SALT LAKE CITY — Here's a look at what lawmakers discussed during Wednesday's interim, including a push to restore the Count My Vote initiative and the possibility of bringing medical marijuana to Utah. Click on the headline to be taken to the full article.

Experts discuss health impacts of medical marijuana in Utah

Local and national experts explained some potential impacts of medicinal marijuana to state lawmakers Wednesday, pushing along the debate for legalization in Utah.

"When you call it medicine, you create an entitlement, and when it's an entitlement, everybody then wants it," Sgt. Jim Gerhardt, a member of Denver's North Metro Task Force, told Utah's Health and Human Services Interim Committee.

The number of people claiming "chronic pain" in Colorado has increased substantially each year, giving more people access to marijuana, Gerhardt said.

Jahan Marcu, senior science adviser at Americans for Safe Access, told lawmakers that enough research exists to prove marijuana isn't harmful. Like any substance or activity, he said, marijuana can be addictive.

"Cannabis is inherently safe, nontoxic and innocuous, but commercialization is extremely complicated," Marcu said, citing pages of regulations set forth by various groups that are becoming standard practices for marijuana operations across the country.

GOP lawmakers say primary election plurality issue should be resolved by party

The leaders of a legislative interim committee studying what should be done if a primary winner doesn't receive a majority of votes under a new nominating system said Wednesday political parties should decide who advances.

"In my opinion, that should return to the party," Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, the House chairman of the Legislature's Government Operations Interim Committee, said after a hearing on proposals to deal with the plurality issue.

The possibility a candidate could win a primary election with less than 50 percent of the vote became an issue with SB54, a bill passed to stop the Count My Vote initiative to replace the state's unique caucus and convention nominating system.

The controversial compromise approved by the 2014 Legislature allows political parties to continue to use that system to nominate candidates while creating an alternative path to the primary ballot by gathering voter signatures.

Lawmakers resume debate on selection of State School Board

Lawmakers on Wednesday continued to discuss possibilities of changing how State School Board members are chosen after a stalemate of opinions stalled previous proposals in the 2015 Legislature.

Sen. Alvin Jackson, R-Highland, calls his proposal the "5-4-4 compromise," a bill that combines elements of three approaches lawmakers debated during the legislative session: partisan elections, nonpartisan elections and appointment by the governor.

"This plan is a genuine compromise," Jackson said during Wednesday's Education Interim Committee meeting. "It gives supporters of partisan, nonpartisan and a governor-supported school board something the can support while actually requiring them to accept something they don't like."

Jackson's proposal would reduce the number of State School Board members from 15 to 13 and mandate that five members be appointed by the governor with Senate approval, which would require voters to approve a constitutional amendment. Four board members would be vetted in a nonpartisan election, and the other four would be selected in a bipartisan race based on Utah's four congressional districts.

Utah lawmakers, police closer to statewide body camera rules

Utah police agencies don't oppose statewide policies on the use of body-worn cameras as long as they balance the interests of their officers and the public.

State lawmakers are considering several proposals governing when, where and how police use the technology, along with guidelines for retention and releasing the video footage.

But numerous questions about privacy rights, when officers turn the cameras on and off, and the public's access to the video makes drafting legislation complicated.

"The idea that the law enforcement community does not want these body cameras is ludicrous," Utah Highway Patrol Col. Danny Fuhr told the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee on Wednesday.

Contributing: Wendy Leonard, Lisa Riley Roche, Katie McKellar, Dennis Romboy

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