Your up-to-the-hour look at Day 31 of the 2019 Utah Legislature

SALT LAKE CITY — As the 2019 legislative session enters its final two weeks — the gavel falls on Thursday, March 14 — many funding issues will take front and center.

Today, the House Education Committee is considering HB373, student support amendments that authorize the State School Board to distribute $32 million for personnel who provide school-based mental health support.

Other issues expected to be discussed at the Statehouse during the day include:

• The Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee is debating HB94, which changes and clarifies the prohibitions for carrying a dangerous weapon by an intoxicated individual, eliminating the current exemption that allows a peace officer to carry a weapon while intoxicated and clarifying that carrying a weapon that is securely encased or not readily available is not prohibited.
• The House Business and Labor Committee has HB361on its agenda. The bill creates the Utah Horse Racing Commission to oversee licensing for horse racing events.
• The Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Committee will take up HB148, which loosens rules restricting cities' enforcement of anti-idling ordinances.
• The Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee will highlight problems with the Great Salt Lake when considering HCR10, a concurrent resolution to address declining water levels and urging collaborative development of recommendations for policy actionable solutions to avert economic, social and environmental harm.

Here's what happened on Feb. 27, the 30th day of the 2019 session:

• A Utah Senate resolution with the endorsement of Gov. Gary Herbert received unanimous approval in a legislative committee encouraging the pursuit of a new federal designation for the Wasatch canyons.
• The Utah Senate passed SB149 , a bill that creates a process for disbursing funds set aside at the end of the 2018 legislative session as part of lawmakers' compromise with backers of the Our Schools Now citizen initiative.
• The Utah House of Representatives gave final passage to the latest version of SB106, a bill to allow certain mental health services provided in Utah public schools to be billed to Medicaid.

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