Utah Senate advances a slate of bills on third reading; several sent to the House

The Utah Senate on the floor advanced a package of bills across taxation, public safety, criminal justice and technology and sent the measures to the House for consideration.

Among bills passed on third reading, the Senate approved Senate Bill 106, enacting sales-and-use tax exemptions for rural electric cooperatives; Senate Bill 173, clarifying alarm-system protections for businesses; and Senate Bill 166, which changes permissible uses of aeronautics-restricted accounts and creates a state aircraft restricted account for operations and maintenance. Each measure was presented on the floor and passed by roll call.

Senate Bill 147, which adjusts the Utah Communications Authority per-line charge, was presented by Senator Harper and passed after the sponsor said the measure would lower the fee by $0.26 per month initially and reduce it to $0.32 per month in a later phase once funding conditions are met.

A suite of other bills also cleared the chamber, including second substitute Senate Bill 179 (criminal justice amendments), which passed with recorded nay votes and will proceed to the House; Senate Bill 151 (an advanced-practice registered nurse compact with an amendment clarifying it does not supersede state law on scope of practice); and an amended Senate Bill 137 addressing hazardous-materials decontamination and municipal authority.

Rules committee assignments were approved for dozens of bills to be sent to standing committees; the rules report lists committee referrals across business and labor, education, health, judiciary, natural resources and transportation.

The Senate adjourned until 10 a.m. the following day.

Votes at a glance (selected outcomes):
- Senate Bill 106: passed (23 yay, 0 nay, 6 absent).
- Senate Bill 173: passed (25 yay, 0 nay, 4 absent).
- Senate Bill 166 (as amended): passed (24 yea, 0 nay, 5 absent).
- First substitute Senate Bill 147: passed (24 yay, 0 nay, 5 absent).
- Second substitute Senate Bill 179: passed (24 yay, 3 nay, 2 absent).
- Senate Bill 151 (amended): read a third time (26 votes, 0 nay, 3 absent).
- Third substitute Senate Bill 137: read a third time (24 yay, 0 nay, 5 absent).
- Second substitute Senate Bill 169 (Citizens Digital Portal): read a third time (26 yay, 0 nay, 3 absent).

The Senate also circled several complex or recently amended bills — including measures on behavioral health curriculum, regulatory sandboxes in education and multiple medical-cannabis items — to allow more time for substitutes and stakeholder review. The Senate adjourned after approving the day's business.