Your up-to-the-hour look at Day 44 of the 2019 Utah Legislature

SALT LAKE CITY — As lawmakers arrive for the second-to-last day of the 2019 legislative session Wednesday, it will be with a lighter load than the day before after a deal was reached Tuesday on budgeting for the fiscal year and pushing tax reform down the road.

While Utah's first hate crimes bill passed the House Tuesday, there still remain plenty of bills awaiting debate on some hot-button issues, including:

HB433, which authorizes the Utah Inland Port Authority to adopt a project area plan for an area outside its current jurisdiction;

SB134, which requires campus safety plans and training at institutions of higher education;

HB393, which requires the Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing, in conjunction with the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, to create a suicide prevention web-accessible video;

HB320, which restricts cities from banning plastic grocery bags;

HB324, which raises the legal age to use tobacco products;

HB136, which bans abortions after 18 weeks of gestation;

Here's what happened on March 12, the 43rd day of the 2019 session:

• The budget impasse between the House and the Senate was resolved, with Republican legislative leaders agreeing to provide only temporary funding for $320 million in government services.
• After years of struggle, a bill that would give teeth to Utah's hate crime law blasted through a major legislative hurdle — almost clearing its way to Gov. Gary Herbert's desk for final approval.
• The House of Representatives joined the Senate by passing unanimously a bill that requires campus police organizations — including the department at BYU — to follow the same public records rules as all other public police agencies.

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