prior sessions and were not expected to be controversial.

President Beatty noted that SB 3, SB 18, SB 19, SJR 2, SJR 3 and SR 1 were placed on the second-reading calendar. The clerk also identified committee referrals; for example, SB 15 (Promontory rail restoration) and SB 24 (condominium amendments) were referred to Business, Labor and Economic Development, and a set of education and health measures were assigned to education and health committees as appropriate.

No final committee actions or floor votes on these measures occurred during the opening reading; the assignments set the agenda for committee hearings in the coming days. Senators asked procedural clarifications about posting on the board and the scheduling of committee work; the president said committees would begin work and that members should be prepared to raise concerns if necessary.

Attribution: Bill titles and assignments are taken from the clerk’s first-reading roll delivered on the Senate floor on Jan. 15.