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Utah Senate rejects House Bill 103 on reduced-school-speed intersections amid preemption concerns
Summary
House Bill 103, which would allow reduced-speed school zones to be placed in intersections in some cases, failed final passage after senators questioned process, traffic-study requirements and potential preemption of state authority over state roads.
The Senate rejected House Bill 103 on its final passage vote after several senators raised concerns that the bill would bypass established traffic-study procedures and could amount to local preemption of state road-placement authority.
Senator Griner explained the opposition, saying there is a “set process” for creating reduced-speed zones that includes walking-route studies and assessments of traffic flow for students. She cautioned that allowing intersections to be treated differently "at the will of competing government entities" could create problems in certain jurisdictions.
Senator Valentine also announced his intention to vote no, saying the measure appeared to be “a subtle way of doing a preemption by local governments” that would interfere with the state's ability to place state roads where they belong.
After debate the roll call was held. The clerk recorded the result in the floor transcript: House Bill 103 "having received 10 yay 11 yay 15 nay votes, 3 being absent, fails to pass" (text as read in the transcript). The bill will be returned to the House.
Next steps: sponsors or proponents may seek additional study or revised language to address the traffic-study and jurisdictional concerns; Senator Ballantine served notice to hold a separate bill for 24 hours in a related procedural motion recorded later in the session.
