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Senate clears wide set of bills on consent and third-reading; several measures passed unanimously
Summary
On March 7, 2011 the Utah Senate advanced and passed a large consent calendar and several third-reading bills, including measures on veterans IDs, charter school property tax, ballot placement, and emergency responder fees; multiple items were circled, amended or referred to interim study.
The Utah Senate moved briskly through a long consent calendar on March 7, passing multiple bills and taking a series of procedural steps to clear the floor for the final week of the 2011 session.
On the consent calendar, the chamber unanimously approved House Bill 86, allowing a veterans designation on driver licenses and ID cards; Senator Dayton moved the bill and the President recorded a unanimous vote (26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent). Senate Bill 278, clarifying property tax exemption treatment for public charter schools by defining a charter school as a district for property-tax exemption purposes, passed unanimously as well (25–0 recorded in that sequence). First substitute House Bill 143, setting ballot listing by random selection rather than alphabet or party, was also approved and returned to the House for the Speaker’s signature.
Other consent items included House Bill 250, designating an honorary state emblem of service and sacrifice, and House Bill 107, a cleanup to the Volunteer Firefighters’ Retirement system to ensure death and disability benefits. The chamber used routine procedural moves — uncircling (removing holds), circling (placing holds for later) and motions to adopt amendments — to manage several items.
Beyond the consent calendar, the Senate concurred with House changes to second substitute Senate Bill 120 (career service amendments) and passed it on a roll call. Additional third-reading items were advanced to the bottom of the third-reading calendar after recorded votes, notably bills addressing mortgage/real-estate licensure exemptions for attorneys (with a request to reconsider and an eventual circled status for further review) and changes to the Utah Medical Practice Act affecting supervision of medical assistants. The chamber also struck enacting clauses (effectively killing or pausing bills) and referred other measures to interim committee study when ongoing litigation or complex fiscal impacts warranted further review.
The Senate left the floor for a lunch recess with several bills queued for later consideration; the President reminded members there were roughly two dozen bills still to handle that day.
Votes and notable procedural outcomes at a glance (as recorded on the floor): - House Bill 86 (veterans ID on driver license): passed (recorded vote noted as 26–0, 3 absent) - Senate Bill 278 (Charter School Property Tax Amendments): passed (25–0 recorded in sequence) - First Substitute House Bill 143 (ballot placement amendment): passed (25–0) - House Bill 250 (state emblem of service and sacrifice): passed (26–0) - House Bill 107 (Volunteer Firefighters’ Retirement Amendment): passed (25–0, amended in the Senate) - First Substitute Senate Bill 59 (school grading system): passed (17–10; covered separately) - Senate Bill 273 (emergency responder fee): passed (28–0, 1 absent)
The Senate also used motions to "strike the enacting clause" on several bills (for example, S.B. 296 and S.B. 202), sending those topics to interim study or effectively killing them for the session due to unresolved legal or fiscal concerns.
The chamber’s action cleared many bills for transmission to the House or for final enrollment, while several measures were deliberately set aside for further committee work or interim study to allow more time for stakeholder input and fiscal analysis.
