Likely no immigration bills will be heard this session; Alcohol laws move forward

Likely no immigration bills will be heard this yearRep. Chris Herrod, R-Provo, lit a fuse in the Utah House when he tried to get a hearing for his illegal immigration bill Monday.

And his unsuccessful attempt "most likely" means state lawmakers won't discuss any immigration bills this session, said Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart, R-Provo.

A Senate committee earlier tabled Sen. Stephen Urquhart's bill to repeal last year's controversial HB116. Also, the St. George Republican's measure to eliminate driving privilege cards for undocumented immigrants is not scheduled for a hearing.

A bill sponsored by Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, R-Orem, to add employer sanctions to E-Verify remains in the House Rules Committee, which determines which measures get legislative hearings and which don't. E-Verify is a federal Internet-based system that allows companies to check workers' immigration status.

Alcohol overhaul moves forward

Efforts to overhaul the mismanaged Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control as well as allow some state liquor stores to open on holidays moved forward Monday in the state Legislature. While the bills proposing administrative changes to the agency will likely make their way into law, opening state stores on holidays could hit a wall in the Senate.

The House approved HB283, sponsored by Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Salt Lake, 42-30. It would allow a few liquor outlets to open on holidays except Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and Fourth of July.

Earlier Monday, Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, blocked an attempt to allow Utah's small beer breweries and wineries to increase production.

SB66 proposes to replace the current five-member liquor commission with seven members and have the governor appoint the chairman and the agency's executive director. It also calls for an audit division within the department. The committee approved the bill and it now moves to the Senate floor.

Also Monday, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee gave HB354 a favorable recommendation. The bill sponsored by Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, calls for a committee within the Department of Public Safety to collect data in five areas — overconsumption, overserving, underage drinking, DUI rates and alcohol-related abuse.

Water rights for the Navajo Tribe

The state is moving closer to settling water rights negotiations for the Navajo Nation in Utah, with a committee of lawmakers agreeing Tuesday to fund an initial payment of $2 million.

That chunk of money would be part of the $8 million price tag Utah would be obligated to pay under a complex federal-state arrangement that would allocate to the tribe 81,500 acre-feet of water from the Colorado River system.

The allocation is far less than the 166,000 acre-feet of water the tribe could have claimed, state engineer Kent Jones explained to the Senate Natural Resources committee.

Under the arrangement, the money would support improvement in water infrastructure on Navajo lands in Utah — such as installation of pipelines to convey water for culinary use.

What to do with anonymous donations above $50?

Some candidates for elected office — most often local school boards or city councils — receive sizable anonymous campaign contributions. They sometimes appear in the form of an envelope of cash left on the doorstep of their homes. The problem is, the anonymous donations sometimes exceed the $50 limit allowed by law.

Rep. Kraig Powell's solution to the problem, proposed as HB493, would require candidates to submit anonymous contributions that exceed $50 to the treasurer of the respective governmental body for which they are seeking office.

Some committee members expressed concern about turning the cash over to government when it was given for a political purpose. Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake, argued that what donors need is more education about the appropriate way to donate to campaigns.

Public education advocates support bill to evaluate school administrators

The State Office of Education, Utah Education Association, Utah Parent Teacher Association and other groups from the public education community Monday threw their support behind a bill that would evaluate school administrators and teachers.

Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, sponsor of SB64, which creates a system of annual evaluations for administrators and public education employees that would be tied to salary increases and termination. It passed a preliminary vote in the Senate on Monday and Osmond expects it to pass the Senate and come before the House within the week.

Osmond said the bill is the result of numerous public meetings, classroom observations and conversations with parents, teachers and school administrators. State Superintendent Larry Shumway applauded the efforts of all those involved to reach a common ground.

Spouses both responsible for family expenses

Spouses would be jointly responsible for "family expenses," regardless of which spouse entered into a contract to obtain the service, under a bill endorsed Monday by the House Judiciary Committee.

HB452 is intended to better address the issue of a spouse — sometimes unemployed — who enters an agreement to pay services considered family expenses or expense of children, but later reneges.

Bill would address preferrential treatment of some education associations

Public school principals could be subject to $1,000 fines if an education employee association does not have equal access to a Utah public school, under a bill that received preliminary approval in the Utah Senate Monday.

