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Senate passes package of COVID relief, tax and regulatory measures in Aug. 20 special session
Summary
In a one-day special session on Aug. 20, 2020, the Utah Senate approved a suite of bills and resolutions including CARES Act assistance changes, corporate net-loss tax adjustments and multiple House-passed measures; votes were taken under suspension of rules and all major items passed the Senate.
The Utah State Senate convened a special session Aug. 20, 2020 and approved a broad set of measures addressing pandemic relief, tax guidance and regulatory changes.
Under suspension of the rules the Senate passed key items that the House had transmitted and several Senate-originated measures. Clerks recorded the outcomes as follows: Senate Bill 6008 (Tobacco Retailer Amendments) passed 28–0 with one absent; first substitute Senate Joint Resolution 601 (federal payments in lieu of taxes) passed 28–0 with one absent; Senate Bill 6009 (CARES Act and COVID-19 assistance and recovery amendments), as amended, passed 27–0 with two absent; House Bill 6001 (Uniform Electronic Wills Act) passed 27–0 with two absent; House Bill 6003 (Premium Subsidy Amendments) passed 29–0; House Bill 6004 (School Emergency Drills Amendments) passed 29–0; House Bill 6005 (Cosmetology and Associated Professions Amendments) passed by recorded vote with unanimous or near-unanimous support; House Bill 6006 (Alcohol License and Permit Amendments) passed 28–0 with one absent; House Bill 6007 (Municipal Annexation Revisions) passed 28–1; first substitute Senate Bill 6004 (Regulatory Certainty Amendments) passed the Senate on concurrence 26–3.
Why it matters: The votes move multiple policy changes to the House (or return House-passed measures to the House for enrollment) and advance implementation of CARES Act-funded programs and state fiscal actions ahead of the regular session.
What passed (high level): - SB 6009 (CARES/assistance): Modifies multiple CARES-funded grant and assistance programs for agriculture, rental assistance, commercial rent/mortgage assistance, nonprofit support (CREATE), PPE grants, and creates a $5M grant program for oil, gas and mining revenue losses; allows programmatic flexibility between accounts and includes an amendment removing an unintended remaining cap in the agricultural grant language.
- HB 6002 (Supplemental budget balancing and coronavirus relief appropriations): (Passed earlier in the special session) moves federal CARES Act dollars into broadband, PPE, school supplies, unemployment benefits, and other priorities as described during the sponsor’s presentation.
- Multiple House bills (6001, 6003, 6004, 6005, 6006, 6007, 6011, 6012, 6013) addressing electronic wills, premium subsidy increases, school drill timing, cosmetology education flexibility, alcohol licensing at the new Salt Lake airport, municipal annexation fixes and other program-specific changes.
Quotes from the floor: “The goal of this program is that there will be no evictions due to lack of payment of rent until the end of the year when all this money has to be spent,” Senator Hemmert said while outlining changes to the rental assistance program. The clerk read roll-call results after each motion.
Next steps: Bills that passed the Senate will be transmitted to the House for final signatures where required, and administrative agencies will begin implementing program changes or preparing forms and guidance for taxpayers and recipients as directed by the enacted measures.
