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SALT LAKE CITY — Much anticipated legislation combining religious rights and protections against workplace and housing discrimination of LGBT Utahns could be filed as early as Tuesday.
Lawmakers involved in crafting the bill say they're all but ready to make it public. They and various interest groups met for six hours Sunday putting some of the final touches on the content and working to address any possible legal challenges.
Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said it hasn't been easy but they're getting close. He described it as trying to keep jackrabbits on a flatbed truck.
"You get them all on and you can imagine how hard they are to keep there. That feels like that process here. But there are positive things going on, so hopefully things stay together. If they do, hopefully tomorrow we might have something," he said.
Adams, Sen. Jim Dabakis, D-Salt Lake City, Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, and Rep. Brad Dee, R-Ogden, formed a working group to draft a bill for the Legislature.
If the bill comes out Tuesday, it could be scheduled for a Senate committee hearing Thursday. Adams said the legislation is significant enough that it needs hearings in both the Senate and House. The legislative session ends a week from Thursday.
Adams wouldn't discuss specifics of the bill, but said, "I think I have enough that probably everybody's just going to be a little unhappy, and that's usually when you have consensus. … I think there'll be some people that are thrilled and some people that aren't."
House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he's seen prospective language in the bill. He said he sees good work being done.
Hughes said his optimism stems from statements The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made last month about anti-discrimination and religious liberty.
"I think that was a strong statement that there's room for both of these policies to live in the same room and hopefully in the same bill. I think that's different than the way we have addressed this issue in the past," he said.
LDS Church leaders called on government officials to protect religious rights while also protecting LGBT Utahns from discrimination in housing, employment, and public accommodations such as restaurants, hotels and transportation. Church leaders also emphasized that people should not be forced to perform services that go against their religious beliefs.
The LGBT advoacy group Equality Utah has scheduled a forum on Wednesday evening with Dabakis and Urquhart to discuss the bill. Email: romboy@deseretnews.com Twitter: dennisromboy; DNewsPolitics