Sen. Mark Madsen, sponsor of SB82, said the bill was intended to address the issue of National Education Association local affiliates being given preferential treatment in some Utah public schools.

For instance, time has been set aside during teacher orientations for NEA affiliates, the Lehi Republican said. Or the affiliates have been given access to teacher mail boxes, he said.

The American Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, has "not been given this kind of access," Madsen said. "The American Association of Educators has likewise been shut out."

SB82 also requires the Utah State Office of Education to establish a registry of education employee associations, including their contact information.

Madsen said similar legislation that passed five years ago to ensure equal access has not been working. This measure provides an enforcement mechanism, which could also include $10,000 civil penalties for individual schools and school districts.

$1 million to Leonardo Museum moves forward

A legislative measure that would funnel $1 million to help The Leonardo museum advanced out of committee Monday, but it will now compete with other funding priorities on Utah's Capitol Hill.

HB424, sponsored by Rep. Todd Kiser, R-Sandy, would take a general fund appropriation of $1 million and divert it to the state Department of Community and Culture, which would then funnel it to The Leonardo, a science, technology and art museum located south of the Salt Lake Main Library.

The museum, which opened in October, was financed with a $10.2 million bond, about $750,000 in redevelopment money, and hundreds of thousands of dollars from both Salt Lake County and the state. The contractor that renovated the former library into The Leonardo has sued Salt Lake City for allegedly failing to pay $1 million in completed work.

School Pledge of Allegiance bill moves forward

The Utah Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to a bill that would require all Utah public school students to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each school day.

SB223, sponsored by Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan, passed 26-0 on the bill's second reading.

Osmond said his hope is to restore students' respect for the flag and country.

House passes bill giving eminent domain over feds

Gearing up for a fight with the federal government over public lands, Republican state lawmakers voted Monday to add what they see as another weapon in their arsenal.

The Utah House overwhelmingly approved HB511, which would extend eminent domain authority of federal land to cities and counties. The Legislature granted the state that power in 2009. The measure is one of several states rights bills this session.

Republicans say Utah has been wrongly denied its ability to control land within its borders since statehood, putting it on unequal footing with other states. The federal government owns nearly 70 percent of the land in the state.

Ban on huka, e-cigs in public advanced in Senate

Hukas and e-cigarettes would be included in the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act under legislation a Senate committee approved Monday.

"If we want to eliminate hukas and e-cigarettes in public places, we need to do something," Rep. Brad Last, R-Hurricane, told the Senate Workforce Services and Community and Economic Development Committee. HB245 has already passed the House and now moves to the Senate floor.

The bill grants a five-year exemption to huka bars and businesses that sell e-cigarettes that can be used on the premises.

"With a fence around it for five years, we can evaluate how it works," Last said.

Connection between Park City and Cottonwood Canyon resorts gets approval from Senate

A proposed interconnect between Park City area and Cottonwood canyons ski resorts won approval from a Senate panel Monday.

"This would be a huge benefit to our state and we could do it with very minimal impact to the watershed and the sensitive areas in the Cottonwood canyons," said Sen. Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, sponsor of SCR10.

The nonbinding resolution does not specify how the canyons would be linked but expressed support for the idea.

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A legislature measure that would allow motorcycles and motor vehicles under 12,000 pounds to be registered for six months instead of a year cleared a legislative committee on Monday.

HB133 sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Peterson, R-Ogden, would not take effect until July 1 of 2013 and would allow a safety inspection and emissions certificate to remain valid if the inspection and testing was done within an eight-month period from the time of registration.

Peterson, who addressed his bill in the House Transportation Committee, said the six-month registration makes sense for vehicles such as mopeds that typically aren't used all year long.

The measure does not change the registration fees associated with eligible vehicles.

Expunging driving record may become easier

Serious criminal offenses can be expunged after a certain amount of time, but the same opportunity doesn't exist for Utah motorists who want to clear their driving record.

A legislative measure that would allow that option via petitioning the court advanced Monday out the House Transportation Committee.

Sponsored by Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, SB201 would allow traffic offenses such as red light violations or speeding to be expunged after three years if a judge agrees.

Contributing: Marjorie Cortez, Benjamin Wood, Amy Joi O'Donoghue, and Dennis Romboy

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