SALT LAKE CITY — After nearly three hours of emotional testimony, Utah lawmakers decided to hold a bill that would alter the definition of polygamy and a bill to prioritize leasing over selling lands stalled and a new federalism commission requested by Rep. Chaffetz seeks to return power to the state. Here is a round-up of what's happening on the Hill.

Utah federalism commission begins wish list of returning power to the state

It feels like Christmas among lawmakers on Utah's Capitol Hill, where they're making a list and checking it twice to detail those areas where they feel the federal government should back off, get out and let Utah run its affairs.

The list, shepherded by the Commission on Federalism, comes at the request of Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and finds its impetus in the inauguration address by President Donald Trump, who promised to return power to the people.

"We are in a unique time," said Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, during a Wednesday meeting of the commission. "We have a changing administration, we have a committment from this new administration that there is a desire to transfer power back to the states. That is a conversation we have not heard in a long time."

House bill removes requirement for bipartisan representation on 24 state boards

A bill that removes from state law a requirement that some state boards and commissions have bipartisan representation has been approved by the Utah House of Representatives.

The House voted 51-21 to pass HB11 Wednesday, which would end the requirement that Democrats be appointed to 24 state boards and commissions, among them the Committee of Consumer Services, Board of Oil, Gas and Mining, and the Quality Growth Commission.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, does not mention Democrats specifically but calls for the removal of the "political party affiliation requirement for certain boards and commissions; requires certain board appointments to be made without considering political affiliation."

Senator: 'Who in 2017 could be opposed' to ratifying Equal Rights Amendment?

Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, said he can't see why anyone would oppose his just-introduced resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, 35 years after it fell three states short of becoming part of the U.S. Constitution.

"If you read the 29 words, it says neither the people of Utah nor the people of the United States will discriminate against women or against anybody as a result of sex. Who in 2017 could be opposed to that really? Nobody," Dabakis said.

SJR10 seeks to add this statement to the Constitution: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." It also calls for Congress to remove the 1982 deadline for passage.

The ERA, first proposed in the 1920s, was passed by Congress in 1972. Thirty-eight states were needed to ratify the amendment, and by 1982, the ERA had been approved in 35 states.

But conservative backlash led by a group that later became the Eagle Forum helped defeat the amendment in Utah and other states. For the past decade, ERA supporters have been trying to revive the amendment.

Utah filmmakers showcase talent, innovation at Capitol

You awaken in a tub full of dark, murky water, with a vulture screaming in your face and a woman spelling out your discomfort with a creepy voice.

Luckily you are swept away from the dark burning landscape and thrust into a new hot tub, enjoying the spectacle of planets and stars as the same woman tells you about Bullfrog Spa's JetPack therapy system.

The harsh juxtaposition was just part of an advertisement for a hot tub, but the delivery came through a unique and immersive virtual reality presentation.

It was one of several virtual reality presentations by the Utah Film Commission on Wednesday at the state Capitol. During the Film Day showcase, various cinema groups, production companies and schools were able to show the value of networking and technological developments that are helping to shape the film industry in Utah.

Jarom Sidwell worked with Samson Madsen to produce BullFrog Spa's virtual reality presentation. Sidwell is a visual effects specialist with film credits that include "Avatar," "Man of Steel" and "The Avengers."

He decided to start his own visual effects production group, 4th Wall FX, after moving to Utah to help produce some LDS Church films.

"I think as the technology develops, so will the storytelling," Sidwell said.

Bill calls for new state park at Hole in the Rock

A monument to the last covered wagon expedition in United States history could become a state park under Utah lawmakers' proposal.

HB63, co-sponsored by Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, would authorize the Bureau of Land Management and the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation to acquire the Hole in the Rock area in Garfield County on the western rim of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and create a new state park.

The area includes a trail used by Mormon pioneers to reach southeastern Utah.

Democratic leader's land-lease bill stalls in Senate committee

Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, says Utah has a vested interest in keeping control of its public lands, but a bill to prioritize leasing over selling lands stalled in a Senate committee Wednesday.

Davis' SB105 calls for leasing lands to be a priority and sets a separate procedure for the sale of those lands.

The Salt Lake City lawmaker said he believes the bill would help the state keep public lands and prevent back and forth trading between state and private ownership.

The measure failed to advance out of the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee with a tied vote.

Bill held after nearly three hours of testimony about polygamy

After nearly three hours of often emotional testimony about polygamy, including from women who said they were forced into underage marriages, a House committee voted to hold a bill altering the definition of bigamy.

HB99, sponsored by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, drew a standing room only audience that also included men and women who told members of the House Judiciary Committee they feared prosecution for practicing polygamy.

The committee chose to hold the bill after an amendment was proposed by Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, that would reduce the penalty for bigamy from a felony to a class A misdemeanor and make it a secondary offense.

Greene said he wanted to ensure the existing policy of not prosecuting bigamy as a "stand alone" offense would continue, warning the attorney general's office "can easily flip the switch back" if lawmakers don't take action.

Contributing: Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Marjorie Cortez, Lisa Riley Roche, Ryan Morgan

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