SALT LAKE CITY — An education bill is moving forward without funding for after-school programs and early kindergarten, Gov. Herbert and lawmakers might leave the election law decision up to a judge and the Senate backed the House GOP Medicaid expansion bill.

Sen. Stuart Adams' Rocky Mountain Power bill survives committee hearing

Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams' measure to give greater financial flexibility to Rocky Mountain Power for how it handles revenues had several Teflon moments in a committee hearing Tuesday, surviving two attempts to change its language and another to send it to study.

Ultimately, SB115 squeaked out of the House Public Utilities and Technology Committee on a 6-5 vote and advanced to the full House for consideration.

Called the Sustainable Transportation and Energy Plan, or STEP, the bill gives the Utah Legislature — not the Public Service Commission — the responsibility to set policy for the utility, which Adams said is critical.

SB115 authorizes Rocky Mountain Power to initiate a five-year pilot program that includes:

• Investment in clean coal technology.
• Investment in large-scale electric vehicle infrastructure.
• Battery storage or electric-grid related projects.

Senator unveils stripped down bill regulating noncompete contracts

A drastically dialed back version of a controversial bill to regulate noncompete employment agreements in Utah emerged on the Senate floor Tuesday.

The eighth substitute of HB251 does not ban noncompete contracts but restricts an employer or employee from entering into one for more than one year, whatever the reason.

In addition, if a company seeks to enforce the restrictive covenants in court or arbitration and loses, it would have to pay court costs, attorneys fees and damages. The bill would only apply to businesses with 20 or more employees.

The Senate voted 22-6 to move the bill to a final vote Wednesday, though several senators signaled their votes were tentative. If it passes, it would return to the House for consideration.

Governor, lawmakers might leave Utah election law decision to judge

Gov. Gary Herbert said Tuesday he's content to let a federal judge decide how to deal with the signature collecting requirements in Utah's controversial election law.

And Republican legislative leaders now appear less likely to propose changes before the Legislature adjourns Thursday.

"I understand the conflict. I think the judge is going to have to give us clarity and certainty," the governor said.

U.S. District Judge David Nuffer signaled last week that the signature gathering thresholds for Republican state House and Senate candidates to get on the primary election ballot are too high and might be unconstitutional. Dozens of candidates are circulating petitions under the law, and some have completed them.

GOP legislative leaders are considering their options, including running legislation to lower the thresholds before the Legislature adjourns Thursday.

Yesterday's roundup:

Senate passes bills requiring anesthesia for abortions, same-sex parents to pay child support

The Utah Senate passed several bills Monday, including one that will require fetal anesthesia before an elective abortion, a bill that will allow the state to collect child support from same-sex parents and a bill that allows certain types of alcohol to be purchased through drive-thrus.

Bill would give more power to Utah teachers

Some teachers could have more say in how they are evaluated if a proposal to take SAGE out of the evaluation process passes the Utah Legislature this week.

That proposal was advanced in a unanimous vote Tuesday morning by the Senate Education Committee, sending HB201 to the Senate floor for a final vote.

The bill is one of several that arose this year to address concerns with SAGE, Utah's year-end assessment for students. Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights, said many teacher constituents have expressed frustration that the test is used in their evaluation when many factors that impact test results are out of their control.

Some of those factors include student truancy, language barriers, parents who opt their children out of the test, or students who don't give the test an honest effort because it doesn't count on their grade, Poulson said.

Currently, 20 percent of Utah's teacher evaluation metric is based on student growth, part of which is measured by year-end assessments. Much of the remaining 80 percent comes from in-class observations.

Lawmakers turn down funding for after-school programs, early kindergarten

A proposal to expand after-school programs to offer extra academic help and supervision for students at risk of academic shortfall likely won't be funded by the Utah Legislature this year.

But Sen. Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, said she hopes setting a high bar for what after-school programs should look like is a good start to giving more students a safe place to learn after regular class is out.

Members of the House Education Committee on Tuesday advanced SB125, which would direct the Utah State Board of Education to establish standards for after-school programs that use state and federal dollars. The intent is to ensure that they provide "a safe, healthy and nurturing environment," which many students don't enjoy when they're left unattended after school, Escamilla said.

Those programs also give students who are behind in their coursework more one-on-one time with an instructor to help them catch up with their peers, she said.

Escamilla's bill originally would have appropriated $500,000 to create a handful of new after-school programs in schools with high levels of poverty and other factors influencing student success and safety. Lawmakers estimated the money would have helped about 1,000 students each year.

But after SB125 failed in a Senate vote late last month, the bill was substituted without the funding, aiming only to enhance standards for high-quality after-school programs. It passed the Senate in a 20-3 vote last week and now awaits House approval.

SB163 was brought forward to give parents the option of enrolling their child in kindergarten earlier so long as educators agree the child is ready. The bill limited the number of younger students schools could accept to about 74 students statewide to minimize the financial impact.

SB163 failed in a 3-6 vote.

Lawmakers put finishing touches on education budget

The Utah Legislature passed a budget Tuesday that would give Utah schools about $432 million in new money, adding to last year's budget for public and higher education of almost $6 billion.

Some education bills tied to funding in the budget still await final legislative approval, but state leaders say they are pleased with how schools, teachers and students are prioritized in the budget.

"The latest indications are that my No. 1 priority, which is education funding, is also the Legislature's No. 1 priority," Gov. Gary Herbert said. "We have reason to be very optimistic about the future of Utah when it comes to the economy because of the funding that we're putting into education. So I applaud the Legislature."

The budget exceeds the $422 million in new money that Herbert requested for education in his budget proposal late last year. This year, 70 percent of new revenue in the state is going to K-12 and higher education.

Senate supports House GOP Medicaid expansion bill

A bill backed by House GOP leadership extending Medicaid to Utahns who are homeless, in the criminal justice system, or have substance abuse or mental health issues is headed to Gov. Gary Herbert.

HB437, sponsored by House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, passed the Senate 19-8 Tuesday afternoon, after being approved earlier in the day by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

The governor has said he would sign Dunnigan's bill, which extends traditional Medicaid to more than 16,000 mostly childless Utahns living in extreme poverty at a cost to state taxpayers of about $15 million.

The remaining $85 million cost would come from the federal government and Utah hospitals, which benefit by not having to absorb unpaid emergency room visits and have agreed to pay 45 percent of the state's share.

Contributing: Amy Joi O'Donoghue, Dennis Romboy, Morgan Jacobsen, Lisa Riley Roche

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