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Senate advances a slate of House bills on third reading; multiple workers' compensation measures move forward
Summary
On Feb. 6, 1997, the Utah State Senate placed and passed multiple House bills on third reading — including measures on prison inmate education, enterprise zones, water supply and a package of workers' compensation funding and medical-review provisions — and returned them to the House for final signatures.
The Utah State Senate on Feb. 6 advanced and approved a broad set of House bills on third reading, sending finished measures back to the House for final signature and enrollment.
Among the bills called and passed were House Bill 163, which adds the State Board of Regents to inmate-education programming for prisons; House Bill 164, which adds the Department of Workforce Services to a council addressing children and youth at risk; and House Bill 213, which extends the Utah Enterprise Zone Act’s sunset to 2008. Senators also approved House Bill 25 (procedures allowing public water users to seek extensions from the state water engineer for beneficial use beyond the 50-year mark) and House Bill 18 (higher education revenue bonds) after only brief floor remarks.
A cluster of workers' compensation proposals moved through the chamber after sponsor explanation and committee vetting. The bills addressed who pays medical-panel costs for certain workers’ compensation claims, adjusted assessment rates for the employer reinsurance fund for a limited period, and clarified the Industrial Commission’s authority to levy civil penalties on employers that repeatedly lack coverage. Sponsors noted the measures had been reviewed by the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council and presented projected costs for transition (for example, a projected $221,000 in medical-panel costs for 1997 noted during floor discussion).
Most bills were called by the presiding officer and disposed of by roll-call votes or consent calendar placement with minimal floor debate. Where recorded in the transcript, the clerk announced vote counts or that bills were to be signed by the Senate president and returned to the House for enrollment.
What happens next: Passed bills will be returned to the House for final signature and enrollment; the Senate placed some measures on follow-up calendars (circling or routing some bills for later floor action).
