Utah Senate advances a slate of bills, passes wildfire resolution and honors political scientist Dan Jones

SALT LAKE CITY — On day 30 of the 2013 Utah legislative session the Utah State Senate cleared a series of third‑reading items, adopted a concurrent resolution recognizing wildfire response last season and paused to honor Dr. Dan Jones for more than five decades of teaching and public service.

The Senate took up a lengthy third‑reading calendar and recorded final passage for a number of measures. Roll calls and clerk statements in the chamber show the passage of several bills and resolutions that will be transmitted to the Utah House for further consideration.

One of the day’s time‑certain items, House Concurrent Resolution 4, was introduced by Senator Stan (Senator Maine) to recognize firefighters and local responders for work during the 2012 fire season. Maine told the chamber the state saw an "unprecedented number of large fires" and said, "Utah averaged a large fire every day during this period," noting acres burned and a record number of structures lost. The Senate suspended rules to consider the resolution and passed it by recorded vote (25 yea, 0 nay, 4 absent). The resolution will be sent to the House for the speaker’s signature.

On several bills, sponsors summarized intent and the chamber proceeded to recorded votes. Among the measures the Senate reported as passing on the third‑reading calendar in the transcript were: SJR 11 (a joint resolution that, according to sponsor remarks, warns local governments not to allow outside influences to "infringe or restrict private property rights without due process"), Senate Bill 39 (parental resources for home instruction, which the sponsor described as an online instructional aid), Senate Bill 170 (identity‑fraud amendments to close a gap involving the use of a person’s photograph), Second Substitute Senate Bill 104 (amendments aimed at protecting vulnerable users of highways, amended to narrow the statute to distract‑for‑the‑purpose‑of‑causing‑injury language), and others. The clerk read recorded results on the floor for several measures, and the files show those bills will be transmitted to the House.

Senator Weiler, speaking about SJR 11, said the resolution was intended to give "a warning to our cities and counties not to allow outside influences to infringe or restrict private property rights without due process." Senator Weiler also noted in debate that several municipalities are members of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).

On SB 104, Senator Madsen described an amendment that removed a broad justification clause and replaced it with language narrowing the offense to actions that "distract or attempt to distract a vulnerable user of a highway for the purpose of causing violence or injury to the vulnerable user of a highway." The Senate adopted the amendment and passed the bill as amended.

Public‑health and technical‑fix bills also featured on the calendar. A sponsor described House Bill 276 as a one‑year, federally funded pilot to require pulse oximetry testing for newborns to detect critical congenital heart defects. The sponsor said the test "will catch about 70 percent of all critical congenital heart defects," costs less than $3 and that hospitals already have the equipment; the chamber ultimately voted to table the bill on third reading.

The Senate also paused midmorning for an extended tribute and an official citation to Dr. Dan Jones. The presiding officer asked "Joanna" to read the citation praising Jones’s 52 years teaching and service; the citation notes Jones’s long career as an educator and his role at the Hinckley Institute. Senators offered personal tributes in a Committee of the Whole before dissolving back into session.

Procedural business at the end of the day included a Rules Committee announcement and a motion that moved House Substitute HB 106 (Medicaid Inspector General Amendments) from Rules and assigned it to the Revenue Committee.

The Senate adjourned to reconvene at 10:00 a.m. the next morning. Bills passed on third reading will be transmitted to the House, and several items were circled or tabled for later consideration.

Votes at a glance (as recorded on the floor in the transcript): SJR 11 — passed (22 yea, 4 nay, 3 absent) — transmitted to House. SB 39 — passed (25 yea, 0 nay, 4 absent) — transmitted to House. SB 170 — passed (26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent) — transmitted to House. SB 63 — passed (26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent) — transmitted to House. Second Substitute SB 104 (as amended) — passed (17 yea, 8 nay, 4 absent) — transmitted to House. First Substitute SB 68 — passed (26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent) — transmitted to House. HCR 4 (Utah wildfires) — passed (25 yea, 0 nay, 4 absent) — to be signed by president and speaker.

What’s next: measures the Senate reported as passing will be sent to the House for consideration; other items (including HB 276) were tabled or circled for future action, and committee assignments were updated for certain House substitutes.

(Reporting based solely on statements, roll calls and motions recorded in the Senate transcript.)