SALT LAKE CITY — A bill banning drones within 3 miles of a wildfire passes the Senate, an e-cigarette tax bill was tabled for a summer review and a human trafficking bill that would allow the death penalty was killed by a Senate committee.

Bill prohibiting flying drones near wildfires passes Senate

The Utah Senate passed Thursday the latest version of HB126, which restricts flying drones 3 miles from a wildfire without approval of an incident commander.

The legislation also creates criminal penalties for the offense, which would be punishable as a class B misdemeanor.

Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, said the impetus for the legislation was an incident in Wasatch County last year when firefighting aircraft had to be grounded because drones were flying in the area.

The bill was substituted to include language that precludes local government from establishing regulations that pre-empt state law. The bill will be sent to the House for further consideration.

Senate committee kills human trafficking bill

A Senate committee gutted and then killed a bill that would have allowed the state to seek the death penalty for someone convicted of human trafficking if the victim later died because of the crime.

The Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee voted 2-5 Thursday afternoon to reject HB136, sponsored by Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield.

Committee member Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, amended the bill to remove language that would make it a capital crime if a trafficker recklessly disregards the victim's life or intentionally kills the victim. After Urquhart's amendment, Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, questioned the need for the bill after the death penalty language was stricken.

The bill had passed in the House by a vote of 44-28.

Utah Democrats urge support of full Medicaid expansion

Utah Democrats are calling on the public to step up support for full Medicaid expansion.

"Health care should be available as a right to every citizen in this country," said Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, who is sponsoring a bill in the Utah Legislature that would expand Medicaid eligibility to anyone who earns under 138 percent of the federal poverty level. He said SB77 "doesn't discriminate" among Utahns, nor is it limiting, but covers anyone who can't afford health care because of a restrictive income.

"We're talking about real people, real lives and real families," said LDS Democrats Chairwoman Crystal Young-Otterstrom. She said her Mormon beliefs lead her to support a move that would be compassionate to Utahns in need.

"As Mormons, we strive to live as emissaries of Christ and providing health care assistance to disadvantaged families is part of our Christian duty," Young-Otterstrom said, adding that providing assistance to needy families "helps them reach self-reliance."

Yesterday's roundup:

Citizens skewer public lands bill; Resolution asking feds to reclassify marijuana passes

Opponents of Rep. Rob Bishop's public lands bill harshly criticized it in a citizens hearing, a resolution passed to ask the federal government to reclassify marijuana for medical research and a lawmaker is trying to establish a new state park in the Hole in the Rock area.

Bill to tax e-cigarettes put on hold until summer

A crowd of students packed a committee room, an overflow room and other parts of the Capitol on Thursday to show support for a controversial bill to tax electronic cigarettes.

But the bill's run at the 2016 Utah Legislature likely came to an end when the House Revenue and Taxation Committee recommended it be studied over the summer.

HB333 called for an 86 percent tax on the manufacturer's price of e-cigarettes.

Bill sponsor Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, said the revenue collected from the tax would have been used to put school nurses or athletic trainers in rural schools.

Nearly 200 high school students from 10 schools showed up at the committee meeting to show their support for the bill.

Bill would raise funding floor for lowest-income school districts

Adding to an ongoing emphasis on school funding equity, lawmakers gave their initial endorsement for a bill Thursday that would raise the funding floor for Utah's lowest-funded school districts.

SB244 would set aside $21.4 million next year to be spread evenly across more than half of Utah's 41 school districts. The bill would incrementally increase funding for districts with the lowest per-pupil dollars each year until those revenues are largely evened out.

The bill states that schools would be allowed to use the money "for any education purpose," including teacher salaries, curriculum and other needs. It comes following a similar initiative to improve funding equity for charter schools in Utah.

Lawmakers advance new changes to school grading system

Lawmakers agreed on new changes to Utah's school grading system that they hope will produce more manageable goals for improvement in student achievement.

Earlier this week, the Utah House of Representatives passed a bill, SB149, that would have changed the point structure every year in determining school grades. Percentage brackets for each grade would increase by 2 percent each year, which was intended to drive improvement.

But the bill was amended in the House Education Committee on Thursday, eliminating the yearly 2 percent increase. Instead, the percentages required to earn an A, B, C, D or F will remain unchanged until 65 percent of schools receive an A or a B. Then each percentage bracket will go up by 5 percent.

"What this does is allows a better representation longitudinally as we hold that scale constant, at least for a few years," said Rich Nye, associate superintendent of data, assessment and accountability at the Utah State Office of Education.

Bill proposes to ban drive-thru liquor sales, increase restaurant licenses

A bill that would prohibit alcohol sales at drive-up windows and also make more restaurant liquor licenses available sailed through the Senate Business and Labor Committee on Thursday.

SB250 also clarifies that restaurants may not sell alcohol to go, though the law still allows unfinished wine bottles to be taken home as long as they're recapped.

Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said Utah alcohol policy is in a good place right now and the changes would not disrupt the state's low underage drinking and DUI rates.

Bill would require training for some public assistance recipients

People who receive certain forms of public assistance would be required to undergo at least two hours of self-reliance training under a bill endorsed Thursday by a legislative committee.

SB153, sponsored by Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, received unanimous support of the House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee. The bill has passed in the Senate and moves to the House for its consideration.

Fillmore said the primary goal of the legislation is to invest in the personal capacity of people so they can improve their lives.

"This is an investment we're making in a person and a family that is more valuable than food, or money or temporary help," he said.

Recipients of certain programs, such as cash assistance, would be required to complete the training within 90 days of receiving the benefits.

Contributing: Marjorie Cortez, Wendy Leonard, Emily Larson, Morgan Jacobsen, Dennis Romboy,

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