Utah Senate advances wide slate of House bills, passes motor-vehicle disclosure and inspection measures

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Senate moved a large number of House bills through the chamber on Jan. 30 during a House-focused session day, adopting Rules Committee assignments and advancing several bills to third reading or final passage.

President Valentine opened the session and the Senate adopted standing committee reports after Chair John Hickman presented committee recommendations for assignment. On the consent calendar the Senate passed House Bill 78, a technical recodification of Title 78, with a unanimous recorded vote and no substantive policy changes reported by its sponsor, Senator Bell.

The chamber worked through multiple bills on second and third reading. Under suspension of the rules, the Senate passed Senate Bill 100, an amendment to motor-vehicle dealer disclosure requirements that clarifies how down payments and net trade-in allowances are described in leases; the clerk recorded 26 yes votes, 0 nays and 3 absences before the bill was referred to the House.

Senate Bill 115, which removes a Department of Commerce staff seat from the Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection Advisory Council and requires the governor to appoint a public member with consumer-advocacy or public-safety experience, also passed on a recorded vote (26 yes, 0 nay, 3 absent) and was sent to the House.

The Senate approved a substitute to campaign-finance reporting deadlines (first substitute Senate Bill 21) to standardize pre-convention, pre-election and year-end disclosure reports; the roll call recorded 28 yes votes, 0 nays and 1 absence. Several other bills were placed on calendars for later consideration or were circled to keep related measures together for amendment work.

The Senate did not finalize every item. House Bill 52, which would change timing and percentages for a research activities tax credit, was read for the third time but then tabled on the third-reading calendar because of a fiscal note that the sponsor said would produce an estimated $5,900,000 loss in FY2008 and a $5,200,000 gain in FY2009 due to timing changes; sponsors said the net impact is a timing shift rather than a long-term policy cost.

The chamber recessed to meet again at 5 p.m. for an evening session. The Senate also briefly dissolved into a committee of the whole to hear from visitors and former Senator Ed Allen and acknowledged museum artifacts and a senator’s birthday during the floor session.

What’s next: bills placed on third-reading calendars will return for final votes in coming floor periods; HB52 remains tabled on third pending fiscal follow-up with the House.