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Utah Senate adopts wastewater reuse bill and spreads sponsor's intent language
Summary
The Utah Senate passed House Bill 38 on Feb. 9, 2006, endorsing reuse of sewage effluent to extend water supplies and reduce pollution. Senators approved the bill unanimously (22-0, 7 absent) and agreed to spread Senator Hatch’s explanatory statement as legislative intent in the Senate Journal.
The Utah State Senate on Feb. 9 approved House Bill 38, the wastewater reuse requirements bill, and directed the sponsor’s accompanying statements be spread on the Senate Journal as legislative intent.
Senator Orrin Hatch, the bill’s sponsor in the Senate, opened the third-reading debate with a prepared statement emphasizing water scarcity in Utah. "Water is 1 of the most scarce and valuable resources in the state of Utah," he said, arguing that reuse of sewage effluent will be "an important component in meeting future demands for water" and help protect water quality by reducing pollutant loading to streams and rivers.
Senator Hatch told colleagues the measure encourages "beneficial reuse of sewage effluent consistent with the rights of the owners of water rights to better utilize, conserve, and extend Utah's scarce and valuable water resources." After brief remarks and no debate, Hatch moved final passage.
The Senate conducted a roll-call vote and the chair announced the bill "received 22 yes votes, 0 nay votes with 7 being absent," after which the body recorded the bill as passed and to be signed by the president in open session. Following passage, Hatch moved that his opening statement and two pages of explanatory wording (one titled "purpose statement for HB 38" and a second clarifying the meaning of lines 2-18 and 2-31) be spread upon the pages of the journal. The Senate adopted that motion without objection, making the sponsor’s clarifying language part of the legislative record.
Why it matters: Senate debate framed HB 38 as a policy response to long-term water scarcity in Utah, authorizing and encouraging reuse of treated municipal effluent while noting protections for established water rights. The inclusion of sponsor intent language on the journal creates a recorded interpretation that may guide future administrative or judicial questions about the statute.
The Senate returned HB 38 to the Speaker for the Speaker’s signature; no amendments to the bill’s substantive text were recorded on the Senate floor during the Feb. 9 session.
Next steps: The bill was recorded as passed by the Senate and is to be signed in open session by the president and returned to the House for further action (signature of the Speaker).
