Utah Senate ends 2007 session with dozens of bills passed, child-support measure fails and county debt forgiveness revived

The Utah Senate convened its final day of the 2007 session on Feb. 27, opening with a prayer from Richard Turley and the Pledge of Allegiance, and then moved rapidly through a stacked concurrence and third‑reading calendar to finish work before adjournment.

The chamber rejected a motion to concur in House amendments to second substitute Senate Bill 23, a bill updating child‑support guidelines. Sponsor discussion and floor debate centered on whether the amendment restored a system that left judges discretion within decrees. After members raised concerns that the revised guidelines would set Utah higher than neighboring states, the motion to concur failed on the roll call (the chair announced 12 yes, 14 no, with 3 absent) and the bill was filed.

Lawmakers then processed several high‑profile concurrence items and appropriations: Senate Bill 160 (pharmacy practice act amendments) was concurred and passed to the House; a revised measure using severance‑tax revenues (Senate Bill 18) was passed after the Senate agreed to read a substitute version under suspension of the rules; and third‑substitute Senate Bill 49, restructuring optional extended‑day kindergarten funding, passed and was sent to the House.

On criminal‑justice matters, the Senate amended and passed bills tightening penalties and clarifying statutes related to internet enticement and sex‑offender provisions. First‑substitute House Bill 5, which reduces the first‑offense enticement penalty to a second‑degree felony (with escalation on repeat convictions) and clarifies the limited liability of internet service providers that merely transmit information, was amended (Amendment 9) and passed by the Senate.

The chamber also debated several education bills. The Senate approved funding and program changes including a K–3 reading improvement appropriation and student‑assessment amendments that add a grade‑3 reading test and make other technical changes; Senators raised procedural and equity concerns — for example, whether testing dates would conflict with religious observance — and a floor amendment asking the State Board of Education to consider Saturday testing was adopted for consideration.

One item that drew extended procedural attention was first‑substitute House Bill 176, a measure to forgive certain county flood‑related debt in Washington County (roughly $5.97 million remaining on a previously advanced $25 million loan). The bill initially failed on an early roll call and was filed. Later in the day Senators moved to suspend the rules and reconsider that earlier action; after a call of the Senate to ensure members were present, the motion to reconsider was successful and on reconsideration the bill passed and will be signed in open session and returned to the House.

Other bills passed included measures to fund local infrastructure and transportation (amendments to transportation funding and an allocation tied to the Mountain View Corridor), municipal election law provisions to facilitate early voting, an amendment establishing a special revenue account for Attorney General programs (including Amber/Rachel Alert donations), and a bill converting Veterans Affairs from a division to a department to expand staffing and services.

Senators noted and corrected a conflicted interest on the record after passage of a health‑care bill that limits sharing of certain information among integrated health‑system affiliates; the conflict was noted in the minutes.

Procedurally, leadership and the rules committee moved many fiscal‑note bills by circling and uncircling items, appointing conferees where the House refused to recede (including conference committees for the Drug Offenders Reform Act and for distribution of local sales and use tax revenues), and managing roll‑call timing to preserve quorum. The Senate recessed for lunch with plans to return at 1:30 p.m. and indicated evening work would extend toward midnight as they finished the final items.

Votes at a glance (selected outcomes from the day's calendar): - SB23 (child‑support guidelines): motion to concur failed (filed). - SB160 (pharmacy practice act amendments): passed (Senate reported 24 yes, 0 no). - SB18 (use of severance tax revenues): passed under suspension; referred to House. - SB49 (optional extended‑day kindergarten revisions): passed (18 yes, 5 no, 6 absent). - HB5 (Internet enticement/ISP provisions; as amended): amendment adopted and bill passed; referred to House. - HB137 (pain medication management and education; amended appropriation): amendments adopted and bill passed; referred to House. - HB176 (certain county debt forgiven): initially failed on an early vote; after suspension and a successful motion to reconsider the Senate subsequently passed the bill and returned it to the House for signature. - HB86 (sex‑offender and kidnapping penalties, third substitute): passed; returned to House. - HB461 (K–3 reading improvement funding): passed under suspension of the rules. - HB341 (AG special revenue fund / Amber/Rachel Alert donations): passed under suspension of the rules. - HB374 (Integrated Health System Fair Practices Act): passed; conflict of interest disclosed and noted on the record.

What to watch next: several bills were returned to the House for concurrence or signature, and the Senate appointed conferees where the chambers disagreed on amendments. Conference committee activity (including on SB50 and SB170) will determine final language for a small number of contentious items.

The Senate's final day illustrated the routine end‑of‑session pressures — rapid floor votes, circling of bills with fiscal questions, reconsiderations late in the day, and a packed calendar that required leaders to prioritize which measures to carry forward to completion.