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SALT LAKE CITY — The sponsor of a bill dealing with parimutuel betting essentially killed the proposal Monday. Also, a measure that creates a process for disbursing money to Utah's schools advanced on to the House.
Find those and other stories from Utah's Legislature below. Click on the headline to read the article.
Parimutuel betting in Utah? Bill's opponents say hold your horses
A bill on parimutuel betting didn't even make it out of the starting gate on Monday after its own sponsor put it down by sending it back to languish in rules.
The move by Sen. David Hinkins, R-Orangeville, on SB181 effectively kills the bill and was made after the Utah League of Cities and Towns and the Stop Predatory Gambling Coalition voiced their objections.
St. George Mayor Jon Pike, representing the league as well, said legalizing betting on horses could spur a "floodgate" of other forms of gambling on nearby Native American reservations.
Teacher and Student Success Act advances on 7-4 committee vote
The Teacher and Student Success Act advanced to the House Monday by a vote of 7-4 by the House Education Committee.
SB149, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, was part of the 2018 compromise between lawmakers and backers of the Our Schools Now citizen initiative.
The bill creates a process for disbursing funds set aside at the end of the 2018 legislative session. Money will go directly to schools based on enrollment and at least 25 percent can be used for educator salaries, but very small schools can use more.
Higher education officials make a case to lawmakers for college access, affordability
Utah college presidents, higher education leaders and institutional boards of trustees met with lawmakers Monday to make a case for legislative initiatives intended to enhance access to college and help make it more affordable for needy students.
The lunch, held in the Capitol rotunda, focused on two initiatives: the Utah College Advising Corps and the Access Utah Promise Scholarship Program.
The advising corps, presently headquartered at the University of Utah, helps high school students make successful transitions to higher education under the guidance of "near peer" advisers who work in high schools.
Utah House approves three bills modifying voter initiative process
After three voter initiatives passed in the 2018 Utah election, two of them were modified at the Legislative level. Monday the House passed three bills changing the voter initiative process and, according to some legislators, making it more difficult.
HB145, sponsored by Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, passed with a 51-20 vote. The bill focuses on ensuring a voter knows what the initiative is before signing a petition and has the ability to take their name off. The bill also requires signatures to be submitted every 14 days and the list of those who have signed placed online.
Thurston said he was asked to sign voter initiatives and not given correct information, including being told Proposition 3, which sought to expand Medicaid, would help place Mitt Romney on the ballot. He said it is already law that in order to sign a petition, Utahns are supposed to have read and understood the petition.
