Utah Senate honors Wataro Misaka, approves rail‑planning and licensing changes and dozens of bills; lawmakers get an improved revenue forecast

The Utah Senate opened Day 24 with prayer and the pledge before moving quickly through committee reports and floor action, adopting a concurrent resolution honoring Wataro Misaka, and approving a slate of bills affecting licensing, transportation planning, taxation and other policy areas.

Senators suspended rules to adopt First Substitute Senate Concurrent Resolution 3 honoring Wataro Misaka, the University of Utah player credited with breaking a racial barrier in professional basketball and a World War II veteran. Sponsor Senator Iwamoto introduced family members and university officials; University of Utah athletic director Mark Harland told the Senate Misaka’s jersey will be retired at the Huntsman Center, saying the player “will forevermore be honored and celebrated with the legends who have competed at the University of Utah.” The resolution passed by roll call 27‑0 with two members absent.

On legislative business, the Senate passed Second Substitute Senate Bill 23, a licensing and occupational‑licensing cleanup that clarifies when Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing (DOPL) may issue a license to an out‑of‑state practitioner and changes the composition of the plumbers’ and electricians’ boards to include one union member and one non‑union member. The sponsor described the bill as an annual cleanup and the measure passed 26‑0 (three absent) and will be sent to the House.

The chamber also approved First Substitute Senate Bill 92, a statewide comprehensive rail plan that the sponsor said adds two annual public hearings and an email comment option to earlier language. Backers described the substitute as adding public engagement while officials discussed how the bill dovetails with federal and congressional conversations about double‑tracking FrontRunner and other multimodal investments; SB 92 passed 26‑0 (three absent).

Other measures the Senate advanced or passed included a series of House bills received from the House, such as House Bill 13 (Children’s Hearing Aid Program amendments, extending a sunset), HB27 (waste tire recycling amendments), HB57 (towing signage and notification requirements), HB84 (traffic code amendments related to stop‑arm enforcement and penalties), HB151 (traffic safety amendments), and multiple tax and technical correction bills. Several bills were amended on the floor before passage; where recorded votes were taken the clerk recorded the tallies and most bills passed with large bipartisan majorities.

Lawmakers also debated HJR1, a joint rules resolution establishing a legislative process to nominate three names to the governor for a temporary U.S. Senate appointment in the event of a vacancy. Supporters said the resolution creates an orderly, expedited process in the unusual circumstance of a long U.S. Senate vacancy; critics pointed out that the legislature can suspend rules and questioned whether the resolution gives the legislature meaningful power in every contingency. HJR1 passed 21‑4 with four absent.

Senator Stevenson delivered a new revenue forecast to the Senate, which revised current‑year general fund collections up by an estimated $38 million (one‑time) and increased ongoing general fund projections by $50 million, producing about $92 million in ongoing improvement. Education fund receipts were revised even more strongly — a $73 million one‑time upward adjustment to $323 million and $77 million ongoing, for $518 million ongoing — but Stevenson cautioned that ongoing general‑fund requests still substantially outpace available funds and that Medicaid obligations remain a substantial pressure on the budget.

What’s next: most measures passed by the Senate will be returned to the House for further consideration or signature, and the Senate recessed until 2 p.m. for caucus meetings. The session’s revenue revisions set the background for budget negotiations in coming weeks.

Votes at a glance (selected items, floor outcomes): - First Substitute SCR 3 (honoring Wataro Misaka): Passed 27‑0, 2 absent. - Second Substitute SB 23 (DOPL/licensing board amendments): Passed 26‑0, 3 absent. - First Substitute SB 92 (Statewide Comprehensive Rail Plan, added public hearings): Passed 26‑0, 3 absent. - HJR 1 (joint rules resolution: U.S. Senate vacancy process): Passed 21‑4, 4 absent. - HB 13 (Children’s Hearing Aid Program amendments): Passed 27‑0, 2 absent. - HB 27 (Waste Tire Recycling Act amendment): Passed 27‑0, 2 absent. - HB 57 (Towing signage revisions, as amended): Passed 24‑0, 5 absent. - HB 84 (Traffic code amendments, as amended): Passed 26‑0, 3 absent. (Several additional House and Senate bills were read, circled, substituted or advanced; the clerk recorded roll‑call tallies on each.)

Reporting notes: direct quotes and vote counts above are drawn from floor remarks and roll‑call tallies read into the record during Day 24’s Senate session. The articles do not infer the contents of amendments beyond the sponsor’s floor descriptions and do not attribute statements to individuals not named on the record.