Utah Senate advances wide package of bills on emergency management, consumer protections and public-safety rules

The Utah Senate convened for its 36th legislative day and moved a large consent calendar and multiple third-reading bills, passing measures on emergency response, controlled-substance database checks and consumer notice requirements.

A leading measure, House Bill 80, renames the Division of Homeland Security to the Division of Emergency Management and clarifies coordination and priority rules between local and state entities during declared emergencies. Senator Jerry Stevenson said the change "coordinates how we use emergency how we coordinate these services during emergency management situations" and the Senate recorded a unanimous vote of those present; the bill passed with 24 "yea" votes and 5 absent.

Senator Bramble’s Senate Bill 248 expanded authorized access to the Controlled Substance Database so certain workers’-compensation reviewers can check for prescription duplication and potential abuse; it also requires a physician to review the database before issuing a first prescription for a Schedule II or III drug. The Senate approved the measure on a roll-call vote, 27 "yea," 1 "nay," and 1 absent.

On consumer protections, first substitute House Bill 194 (Service Contracts Act amendments) was amended on the chamber floor to remove the words "for profit" from the bill’s definition, clarifying that notice and…