Legislature works on gas tax raise; getting better benefits for families of killed officers

Legislature works on gas tax raise; getting better benefits for families of killed officers

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SALT LAKE CITY — Legislation has been working at finalizing bills and cleaning up final amendments while still passing bills. This session included working on bills that will raise gas taxes by 10 cents, give terminal patients the right to try experimental drugs and extend better benefits for the families of officers killed on duty.

Here are the highlights from those reports:

Senate endorses bill to raise gas tax 10 cents per gallon =========================================================

A proposal to increase Utah's gas tax 10 cents per gallon received preliminary approval in the Senate on Thursday as lawmakers continue to talk about the best way to raise money for crumbling roads.

"Is this bill perfect? No, it's not yet. I'm sure we will make a change or two," said Sen. Kevin Van Tassell, R-Vernal, the sponsor of SB160.

Adding 10 cents to the gas tax would provide $130 million for maintenance, including $40 million for local roads. The cost is expected to be $48 annually for someone driving 12,000 miles a year at 25 miles per gallon.

House passes bill to increase family death benefits of fallen officers ======================================================================

The Utah House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday to expand death benefits to the families of peace officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty.

HB288, sponsored by Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, would increase the lump sum that spouses of officers killed in the line of duty receive, as well as provide health coverage for the officer's surviving family.

Currently, surviving spouses are only granted $1,500 in such circumstances, which Ray said is not sufficient to support families who have not only lost a loved one, but also a source of income and often health insurance.

Senate passes bill to give terminally ill patients 'right to try'

Late Utah House Speaker Becky Lockhart's name came up Thursday during a Senate debate on the "right to try" bill.

HB94, which passed unanimously, creates a way for people with terminal illnesses who have exhausted traditional treatments to try investigational drugs and devices that do not have full federal regulatory approval.

One of Lockhart's close friends, Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, described how difficult it was watch her slip away day by day knowing nothing could be done. Lockhart was diagnosed with an extremely rare neurodegenerative brain disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease on Jan. 5. She died seven days later.

Bill to allow voting 'selfies' passes Senate committee

Utahns may soon be within their lawful rights to snap “selfies” with their voting ballots.

A Senate committee unanimously passed a bill Friday that would allow individuals to take and distribute photographs of their own marked ballots.

Current Utah law prohibits people from photographing marked ballots in general, so HB72 would eliminate the provision that makes it a crime to take pictures of a person’s own ballot, said the bill’s sponsor Rep. John Knotwell, R-Herriman.

Senate kills proposed amendment to undo Count My Vote deal ==========================================================

The Senate voted down Thursday a proposed state constitutional amendment giving political parties the right to decide how candidates appear on the general election ballot.

Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, sponsored SJR2 to counter a compromise lawmakers reached last year with the Count My Vote initiative. In exchange for getting an alternative path to the ballot, initiative supporters dropped a statewide petition drive for a referendum calling for a direct primary.

The resolution would have let voters decide whether to keep the state's caucus and convention system that allows candidates with enough support from party delegates to be nominated without a primary election.

Bill to clarify prostitution laws advances through Senate committee ===================================================================

A Senate panel approved a bill Wednesday that would clarify that a person is guilty of prostitution when not only engaging in a sexual activity with another for money, but also for trade of goods.

"This bill makes a minor change, or maybe it's a really big change," said bill sponsor Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden.

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