Utah Senate approves slate of bills on school tech, towing, digital evidence and more; resolutions on nuclear and permitting advance

The Utah State Senate passed a series of bills and concurrent resolutions during its day 16 session, advancing measures on public safety, education technology, law-enforcement forensics and energy policy.

Senators approved first substitute Senate Bill 191, tow-yard amendments, which codifies practices used by the Utah Department of Transportation motor carrier division and establishes a mandatory waiting period for a tow operator who removes themselves from the towing rotation to rejoin it. Senator Ibsen moved the bill and the Senate recorded 27 yeas, 0 nays and 2 absent; the bill will be transmitted to the House for consideration.

Senate Bill 88, a bill to require local education agencies to provide parental portals that show what websites students access on school-provided devices and how much screen time they have, passed after debate. Sponsor Senator Fillmore described the measure as a transparency and access bill; Senator Reby opposed the bill on fiscal grounds, calling it an unfunded mandate. The roll call was 21 yeas, 6 nays, 2 absent; the bill will go to the House.

First substitute Senate Bill 19, which the sponsor described as a stakeholder-driven rewrite to reduce backlog at the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL), also passed.…