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SALT LAKE CITY — Several bills advanced from House committees, including a bill to make panhandling safer and a bill to extend early voting in Utah. Here is today's roundup of what's happening on the Hill.
Lawmaker makes another pitch for state park status for Little Sahara
On the same day the Utah House approved a resolution calling for President Donald Trump to undo the Bears Ears National Monument, lawmakers moved forward with a measure to redesignate the Little Sahara Recreation Area as a state park.
HB95, sponsored by Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, calls for the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation to work with the Bureau of Land Management to redesignate the Little Sahara Recreation Area as a state park.
The bill would take the existing footprint of the recreation area — nearly 56,000 acres — and maintain the grazing allotments in the park area.
This is the third year Eliason has introduced the measure. Last year, the bill passed in the House but the session ended before being considered in the Senate.
"They say the third time is the charm," Eliason said. "Like a fine wine or a fine cheese, I think this get’s better with age."
House committee passes bill to extend early voting period
Early voters in some Utah counties would be allowed to cast ballots on the day before an election under a bill a House committee approved Tuesday.
State law permits early voting to start two weeks before Election Day, but not on the Monday before a Tuesday election. Salt Lake County turned away hundreds of voters in November who showed up to vote on Monday.
HB105, sponsored by Rep. Craig Hall, R-West Valley City, would give counties the option to extend the last day of early voting to the day before the election.
“My preference would be to make it mandatory statewide,” Hall told the House Government Operations Committee.
Panhandling safety bill passes House committee
People panhandling on busy roadways is an accident waiting to happen, according to a Utah lawmaker running legislation aimed at preventing a tragic encounter.
HB161, sponsored by Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, restricts exchanges of money and property from moving cars to people along an interstate, freeway, state highway, state route or paved road and has a speed limit at or above 35 mph.
"We're simply saying, 'If you're going to exchange property, do it in a safe area,'" Eliason told the House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday. "If the vehicle is legally parked, there is not an issue with this."
Eliason said the bill is written in a way to avoid infringing on free speech rights.
The American Civil Liberties Union doesn't have specific objections to the bill as long as it doesn't chip away at legal panhandling, said Marina Lowe, ACLU of Utah legislative and policy counsel.
Bill advances designating portion of Mountain View Corridor 'Minuteman Highway'
A bill designating 14 miles of the Mountain View Corridor "Minuteman Highway" to honor the men and women who serve in the Utah National Guard was unanimously advanced Tuesday by a House committee.
The sponsor of HB192, Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, told members of the House Transportation Committee there won't be any cost to the state for renaming a portion of state Route 85 for the symbol of the National Guard.
Thurston said the National Guard Association of Utah would pay for signs at the beginning and end of the highway designation, at Camp Williams and at the South Valley Regional Airport, home to a Utah National Guard Army Aviation Support facility.
Contributing: Ryan Morgan, Dennis Romboy, Lisa Riley Roche
Yesterday's legislative round-up:
