SALT LAKE CITY — Lawmakers passed a bill that would make Utah the first state in the U.S. to allow lawsuits against pornographers for "harm" to minors, a bill for up to $1 billion in bonding for transportation projects was approved and local leaders broke out in a frenzy when a final-hour bill was made public that they worried would threaten Salt Lake City's control over the new prison development.

Here's a roundup of what's happening on the hill:

Bill allowing lawsuits against porn suppliers for harm to minors clears Legislature

Lawmakers have passed a bill that would make Utah the first state in the U.S. to allow lawsuits against pornographers for "harm" to minors.

SB185 was passed by the House with a 50-8 vote Tuesday. After an earlier vote of 26-0 to approve the bill, the Senate concurred with House amendments, forwarding the bill to Gov. Gary Herbert for consideration.

The bill comes after its sponsor, Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, made national headlines last year proposing a resolution that declared pornography a "public health crisis."

The bill was passed with little debate.

Final-hour bill to control prison area development raises red flags for Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City leaders broke out in a frenzy Tuesday night when a final-hour bill was made public that they worried would threaten the city's control over the development of its 3,600-acre northwest quadrant.

Salt Lake City Democrats were caught off-guard when they saw the newly filed bill, SB278, become public.

"I'm very concerned," said Rep. Sandra Hollins, D-Salt Lake City. "What this appears to do is take power away from the city and give it to the state. I don't like that. I think the city should have the power to develop that land."

The bill would create a board to "facilitate infrastructure planning" in Salt Lake City's northwest quadrant — an area where city leaders have launched a plan for commercial development, utilizing the infrastructure from the new Utah State Prison being constructed there.

Legislature approves $1.2B in bonds for roads, liquor stores, new U. med school

Legislators have approved a bill for up to $1 billion in bonding for transportation projects, as well as about $240 million in bonds for capital improvement projects.

SB277 and SB9 both cleared the Utah House on Tuesday and were forwarded to Gov. Gary Herbert for his consideration.

If signed by the governor, SB277 would allow the Utah Transportation Commission to fund high-priority projects along I-15 in Salt Lake, Davis and Utah counties.

SB9 would authorize bonding for seven major projects throughout the state — including two new liquor stores in Salt Lake and Davis counties, a new medical school at the University of Utah, and building expansions at Dixie State University.

Legislature boosts penalties for prostitution-related crimes

The Utah Legislature approved a bill Tuesday to toughen penalties for prostitution-related crimes.

The House passed SB230 with a 71-1 vote, sending it to Gov. Gary Herbert's desk for his consideration.

The bill would give "teeth" to Utah's ability to prosecute prostitution, said House sponsor Rep. Mike Winder, R-West Valley City.

Winder said 75 percent of women who engage in prostitution work for a "pimp."

The bill would better equip law enforcement, he said, because it would expand the reasons why an individual could be found guilty of prostitution.

Utah moves for greater scrutiny, testing of sexual assault kits

The Utah Senate moved swiftly to approve legislation calling for law enforcement to test all sexual assault kits they receive.

Investigating agencies currently have the discretion to decide whether to test sexual assault kits, but HB200 amends the testing procedures and requires investigating agencies to test and submit the results of all sexual assault kits. Agencies would have to test a sexual assault kit within 30 days of its submission under the bill.

The bill, sponsored by House Minority Assistant Whip Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, would also employ a tracking system to provide oversight on the testing process.

Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, said Utah's statewide working group for sexual assault kits found that there had been approximately 2,700 untested kits.

The Senate passed the measure with a vote of 24-0 and returned the bill to the House for the speaker's signature.

Yesterday's legislative roundup:

Bill to protect LGBT from getting kicked out of homes stalls; amended gas tax passes

A proposal that would have precluded parents from defending themselves against child endangerment charges if they kick out a kid for being LGBT stalled, the Senate passed an amended gas tax, and a bill that would allow motorcycles to travel between lanes of traffic failed.

House rejects move to eliminate school grades from school accountability legislation

After an hour of sometimes testy debate Tuesday, the Utah House of Representatives rejected an attempt to purge school grades from legislation that creates a new public school accountability and student assessment system.

The House instead adopted an amended version of SB220, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden. The amendment puts school grading on hold for a year while schools collect baseline data and ramp up to other changes in the legislation.

Rep. Marie Poulson, D-Cottonwood Heights, attempted to substitute Millner's legislation with the language of the school accountability bill she had sponsored, HB241. Poulson's bill passed the House on a vote of 54-18 on Feb. 24. However, the bill was later tabled in the Senate Education Committee.

The most significant difference between Poulson's bill and SB220 was that Poulson's legislation eliminates the requirement that schools receive letter grades. Poulson says letter grades are demoralizing to schools in low-income neighborhoods, rural schools or those that have high numbers of children who speak English as a second language.

Poulson said her bill was supported by teachers, administrators, parents and professional organizations.

Bill authorizing $1B in transportation bonding passes Senate

A bill authorizing up to $1 billion in bonding over four years to speed up transportation projects passed the Senate 28-0 Monday and is headed to the House.

The sponsor of SB277, Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, said it will be up to the Utah Transportation Commission to choose the projects that will give the state the "biggest bang for the buck."

There was no opposition to the bond in the Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee during a hearing earlier Monday, and no debate in the full Senate.

Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation, said the projects that are high on the list are along I-15 in Utah, Davis and Salt Lake counties.

Contributing: Katie McKellar, Ryan Morgan, Marjorie Cortez, Lisa Riley Roche

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