Utah Senate advances broad package of bills, adjusts early-voting hours and sets conflict-disclosure website

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Senate on the floor on an unspecified 2019 session day approved a wide-ranging package of bills covering elections, tax code cleanups, conflict-disclosure procedures and community health grants while briefly pausing for a ceremonial recognition.

Senator Vickers, sponsor of the second substitute Senate Bill 50 on local government office eligibility, described the measure as a clarification that prevents a person from simultaneously holding an elected municipal office and an elected county office and requires clerk notification at the time of filing. "There's a notification provision that if a candidate files... they're notified at the time of filing by the clerk that this conflict does exist," Vickers said before the Senate passed the bill 25–0 with four absent and sent it to the House for consideration.

On elections, Senator Iwamoto said Senate Bill 61 would remove a 5 p.m. closing requirement on the last day of early voting so that the final day’s hours match other early-voting days "for less confusion, flexibility, and to accommodate those who work." The body approved SB61 26–0 with three absent.

Senator Hilliard, presenting the first substitute Senate Bill 70 on unclaimed property, offered a personal anecdote about finding family members' unclaimed funds and urged colleagues to support the measure that would make it easier for individuals to locate and claim old insurance and other assets. "I called him this afternoon and he was excited as well," Hilliard said of a relative who discovered an unclaimed amount; the Senate approved SB70 27–0 with two absent.

Ethics and transparency changes were central to first substitute Senate Bill 89, which Senator Iwamoto described as renaming the conflict-disclosure statute to "conflict of interest" and establishing a website for candidates and officeholders to submit and edit disclosures electronically. "It renames it conflict of interest and creates a website where candidates and current office holders of state offices can submit and edit their conflict disclosures, electronically," Iwamoto said. The Senate passed SB89 27–0 with two absent.

Tax and revenue adjustments included two sales-tax-related measures. Senator Harper said Senate Bill 79 is primarily a technical cleanup to keep Utah's code consistent with the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement; SB79 passed 26–0 with three absent. Harper also led Senate Bill 99, which he said conforms state law to the 2018 Wayfair decision and reduces the state sales-tax rate from 4.70% to 4.45% to reflect new remote-sales revenue; after adopting an amendment the Senate passed SB99 21–2 with six absent.

Other measures approved on the floor included Senate Bill 104 (requirements and penalties for removing or moving survey monuments during construction), Senate Bill 74 (extension and membership changes for an air-ambulance review committee), and Senate Bill 83 (a grant-focused Partnerships for Healthy Communities initiative aimed at preventive services for young children and families). Each of those bills was approved by the Senate and transmitted to the House for further consideration.

The Senate also handled a series of House-originated bills on third reading, including House Bill 24 (property tax exemptions, deferrals and abatements) and House Bill 45 (a directive to the Board of Regents to develop a systemwide framework for awarding credit for prior learning), which the Senate read for third time where required and took procedural actions on fiscal notes as appropriate.

In a ceremonial moment, Senator Hilliard introduced Amy Croft of Alpine and yielded to Senator Hemmert to recite Croft's biography; the clerk read an official citation honoring Amy Croft as the 2019 Utah Mother of the Year. "We congratulate Amy Croft on her accomplishments and honor her as the 2019 Utah mother of the year," the clerk read.

The Senate concluded its business with further communications from the House and adjourned until 11 a.m. the following day.

Votes at a glance (selected action outcomes): SB50 — Local government office amendments (Sen. Vickers): Passed, 25 yea, 0 nay, 4 absent. SB61 — Poll hours for early voting (Sen. Iwamoto): Passed, 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. SB70 — Unclaimed property amendments (Sen. Hilliard): Passed, 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent. SB89 — Conflict disclosure amendments (Sen. Iwamoto): Passed, 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent. SB104 — Survey monument protections (Sen. Buxton): Passed, 27 yea, 0 nay, 2 absent. SB28 — Income tax revisions (Sen. Bramble): Passed, 25 yea, 0 nay, 4 absent. SB62 — Campaign finance revisions (Sen. Iwamoto): Passed, 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. SB79 — Sales and use tax technical cleanups (Sen. Harper): Passed, 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. SB99 — Sales tax conformity and rate adjustment (Sen. Harper): Passed, 21 yea, 2 nay, 6 absent. SB74 — Air ambulance review committee (Sen. Harper): Passed, 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent. SB49 — Homeless shelter funding clarification (Sen. Davis): Passed, 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent. SB83 — Partnerships for Healthy Communities (Sen. Milner): Passed, 24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent.

What’s next: Each bill approved by the Senate is being sent to the House for consideration; items with fiscal notes were tabled for required procedures on third reading.

Sources: Floor proceedings, Utah State Senate (transcript segments recorded in the Senate clerk’s transcript).