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Senate advances dozens of bills on Feb. 21; roll-call results and next steps
Summary
The Utah Senate moved many House and Senate measures to final passage or to the third-reading calendar on Feb. 21, 2001, mostly by unanimous or near‑unanimous votes. Major items include property‑tax, education funding, school safety, wage‑payment protections and lien‑recovery clarifications.
The Utah State Senate on Feb. 21 advanced a large group of House and Senate measures across multiple policy areas. Most items passed on voice or unanimous roll calls; a smaller set drew floor debate or were circled for further amendment.
What passed (selected items and recorded tallies):
- House Bill 106 (Motor Vehicle Franchise Act Amendments): sponsors described the measure as a cleanup strengthening the franchise board. Passed on consent (recorded in open session for signature by the Senate president).
- House Bill 239 (Support for children in state custody): clarified monthly support obligations when a child is in state custody after the 60‑day grace period. Passed, recorded at 24 ayes, 0 nays, 5 absent.
- Substitute Senate Bill 254 (Residence Liens Recovery Fund amendments): sponsor said the substitute clarifies protections for homeowners who hire licensed contractors and does not increase funding; roll call recorded 25 aye votes, 0 nays, 4 absent and the bill passed to the House.
- House Bill 122 (Administrative traffic checkpoint amendments): the Senate reinstated language requiring magistrate authorization before checkpoint signage is displayed, citing concerns about enforcement choreography; the amended bill passed on a roll call (23 aye, 0 nay, 6 absent) and will be returned to the House.
- First substitute, Senate Bill 115 (Safe schools amendment): restored language related to suspension/expulsion for weapons violations after a court injunction; passed to the House (28 aye, 0 nay, 1 absent reported where recorded).
- House Bill 243 (Camp Floyd state park appropriation): a $9,000 appropriation for restroom and running water upgrades; passed (24 aye, 0 nay, 5 absent).
- Second substitute, Senate Bill 49 (aviation fuel tax refund): passed on final passage after extended debate (27 aye, 0 nay, 2 absent). See separate coverage for details and fiscal follow-up.
- Second substitute, Senate Bill 186 (wage-payment amendments): the bill adds employee-notification requirements, poster/website notice options, and potential treble damages for unpaid wages after appeals; passed on the floor and was sent to the House (23 aye, 0 nay, 6 absent reported where recorded).
- House Bill 102 (school choice funding modification) and House Bill 38 (voted leeway amendments): both measures were discussed and advanced to the third-reading calendar but were later tabled or set for fiscal review; sponsors noted fiscal notes (HB102 ~ $550,000; HB38 ~ $6,000,000) and some were tabled to accommodate budget timing.
Several other technical and committee bills (licensing, insurance guarantee amendments, Internet child protection, criminal sentencing and child exploitation definitions) were placed on the third-reading calendar or passed with minimal debate.
Next steps: Bills that passed will be sent to the House for concurrence or to the enrollments staff where the Senate recorded signatures; items with fiscal notes will be accompanied by budget estimates in subsequent processing. Where bills were circled or substituted, sponsors said amended text would be recirculated for later floor consideration.
Attribution: Vote counts and sponsor descriptions are taken from Senate floor proceedings and roll calls recorded Feb. 21, 2001.
