Utah Senate advances scores of bills in Feb. 9 floor session; major items move to House

The Utah Senate met Feb. 9 for its 25th day of the 2024 session and advanced a long list of bills, approving many items on third reading and by concurrence and sending them back to the House for enrolling or further consideration.

Key outcomes included the Senate’s concurrence with House amendments to Second Substitute Senate Bill 46 (Health and Human Services amendments), adopted after Sen. Mike Kennedy described technical citation clarifications and county changes. The motion to concur passed on a roll call that yielded 23 yeas and 0 nays.

On transportation and infrastructure matters, the Senate passed First Substitute Senate Bill 51 (road construction bid-limit amendments) and First Substitute Senate Bill 155 (road usage charge program amendments). Senator Winterton summarized a definition added for the UDOT standard during the SB 51 concurrence, while Senator Harper said SB 155 updates fee language and removes a cap on the alternate‑fuel vehicle program to broaden participation.

The Senate also moved a slate of House bills through third reading. House Bill 64, updating building and fire codes to adopt the 2024 editions of national model codes with state‑specific modifications, passed on third reading after Senator Bramble described the updates. House Bill 20 (parental‑rights clarifications), House Bill 77 (Division of Human Resource Management amendments), House Bill 94 (civil‑commitment examiner qualifications) and House Bill 164 (digital currency modifications eliminating central bank digital currency as legal tender) all passed on floor votes and will be returned to the House for signatures.

Committee work was reflected in the day’s procedural votes: the Rules Committee and multiple standing committees reported favorable recommendations on numerous bills, which were adopted by the body. Senator David Buxton read the rules committee report that assigned bills including SB 208 (Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone amendments), SB 206 (Young Adult Service Fellowship) and SB 209 (election provisions) to standing committees.

The Senate also approved First Substitute Senate Bill 151 (fraudulent deed amendments) to target creators of fraudulent recorded deeds, and passed First Substitute Senate Bill 131, which includes information‑technology and campaign‑disclosure provisions related to synthetic media and artificial intelligence in campaigns.

The body paused for a time‑certain ceremony and unanimously passed Senate Joint Resolution 9, honoring Utah’s Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. Senator Kwan presented the resolution and described the state’s large NHPI population and historical ties.

What’s next: Most passed measures will be enrolled or returned to the House for the Speaker’s signature; bills assigned to committees under the Rules Committee report will proceed through their respective committee processes. The Senate adjourned and will reconvene on the next scheduled floor day.