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Utah Senate advances package of bills on third reading; several measures sent to House
Summary
The Utah Senate on Feb. 27 advanced and in many cases passed a broad set of bills on third reading, including measures on eminent domain valuation, special-event sales tax exemptions, judicial-election ballot language and correctional-audit transparency. Several items were circled for fiscal review or sent to conference.
The Utah Senate spent floor time on Feb. 27 advancing a wide set of measures and approving multiple bills to be sent to the House. Most roll-call votes were unanimous or lopsidedly in favor as senators moved bills through third reading.
Notable outcomes included passage of First Substitute Senate Bill 205 (eminent domain modifications), First Substitute Senate Bill 197 (consanguinity clarifications) and a concurrent resolution on state employee benefits that the sponsor estimated would return $18,600,000 to the general fund. The Senate also approved statutory and administrative changes affecting criminal-justice reporting and correctional-audit transparency.
Votes at a glance (selected items recorded on the floor):
- First Substitute Senate Bill 205 (eminent domain modifications): passed 26 yea, 0 nay, 3 absent (motion to pass moved by Sen. Cullimore). (provenance: SEG 103'05 and SEG 160'16)
- Senate Bill 194 (special-event sales tax exemptions for short-duration vendors): passed 22 yea, 0 nay, 7 absent (sponsor: Sen. Andrade). (provenance: SEG 165'64)
- Senate Concurrent Resolution 10 (state employee benefits/refund to general fund): passed 28 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent (sponsor: Sen. Fillmore). (provenance: SEG 276—45)
- Senate Bill 188 (plea-in-abeyance amendments): passed 28 yea, 0 nay, 1 absent (sponsor: Sen. Thatcher). (provenance: SEG 346—86)
- First Substitute Senate Bill 193 (statewide jail data amendments): substituted and circled for the fiscal note, later uncircled and passed after the fiscal note became public. (provenance: SEG 453—39; SEG 1587—624)
- Second Substitute Senate Bill 206 (judicial-election amendments): passed 24 yea, 3 nay, 2 absent after floor substitution and debate about ballot wording and clerks' concerns. (provenance: SEG 1071—344)
- Second Substitute House Bill 243 (warning labels on pornographic material): passed third reading 20 yea, 6 nay, 3 absent; the floor debated potential enforcement burdens and effects on minors before the vote. (provenance: SEG 1738—920)
Several other bills were approved for placement on calendars or sent to the House for consideration. The Senate appointed a conference committee to meet with House members on third substitute Senate Bill 67 (disposition of fetal remains). The body adjourned until 10 a.m. the next legislative day.
Actions reported on the floor (selected): motions to substitute or delete title and body were recorded for multiple bills; multiple bills were circled or uncircled to allow staff to confirm fiscal notes. The clerk's readings and the roll-call tallies above reflect the official actions taken in the transcript.
The Senate will send enrolled bills and adopted resolutions to the House or to the staff for enrolling as required before final processing.
