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Utah Senate advances wide package of bills on emergency management, consumer protections and public-safety rules
Summary
On its 36th day, the Utah Senate passed a broad slate of bills — including measures on emergency management, ignition-interlock reporting and consumer-protection notice requirements — and placed numerous other bills on the third-reading calendar. Lawmakers also amended and approved a consumer-contracts bill and sent several measures to the House for action.
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 renewal protections would apply to both for-profit and nonprofit business customers. Senator Valentine moved the amendment and, after additional amendment activity, the Senate passed the bill as amended by roll call, 26 "yea," 0 nays and 3 absent.
Senator Valentine also sponsored Senate Bill 77 to tighten ignition-interlock requirements. "This bill closes up those 2 loopholes by requiring that a vendor be licensed and then give notification to the division that they put on the interlock and when they take it off," Valentine said. The Senate approved SB77 with 25 "yea" votes and 5 absent and will forward it to the House.
The chamber cleared a series of consent-calendar items, including education and charter-school bills. First substitute House Bill 92, which allows and encourages local school boards to form regional service centers and directs the State Board of Education to make related rules, passed on consent with 23 "yea" votes, 0 nays and 6 absent.
Other bills passed or advanced on the floor include: - Senate Bill 72 (initiative amendment), passed 26–0 (3 absent), which adjusts the lieutenant governor’s single-subject review standard and allows limited post-hearing petition edits; - Senate Bill 78 (early-graduation counseling), passed 25–0; - House Bill 163 (statute reviser technical corrections), passed 24–0 (5 absent); - House Bill 254 (emergency procedures amendment establishing a local-to-county-to-state declaration structure), passed 23–0 (6 absent); and - Second substitute Senate Bill 52 (arbitration framework for tort cases), passed 27–0.
Several bills were circled for later consideration or committee work, and the Senate agreed to move a bill (SB280) from the Government Operations Committee to Natural Resources for better alignment with committee jurisdiction. The Senate recessed until 2:00 p.m.
Votes at a glance (select outcomes recorded on the floor): House Bill 50 — School termination procedures modifications: Passed; recorded as 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. First substitute House Bill 92 — Public Education Regional Service Centers: Passed; 23 yea, 0 nay, 6 absent. House Bill 251 — Alarm System Amendments: Passed; unanimous among those present (tally recorded in open session). Senate Bill 77 — Ignition interlock system amendments: Passed; 25 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. Senate Bill 313 — Prostate cancer specialty license plate: Passed; 23 yea, 0 nay, 6 absent. House Bill 80 — Emergency Management (rename & coordination): Passed; 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. House Bill 163 — Reviser statute technical corrections: Passed; 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. House Bill 254 — Emergency procedures amendment: Passed; 23 yea, 0 nay, 6 absent. First substitute House Bill 268 — Municipal property-maintenance enforcement: Passed; 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. House Bill 83 — Charter School Revolving Account (uncircled and presented): Passed; 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. Senate Bill 72 — Initiative amendment (single-subject standard, petition edits): Passed; 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. Senate Bill 78 — Public school early-graduation counseling: Passed; 25 yea, 0 nay. First substitute House Bill 194 — Service Contracts Act amendments (amended on floor): Passed; 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. First substitute House Bill 81 — Tow Truck Amendments: Passed; 25 yea, 0 nay. Second substitute Senate Bill 52 — Voluntary arbitration for tort actions: Passed; 27 yea, 0 nay. Senate Bill 248 — Controlled Substance Database amendments: Passed; 27 yea, 1 nay, 1 absent.
What happens next: Bills that passed will be returned to the House for further action or signature as noted on the floor. Several circled bills and items moved to the third-reading calendar for future floor consideration. The chamber recessed until 2 p.m. and scheduled committee work and further consideration as announced from the floor.
(Reporting based on the Senate chamber proceedings recorded on the floor; tally figures and amendments reflect roll-call and unanimous-consent statements made on the record.)
