SALT LAKE CITY — House Republicans are expected to hold a second caucus Wednesday to talk about religious freedom and anti-discrimination legislation.

Meantime, the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted 8-2 to endorse SB296 after spreading out a packed public hearing over two days.

"The more people know about this legislation, the more comfortable they're becoming," bill co-sponsor Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, said after the hearing.

Urquhart met behind closed doors Tuesday with the House Republican caucus where he said he fielded pointed questions about the bill and worked through a lot of concerns.

House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he thinks "there will be" consensus.

"It was a good vetting of that issue," Hughes said of the caucus.

The speaker said this is "a big, big issue" that raised a lot of questions from members "just trying to understand different hypothetical situations or scenarios, or how do you apply the bills that are being sponsored into our everyday lives. It's kind of a new approach. I thought there were great answers."

But, Hughes said, "it's clear that this bill isn't everything to every one. I think that's kind of a sign of a good compromise bill. I don’t think anyone would walk away saying this is their unique, perfect solution, but I do think that common ground has been found."

Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said he is "extremely confident" the bill will pass the House. The bill's co-sponsor said to not give House Republicans more time to consider the legislation would probably violate the spirit of SB296.

Urquhart said those opposed to the bill have raised some valid issues, along with some misperceptions.

"Everyone's trying to find the sweet spot on this, and more and more people are coming to terms with it," he said.

Rep. Brian Greene, R-Pleasant Grove, was not won over. He voted against the bill in committee.

Greene said he's seen Utahns' attitudes about LGBT rights softened since the days of the state's Amendment 3 defining marriage as between and man and a woman, and Proposition 8 in California.

"I believe we can get to that place where we hope this bill will take us on our own. I see us moving in that direction," he said. "Even with this bill, we're not going achieve a utopia."

SB296, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate last week, proposes to add sexual orientation and gender identity to Utah's anti-discrimination laws for housing and employment, clarify exemptions for religious institutions and provide protections for religious expression.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, LGBT advocates and business leaders support the measure.

Adams said he didn't see the House decision Monday to continue a hearing as an attempt to stall the bill. He said it was an effort to ensure as much time for public input as possible.

Some told the committee that the legislation goes against God's laws, embraces a new standard of morality and attempts to temper constitutionally protected rights.

Wanship homeschooler Colton Bennett told the committee the bill violates biblical, moral and historic foundations of the state and the country. Sexual orientation is not a civil right, he said.

Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said he's troubled by statements that men have no right to support what God has forbidden.

"Whose religion are we talking about?" he asked, adding that religious beliefs vary.

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King said everyone has a gender identity, and the bill protects everyone.

"It's not carving out special status or class because we all share these things," he said.

Greene said he's concerned the bill goes too far to protect LGBT rights, while not adequately addressing religious freedom. He said the religious exemptions are too broad.

Robin Fretwell Wilson, a University of Illinois law professor who helped write the bill, said SB296 offers some of the most robust exemptions in the country, noting the bill covers not only churches but their affiliates, religious schools and specifically the Boy Scouts of America.

It also has important protections for individual rights, she said.

"Outside the workplace, you can't get dinged for attending an Equality Utah rally. Outside the workplace, you can't get dinged for giving $1,000 to Prop. 8," Wilson said.

Urquhart said he understands some people might wish the bill went further one way or the other, but it strikes a "superb" balance.

The Salt Lake Chamber, Ancestry.com and the Governor's Office of Economic Development issued a joint statement Tuesday favoring the bill.

"The best of Utah has been demonstrated to find common ground on this issue," said Chamber President Lane Beattie, a former Utah Senate president.

The Utah economy, he said, will only continue to grow if companies can recruit and expand their employee base, and SB296 helps that priority.

Also Wednesday evening, the House Judiciary Committee will hold a last-minute hearing on SB297, which would allow state and local government officials to opt out of performing marriages that violate their religioius beliefs. If they opt out, the law would not let them solemnize any marriages.

Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche

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