SALT LAKE CITY — Utah House Republicans heard two medical marijuana bills but have not taken a position, an alcohol permit bill cleared a Senate committee and a lawmaker proposed making an 'In God We Trust' license plate a standard option. Here's the latest on what's happening on the hill.

Republicans, Democrats together on need for clean air legislation

More than two dozen Republican and Democratic lawmakers stood together Monday to announce a long list of clean air-related bills and appropriation requests.

"We have made tremendous progress in air quality in the last few years. Our air has improved," the founder and co-chairwoman of the Legislature's bipartisan clean air caucus, Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, said. "But we know it's not enough."

Arent said the package that totals 14 bills so far does not contain "any silver bullet" but represents what she described as incremental but important steps to improve air quality that can be taken this session.

Lawmakers described proposals ranging from a $10 million request from Rep. Stephen Handy, R-Layton, to match with local funds to replace 119 aging diesel school buses, to Arent's bill, HB237, that would allow taxpayers to contribute to a Clean Air Fund.

Senate Majority Leader Ralph Okerlund, R-Monroe, is sponsoring SB102, which would provide tax incentives over 20 years for local refineries making the costly conversion to producing cleaner Tier 3 fuel.

Specialty license plate bills on the way to Senate

Bills to create two specialty license plates received unanimous approval from a Senate committee Monday.

Each licence plate would require a $25 annual donation to the specified organization. The Utah Department of Motor Vehicles must receive 500 applications per plate before production can begin.

SB64, sponsored by Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, would raise funding for the Real Salt Lake Soccer Foundation to help fund training of youth soccer referees.

Alcohol permit bill clears Senate committee

A bill that clarifies how the state alcohol commission considers permits for special events advanced Tuesday in the Utah Legislature.

The Senate Business and Labor Committee unanimously approved HB13, which says the commission may issue an alcohol permit if the entity meets the qualifications.

"It was vague before," said bill sponsor Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield. The measure now goes to the full Senate for consideration.

Last week's Legislative roundup:

Bills advance lowering hunting permit age to 12, abolishing ban to carry on buses, trains

A panel approved a bill that would let people carry guns on buses and trains and a committee unanimously approved a bill that would let 12-year-olds apply for certain hunting permits. Here's what happened during Utah's legislative session on Thursday.

House Republicans hear medical marijuana bills, not expected to take a position

Members of the House Republican caucus heard pitches Tuesday for two approaches to legalizing medical marijuana, but House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said the caucus likely won't take a position on the issue.

"We had that debate in there, and some of that stuff can just fly. However it goes, it goes. I don't think it's going to rise to that level," Hughes said after the caucus meeting. "The process will move it forward."

Neither SB73, sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs; nor SB89, from Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, have been heard yet in the Senate, although both have been sent to committees.

Madsen said his bill permitting patients with certain conditions to access and use cannabis will be heard Thursday by the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.

It's Madsen's second attempt to legalize marijuana for specific medical uses, including relieving chronic pain. Last session, a bill he sponsored on the subject failed to pass the Senate by a single vote.

Vickers' bill would limit use to the nonpsychoactive cannabis extract called cannabinoid, or CBD, building on a 2014 law that offered trial access to hemp oil to Utahns with epilepsy.

Bill to eliminate straight-ticket voting fails in committee

A bill that would have done away with straight-ticket voting on Utah ballots failed in committee Tuesday after Utah GOP Chairman James Evans spoke against it.

"I think it's important we not take a convenience away from voters because they identify with a political party," Evans told members of the House Government Operations Standing Committee.

The sponsor of HB119, House Minority Caucus Manager Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, said some voters are confused about what it means to check a box to vote for all the candidates of a particular political party.

Arent said straight-party voters can forget to cast their votes in nonpartisan races on the same ballot. Some, she said, end up not knowing exactly who they voted for in a given election.

Lawmaker proposes making 'In God We Trust' license plate a standard option

A state lawmaker wants to make the "In God We Trust" specialty license plate a standard option at the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles.

Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem, is sponsoring HB127, which would make the "In God We Trust" plate a standard option for motorists, along with the "Greatest Snow on Earth" and Delicate Arch plates.

Peterson said the "In God We Trust" license plate has become the third-most popular specialty plate since being introduced three years ago. In the past nine months alone, 5,000 of the specialty plates have been issued.

Related:

Lawmaker proposes tax hike on wealthiest Utahns to raise money for schools

A Utah lawmaker called the state's flat income tax a "disaster" Friday, while proposing legislation that would collect more money from the wealthiest Utahns.

Bill to permit 18 year olds to petition court to end DCFS supervision stalls

An 18 year old can vote, join the military and for many other purposes is considered an adult.

So it follows that an 18-year-old in the care of the Division of Child and Family Services, in concert with their parents, should be able to petition a juvenile court to end that supervision and be reunited with their families, Sen. Alvin Jackson, R-Highland, told a legislative committee during a hearing on SB79 late Tuesday afternoon.

"The intent of the language is, once a child turns 18, they're able to, along with their parents, decide that, 'Hey, we've made changes in our lives. We understand a situation has occurred that forced DCFS to take the child from the home.'

"But at 18, the child should be able to make the decision along with the parents to go back home," he said.

STEM or STEAM: Is there room for both in Utah schools?

Laurie Coleman was one of dozens of parents walking with their kids Tuesday at the second annual STEM Fest, where companies and educators are gathering this week to showcase career opportunities in various STEM fields.

But there's a key component of her kids' education that Coleman doesn't want them to miss. It's a puzzle piece that ties it all together, helping them build a foundation of creativity and draw connections in their work, she said.

That piece is the arts, which makes Coleman and others see STEAM as a more complete academic puzzle.

"They're all connected," she said. "We try to do more art at home because we think it's important. I wish they had more art opportunities for art in school."

As some 4,000 students, their parents and teachers attended the STEM Fest on Tuesday — with another 14,000 expected to come this week — lawmakers on Capitol Hill debated two bills: one for science, and one for the arts.

One passed, the other didn't.

Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche, Emily Larson, Dennis Romboy, Marjorie Cortez, Morgan Jacobsen

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