Utah Senate advances broad package of bills, sending measures on farming, health, education and transportation to the House

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Senate spent most of its March 11, 2019, session moving a long second-reading calendar, passing a series of substantive bills and sending them to the Utah House.

Among the measures the Senate approved were a first substitute to the Urban Farming Assessment Act (First Substitute SB 246), a consensus substitute to medical-treatment prior-authorization rules (First Substitute SB 264), changes to the Uniform Fiduciary Income and Principal Act (SB 254), amendments to the construction code to protect historic plaster work (SB 253), the supplemental appropriations bill (SB 2), and a transportation infrastructure bond authorization (SB 268). Sponsors described the votes as efforts to streamline administrative processes, protect historic materials, fund priorities in public education and accelerate transportation projects.

Sponsor comments and sponsor-supplied amendments framed much of the debate. The sponsor of the urban-farming bill explained that an adopted amendment reduced an acreage threshold from two acres to one and added language permitting production "for food or marketable crop." The medical-authorization substitute drew its support from discussions with medical organizations, insurers and pharmacy stakeholders; the sponsor said the effort is intended to "streamline some processes" in prior authorization for procedures and medications.

Lawmakers debated timing and implementation in several instances. Senator Hilliard moved an amendment to SB…