Is it a violating a constitutional right or maintaining safety to allow jailers to force feed an inmate? That was the debate at Utah’s Capitol Friday as Representative Derek Brown proposed legislation that would establish a process for jails and prisons to follow when an inmate refuses to eat. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on why he claims it gives prisoners more freedoms than before.
DUI checkpoints could become a thing of the past in Utah. HB 140, sponsored by Republican Representative David Butterfield, repeals authorization for law enforcement to do police checkpoints for anything other than Amber Alerts, looking for fugitives and wildlife invasive species. Butterfield says officers should instead put their time and resources into saturation patrols, which he says are more effective at removing drunk drivers from highways. He adds that checkpoints subject citizens to suspicion-less searches.
Sex and how to teach kids about it was the topic of discussion on Utah’s Capitol Hill yesterday. House Bill 363 initially proposed banning any discussion on contraceptives, premarital sex and homosexuality in Utah schools. As KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports, the bill passed out of committee after a heated debate, but not before significant changes were made.
A bill that bans Utah cities from enforcing anti-idling ordinances advanced in a House Committee Thursday. Last fall, Salt Lake City passed such an ordinance in an effort to improve air quality. And despite the city’s promise to change it, lawmakers passed the bill twelve to two. Salt Lake City resident Ingrid Griffinson told the committee she doesn’t feel the move is very democratic.
Electronic cigarettes and hookah pipes would be banned in public establishments, if a bill that amends the Utah Indoor Clean Air Act becomes law. The legislation cleared the House Government Operations Committee Thursday.
A bill that makes adjustments to Utah’s environmental boards passed through committee yesterday, despite wide concern from opponents who fear the public could lose its voice. Republican Senator Margaret Dayton says her bill is needed to shrink the size of the Department of Environmental Quality boards that control air, water and hazardous waste, which she says have become too large. Her bill would also change the way appeals are heard, bringing in administrative law judges and giving more authority to the department director.
A strike at lifelong employment for college professors failed to pass the House Education Committee Wednesday. Republican Representative Chris Herrod’s second attempt to ban Utah colleges and universities from granting academic tenure failed on a 10-to-4 vote. Opponents of the bill noted the state’s strengthened five-year tenure review, which frustrated Herrod, who says that was a direct result of his attempt to ban tenure last year.
The Utah House of Representatives rejected a motion today by Representative Stephen Sandstrom to create a bill that would suspend the business license of Utah companies that don’t use E-Verify.
A vote by a Senate committee Tuesday may be a sign that looser restrictions are coming for Utah’s billboard companies. One senator wants cities and counties to have less control over billboard regulations, including electronic billboards. KCPW’s Jessica Gail reports on what this means for Salt Lake City, which is looking to pass billboard restrictions of its own.
The Utah House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill today that would allow a person on the state’s sex offender registry to petition for removal after five years.
