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Senate advances rules resolution and a slate of interim committee bills; several bills passed on third reading
Summary
The Utah Senate adopted SR 1 to require favorable committee recommendations before calendar placement and advanced numerous interim committee bills — including SB 13 (theft amendments), SB 20 (trustee-sale/foreclosure notice), SB 26 (Air Conservation Act reauthorization) and others — mostly by roll-call votes. The body also set SJR 1 on the Native American Holocaust Memorial Museum for a time-certain hearing.
The Utah State Senate adopted a rules committee recommendation to place a new Senate rules resolution (SR 1) at the top of the second-reading calendar and then advanced a large group of interim committee bills to the third-reading calendar, recording roll-call votes on multiple measures.
SR 1, presented by Senator Valentine, mirrors a comparable House provision and requires that certain committee hearings have a favorable recommendation before being placed on the calendar; the Senate voted to adopt the rules committee report and to place SR 1 at the top of the second-reading calendar, then moved SR 1 for final consideration and the motion passed (recorded votes indicated the resolution passed and was sent to staff for enrolling).
Floor action that followed included passage or placement on the third-reading calendar of many committee bills with largely unanimous or strongly positive support on recorded votes:
Votes at a glance
- SB 13 (theft amendments): read for a third time after roll-call; reported result — 25 yea, 1 nay, 3 absent (shall be read for third time). - SB 20 (trustee-sale/sunset extension for foreclosure-notice procedures): moved to third reading and passed on roll-call. - SB 26 (Air Conservation Act reauthorization): sponsor Senator Jenkins said the bill extends the repeal date from July 1, 2014 to July 1, 2019; roll-call announced 26 yea votes and 3 absent. - SB 25: moved and reported 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. - SB 18 (local government general fund clarifications): moved to third reading and recorded as passed. - SB 27 (massage therapy licensure reauthorization): committee bill with unanimous interim support; moved for third reading. - SB 28 (Utah Retirement System cleanup): sponsor offered floor motions and moved the bill forward. - SB 35 (administrative rules reauthorization): sponsor described the annual reauthorization process and the bill passed on the floor (recorded votes reported). - SB 21 (state construction code amendments): sponsor described an exemption for seasonal farm stands; roll-call announced 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent. - SB 24 (procurement-code exemptions for firefighting equipment): discussed procurement safeguards; recorded on third reading with 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. - SB 29 (controlled substance database amendments): allows managed-care organizations to access the controlled-substance database; moved by roll-call and passed. - SB 31, SB 32, SB 33 and others: committee bills moved to third reading or passed with committee sponsor explanation and recorded counts where noted.
Several floor items were procedural or housekeeping (circling and uncircling bills, motions to place bills on calendars). Senator Reid moved SJR 1 — a joint resolution urging Congress to fund a Native American Holocaust Memorial Museum — to a time-certain on Feb. 13 at 2:30 p.m.; senators discussed the use of the word “holocaust” and the resolution’s national focus and sponsorship by tribal leaders.
Throughout the session senators frequently waived summation and moved bills to third reading after brief sponsor explanations; most votes on committee bills were unanimous or near-unanimous. Leadership also announced a temporary change in meeting times for the upcoming week to allow appropriation committees to meet in the morning.
