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SALT LAKE CITY — A public breastfeeding bill continued to advance, a bill to protect voter birthdays from becoming public was amended before advancing and a lawmaker introduced a bill that would tax cities that don't have homeless shelters.

Here's a look at what Utah lawmakers are working on this week:

Committee OKs bill asserting right to breastfeed in public

A bill asserting that women have a right to breastfeed in public passed a Senate Business and Labor Committee hearing by unanimous vote Monday.

HB196, titled the Breastfeeding Protection Act, states that "a woman may breastfeed in any place of public accommodation" as such places are defined under Utah law.

The committee voted unanimously to favorably recommend HB196 to the full Senate for consideration. The bill was approved last week by the House of Representatives by a 66 to 5 vote.

House gives green light to cyclists rolling through stop signs

The Utah House on Monday passed 58-11 a bill that lets bicyclists treat stop signs as yield signs and traffic lights as stop signs.

Under current law, bicyclists can pass under a red light after waiting for 90 seconds. HB58 lets cyclists proceed after a stop if traffic permits, and for stop signs, riders can roll through the intersection if it is clear of other vehicles and pedestrians.

The bill moves to the Senate for consideration.

Bill advances that would prohibit certain doctor competency tests

Legislators on Monday advanced a bill that would prohibit testing a physician's competency via a cognitive test when they reach a certain age.

SB217 states that "a health care facility may not require … that a physician … take a cognitive test when the physician reaches a specified age," unless such a test conforms with standards set by the American Medical Association "for testing whether an older physician remains able to provide safe and effective care for patients."

Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, told the Senate Business and Labor Committee he is hopeful his bill will be able to protect physicians from age discrimination. The committee voted unanimously to advance the bill to the Senate with a favorable recommendation.

Bill would bill Utah cities to help pay for homeless shelters

A bill that would require Utah cities and counties that don't host homeless shelters — and don't have enough affordable housing — to help pay for shelters in other cities cleared its first hurdle Monday.

It's a bill that's advancing under a lot of political pressure — and one that's been expected all session, but was only filed late last week.

House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, has called the bill "critical" to efforts to homeless reform and has said it must pass this year. Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams has said if the bill doesn't pass, he'll pull his support of a homeless center now slated to break ground in South Salt Lake this spring.

The bill, being sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, has not yet been filed.

HB300 could cap nonresident tuition waivers; allow governor to remove regents

The Senate Education Committee gave unanimous support Monday to HB300, which would allow governors to remove — for cause — members of the Utah State Board of Regents and university and college trustees.

The catch-all "Higher Education Modifications" bill will be substituted before it reaches the Senate floor to further clarify if and under what circumstances a governor can remove a sitting regent or remove a college or university trustee, said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Val Peterson, R-Orem.

Governors appoint regents and trustees, which are then confirmed by the Utah Senate. Regents serve six-year terms.

Bill to help hire more school counselors moves to Senate

A bill that would authorize the Utah State Board of Education to award matching grants to increase the number of school counselors in Utah elementary schools was unanimously approved Monday by the Senate Education Committee.

Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, who is the Senate co-sponsor of HB264, said he used to be of the mindset that special programs weren't needed in schools, that struggling children "can buck up and they can survive and do well without any kind of special supports."

He now understands that many children experience "toxic stress," which places them at a tremendous disadvantage from their peers, he said.

Bill would remove voter birth days from releasable records

A bill that would remove the day a voter was born but not the month and year from records that can be released advanced Monday from the House Government Operations Committee.

SB74, sponsored by Senate Minority Whip Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, initially was intended only to allow a specified research institution to obtain a voter's full date of birth but was amended so other organizations could as well.

Mayne told the committee she wanted the information provided only to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, citing the "good process" it already has in place for cooperating with other entities, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for genealogical data.