Utah Senate advances a slate of bills during busy Jan. 22 morning session

The Utah Senate convened Jan. 22 and moved quickly through committee reports, introductions and a consent calendar before approving multiple measures on the third-reading calendar.

Senators passed several consent-calendar items after brief sponsor explanations. Senator Wilson described Senate Bill 79, which adds the Glendening home and future state-purchased properties to the Executive Residence Commission's jurisdiction; the Senate recorded final passage and the bill will be sent to the House. Senator Hinkins summarized House Bill 11, clarifying how stipends and reasonable benefits for volunteers are treated under IRS and Fair Labor Standards Act rules to preserve volunteer protections; the bill passed and will be returned to the House for signature. House Bill 13 (extending the governor’s committee on employment of people with disabilities to 2028) and House Bill 48 (early childhood program consolidation) also passed after sponsors noted limited technical or consensus changes.

On the third-reading calendar, the Senate approved bills across multiple policy areas. Sponsors described the intent of each measure before recorded roll-call votes:

- SB 42 (Massage Therapy Practice Act Amendments): sponsor Senator Bramble said the bill creates a massage assistant track and increases training hours; the chamber recorded passage and will send the bill to the House. (see provenance)
- SB 94 (Special Service District Bonds): Senator Winterton said the bill restores a provision used by bonding attorneys; the Senate passed the bill and will refer it to the House.
- SB 45 (Statewide Online Education Program Amendments) and SB 83 (Public Education Funding Equalization): Senator Fillmore said SB 45 would equalize online offerings between middle and high schools, and SB 83 establishes an ongoing stream of revenue in years with sufficient revenue to support lower-funded districts; both bills passed on roll call.
- SB 61 (Livestock Collision Amendments): Senator Owens said the bill aims to hold railroads accountable and to create Department of Agriculture support for producers after collisions; the bill passed.
- SB 62 (Hydrogen Amendments): Senator Hankins said the measure creates an advisory council under the Office of Energy Development to support production and distribution; the Senate passed the bill and will send it to the House.
- SB 48 (Energy Producer States Agreement/Energy States Coalition): Senator Harper explained that the bill withdraws Utah from the Energy Producing States Coalition and joins the Energy States Coalition to expand engagement on fuels and emerging technologies; the Senate recorded a third-reading vote with recorded yeas and nays.

The body also moved a scheduling motion: Senator Ibsen successfully moved to place first substitute SB 128 (Public Safety Officer Scholarship Program) on the time-certain calendar for Friday, Feb. 3 at 3 p.m.

The president announced committee and caucus logistics and recessed the Senate until 2 p.m.

Actions recorded in the transcript include formal motions to substitute, to circle bills for later consideration, scheduling motions and roll-call votes. Where roll-call tallies were reported on the floor, the chamber recorded final yea/nay counts and noted absences; each passed bill will be sent to the House for further consideration where applicable. The Senate’s remarks were largely brief sponsor presentations and procedural votes; extended Q&A and substantive exchanges occurred on several water-related bills (covered separately).