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SALT LAKE CITY — Hours after completing the special session they began last week, Utah lawmakers signed on for a second virtual session, this one called by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and completed in just one afternoon.
Legislators considered and passed two compromise bills to replace ones that Herbert had vetoed after the general session — HB4002 and HB4003.
HB4003, which creates a new Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship Program, squeaked by in both houses, passing the Senate by just one vote. While some education advocates view the program as a step on the path to school vouchers, allocating taxpayer money to be spent at private schools, others argued it is a smart, targeted way to give educational opportunities to a vulnerable population.
Bill sponsor and House Majority Whip Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, called the bill a "win-win."
"It provides parents, students and families of our special needs students with options for their schooling," Schultz said.
Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, voted against the bill because of concerns about spending during the pandemic, and because he feels the money would be better invested directly into public schools.
"I think as we start picking, here and there, winners, we are not addressing the full issue, that we ought to be funding better all the kids in public education," Hillyard said. "Because there's many parents who, even with this, will not be able to qualify."
HB4002 will fund railroad crossing safety projects by removing the exemption for state sales tax on locomotive fuel. The Legislature also extended the deadline for bars to pay their license renewal fees, and appropriated federal funds granted in response to COVID-19.
While the appropriations bills sparked vigorous debate in the House, largely due to provisions that may lead to the purchase of more experimental COVID-19 treatments, it passed the Senate unanimously.
Lots of money coming from Washington, but focus is on $6M for treatment drugs and potential use to buy malaria drug #utpol#utleg
— DNews Politics (@DNewsPolitics) April 23, 2020
Unfinished business
Wrapping up the emergency special session, legislators passed bills Thursday morning granting businesses some immunity from civil litigation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and also requiring notice from the governor before emergency actions during a pandemic.
SB3007, sponsored by Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, is intended to protect Utah businesses from personal injury or negligence claims when they reopen.
"A lot of businesses, after being shut down, are concerned about when we reconstitute the economy and start opening up again, has that duty of care changed? Have the standards changed, and what might that liability be?" Cullimore said. "Now, I still think it would be very difficult to prevail on a negligence claim related to the contracting of COVID-19. But as business owners know, whether something may or may not prevail in litigation is not always necessarily the main economic concern. That bringing a claim, in and of itself, is detrimental to business."
Senate Assistant Minority Whip Jani Iwamoto, D-Holladay, moved to amend the bill so that reopening businesses would be required to post notices about the law; her amendment was defeated.
Iwamoto and other senators said they worried the bill was overly broad and made an already high bar — proving negligence — impossible to clear. SB3007 passed the Senate 22-6 and moved to the House, where it passed 54-21.
Legislators also passed an amended HB3005, requiring the governor to give the Legislature 24 hours' notice, if possible, before state of emergency declarations or executive orders regarding pandemics.
Legislators reached a compromise with the governor's office after first introducing a bill that would have required 48 hours' notice. The bill also creates a legislative pandemic response team that would give the House and Senate a greater voice during future pandemic emergencies.
Several Republican representatives expressed disappointment that the bill had been altered in the Senate, but most ultimately supported the amended bill as preferable to the status-quo alternative.
The Senate voted down SB3008 Thursday morning, a bill that was not coronavirus-related but rather dealt with the hot-button topic of municipal annexations in the state. Several senators indicated they wanted more public input before weighing in on the matter.
