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Utah Senate advances and passes a slate of bills, including tech, workers’ comp and law‑enforcement exemptions
Summary
On Feb. 5, 2001 the Utah Senate took final or concurrence action on a series of measures: it concurred with a House amendment to SB 21, passed HB 59 on workers’ compensation, approved SB 46 exempting full‑time officers from a licensure procedure for deception‑detection devices, and cleared SB 129 to adjust the medical‑malpractice cap, among others.
The Utah State Senate on Feb. 5, 2001 moved a cluster of bills forward, taking concurrence or final‑passage votes on measures spanning information‑technology code changes, workers’ compensation, law‑enforcement tools and tort limits.
A concurrence vote came on Senate Bill 21 (information‑technology commission amendments) after the House offered a technical code‑reference amendment; the Senate agreed to the House amendment and the clerk announced the concurrence passed with 24 yes, 0 no and 5 absent. Senator Steele urged the change to correct a statutory citation before moving forward.
House Bill 59 (workers’ compensation fund) was presented by Senator Eastman, who said the bill opens options to spread risk for the fund and align its operation with typical insurance practice. The Senate called the question and the clerk announced HB 59 passed with 24 yes, 0 no and 5 absent; it will be returned to the House for the speaker’s signature.
On law‑enforcement policy, the Senate approved Senate Bill 46, which exempts full‑time law‑enforcement officers from an otherwise required licensure procedure for certain deception‑detection devices (such as voice‑stress analyzers). Sponsor Senator Hickman said the bill gives officers an investigatory option and likened the tool to other optional police equipment; critics, including Senator Steele and Senator Spencer, warned of open questions about the devices’ reliability and potential litigation costs in other states. The clerk announced SB 46 passed with 19 yes, 6 no and 4 absent and will be transmitted to the House.
Senate Bill 129, which adjusts the statutory medical‑malpractice monetary cap upward to account for inflation (sponsor described moving the $250,000 cap toward $400,000), passed on third reading and will go to the House for further consideration; the clerk reported a roll‑call result of 21 yes, 0 no and 8 absent.
Other procedural moves included circling Senate Bill 19 to await sponsor amendments and placing a number of committee‑reported bills on second and third‑reading calendars. Several committee reports assigning bills to standing committees were adopted without recorded dissent.
Votes at a glance • SB 21 (concur with House amendment): concurrence passed, announced 24 yes, 0 no, 5 absent. • HB 59 (workers’ compensation fund): passed, announced 24 yes, 0 no, 5 absent. • SB 46 (deception‑detection examiner exemptions): passed, announced 19 yes, 6 no, 4 absent. • SB 129 (medical malpractice cap adjustment): passed to the House, announced 21 yes, 0 no, 8 absent.
What’s next Most passed measures will be transmitted to the House for signature or further consideration as appropriate. Several bills were circled for sponsor amendments or to obtain updated fiscal notes before final action.
