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Lawmakers to pass budget, repeal abortion clinic ban before end of legislative session

The Utah Capitol is shown on March 3, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Attorneys representing adult entertainers, erotica authors and sex educators on Wednesday, May 31, asked a judge to put on hold a Utah law requiring those who visit porn and other adult websites verify their age.
Rick Bowmer
/
AP
The Utah Capitol is shown on March 3, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Attorneys representing adult entertainers, erotica authors and sex educators on Wednesday, May 31, asked a judge to put on hold a Utah law requiring those who visit porn and other adult websites verify their age.

The legislative session ends March 1 and lawmakers are working to pass bills in the limited time left.

The only thing Utah legislators are required to pass before the end of the legislative session is the budget. Approving the budget is a constitutionally required task.

A preliminary budget was released last week but KUER politics reporter Sean Higgins said a bill likely won’t be released until Friday.

Lawmakers are also working to repeal legislation banning abortion clinics. HB 560 removes portions of HB 467 passed last year, banning the clinics. HB 467 sits with Utah’s Supreme Court along with the 2020 trigger law banning abortions.

Sponsor Republican Rep. Karianne Lisonbee said at a House Judiciary Committe hearing the new bill is meant to streamline the implementation of Utah’s trigger law.

“Utahns, first off, deeply care about human life at all stages,” she said. “As legislators, we have been committed in the past and are committed now to upholding those values in our laws.”

The bill was approved by the Utah House last week and got approval from a Senate committee on Monday. It’s headed to the full Senate for consideration.

HB 303 would have banned pride flags and other “political” symbols and imagery in schools but the House voted it down Monday. The bill’s language would also prevent teachers from suggesting or encouraging a student to reconsider their religious or political viewpoints or their sexual orientation or identity.

Democratic Rep. Joel Briscoe teaches high school civics and government classes. He said teachers were concerned they could face backlash for explaining a controversial topic as the bill didn’t define what it means to “promote” a belief.

“Two-thirds of us K-12 public school teachers have decided on their own to limit their instruction, to stop talking about certain things in classrooms, especially social issues and political issues,” Briscoe said. “It doesn't matter whether their state has passed a law saying they can't do it. They're just afraid.”

Other bills in the spotlight deal with Major League Baseball and National Hockey League teams coming to Utah. HB 562 would fund an MLB stadium in Salt Lake City. The bill was rewritten to remove a statewide increase to the transient room tax and would now take sales taxes from the Fairpark neighborhood. The bill passed through the House of Representatives Tuesday.

SB 272 would create a sports and entertainment district in Salt Lake City, allowing space for an NHL team. That bill is still making its way through the Senate.