SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate unanimously passed a resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis, a bill advanced to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day and an extended-day kindergarten bill failed in the Senate.

Bill calls for 'homeless to housing' initiative, enhanced role for city, county mayors

The mayors of Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County would become members of the state's Homeless Coordinating Committee and the state would create a "Homeless to Housing Reform Account" under legislation introduced Wednesday.

HB436, sponsored by Rep. Francis Gibson, R-Mapleton, would appropriate $10 million to the account to be awarded as grants to help meet sheltering, housing or other needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Under the legislation, the committee would prioritize projects or contracts that have "significant additional or matching funds from a private organization or local government entity," the bill states.

The funds are intended to be used for projects that target subpopulations of people experiencing homelessness such as families, victims of domestic violence, youths, veterans, and single men and women.

Bill authorizing clean-burning water heaters clears committee

The state's top air quality regulator says if every home in Salt Lake County had an ultralow polluting natural gas water heater, it would be the same as eliminating all the nitrogen oxide emitted by the five area refineries combined.

"We identified this as something that would be practical for Utah with the public health benefits and the economic benefits that still allows us to grow," said Bryce Bird, head of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality's air quality division.

Bird spoke Wednesday in favor of HB250 sponsored by Rep. Edward Redd, R-Logan, which grants authority to the Utah Air Quality Board to enact limits on the amount of pollutants from natural gas water heaters.

The bill passed the House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee, and if approved by the full Utah Legislature, the Air Quality Board could enact limits that would be effective as early as July 2018.

That sort of delayed approach would allow manufacturers and big box retailers to comply with the requirements and also give the public time to adjust to the new law. Homeowners would not have to purchase a low pollution emitting water heater except as they replace their old one.

Committee OKs bill withdrawing S.L.'s ability to raise taxes for prison costs

A bill that would take away Salt Lake City's ability to raise sales taxes to help offset costs associated with the relocation of the state prison was approved by a Senate committee Wednesday.

"It's kind of like a loaded gun sitting there," Senate Budget Chairman Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, told members of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. He is the sponsor of SB180.

Yesterday's roundup:

Animal gas chamber ban fails in House; Senate advances death penalty bill

A bill that would ban gas chambers for animals failed in a House vote, Gov. Herbert met with Obama and asked him not to create any new national monuments in Utah, a Medicare expansion bill got a surprise pass and a Senate panel advanced a bill that would repeal the death penalty.

Hillyard said being able to add up to half a cent to Salt Lake's current 6.85 percent tax rate would "make the sales tax really an unbearable amount," especially combined with the potential for another local sales tax increase for transportation needs.

The option was added late in the session last year to legislation dealing with moving the Utah State Prison from Point of the Mountain in Draper. A site west of the Salt Lake City International Airport was later selected for the $550 million facility.

The committee voted 3-0 to send the bill to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.

Utah Senate declares porn a public health crisis

A resolution declaring pornography a public health crisis in Utah unanimously passed the state Senate on Wednesday.

"This is a serious issue," said Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross. "I think it's sending a strong signal that it's something we should pay attention to."

SCR9 calls for education, prevention, research and policy changes to address the pornography "epidemic."

The nonbinding resolution does not change state law, and Weiler said he's not trying to ban pornography. He said he wants to start a national movement to protect children from the harmful effects of looking at sexually explicit images.

Other than Weiler's presentation, there was no discussion of the resolution on the Senate floor. The measure now moves to the House.

One Medicaid expansion bill gains favor of leadership, but people still want more

Utah's House speaker has once again put his foot down when it comes to Medicaid expansion, but Utahns are still asking for broader access than what one popular bill would provide.

House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, R-Kearns, has proposed HB437 to expand coverage to the poorest in Utah, specifically childless adults who are chronically homeless and who find themselves in and out of the justice system for various reasons, but never get proper treatment for recurrent mental health issues because of a lack of access to proper health care.

Dunnigan has said it is a starting point for the state, one that will yield helpful numbers to estimate further growth and potential expansion.

House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper said the state can't afford the bill calling for Utah to accept full Medicaid expansion that was approved by a Senate committee Tuesday. SB77, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, has a $50 million price tag but covers more people and leverages more federal funds than Dunnigan's bill.

Proposal to charge fees for optional full-day kindergarten fails in Senate

Parents likely won't have the option of paying a fee to enroll their child in public extended-day kindergarten after the Utah Senate denied a proposal to do just that.

HB41 would have allowed schools the option of charging the fee to pay for extra hours of instruction required for an extended-day kindergarten program. The program was intended to be optional for families looking for additional learning opportunities for their students.

"Our districts already offer extended-day kindergarten," said Ogden Republican Sen. Ann Millner, the bill's floor sponsor. "We're just allowing another financial mechanism. It's optional for school districts. It's optional for students. It's optional for charter schools, and it's optional for parents."

While the fee would likely be unique to each district, initial legislative projections estimated the extra hours of instruction would cost about $1,400 per student. And because the bill was intended to help low-income students and other at-risk populations, schools would be required to provide a fee waiver for students who qualify.

HB41 passed the House earlier this month in a 47-27 vote, but it failed in an 11-14 vote on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Committee advances bill to rename Columbus Day in Utah

Native Americans crowded into a committee room at the Capitol on Wednesday to show support for a bill that would change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day in Utah.

SB170 sponsor Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee that five states have changed the name of the holiday. The committee voted 3-1 to advance the bill to the full Senate, drawing cheers from those who attended the meeting.

Like Pioneer Day in Utah is not just an LDS Church holiday, Dabakis said, Indigenous Peoples Day would not be just about Native Americans.

"It's a day that we take and we create an atmosphere of understanding and appreciation for those who went before and sacrificed, and those who helped to create the culture that we have," Dabakis said of Pioneer Day, noting that Indigenous Peoples Day would do the same.

Contributing: Marjorie Cortez, Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Lisa Riley Roche, Wendy Leonard, Dennis Romboy, Morgan Jacobsen, Emily Larson

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