Thursday night marked the close of the Utah Legislature’s general session. And according to many of the state’s leading lawmakers, it was a busy year at the Capitol.
Utah’s 45-day legislative session rarely ends with a whimper. And 2015 was no exception.
“I’m Senator Steve Urquhart. One question: how cool is this,” said Republican Senator Steve Urquhart, celebrating the triumph of Senate Bill 296, which combined LGBT protections in housing and employment, with protections of religious liberties.
That bill was signed by Gov. Gary Herbert at a packed ceremony Thursday evening in the Capitol rotunda. A who’s-who of Utah politics turned out for the event, which commemorated perhaps the most significant achievement of the entire session.
Here’s how Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox summed it up.
“I represent a little bit of a different generation, a little bit younger generation. There’s a group of people who don’t think this is necessary for the wrong reasons but there’s a group of people, a younger generation, who think this might be not necessary for the right reasons,” Cox said. “I’ve never been more proud of our state, I’ve never been more proud to call myself a Utahn, and I can’t wait for the day when none of these laws are necessary for the right reasons.”
By the time the signing ceremony ended, lawmakers had little time to bask in celebration. With less than six hours to go before the general session drew to a close, both the House and Senate got to work on a flurry of bills.
Notable accomplishments from the night included the passage of a gas tax bill, which raised the state gas tax by five cents per gallon. The Legislature also passed a ban on powdered alcohol products, which coincidentally were approved for sale by the federal government on Wednesday.
Also passed earlier this session was a bill authorizing firing squads for state executions; prison reform legislation; tighter restrictions for e-cigarette sales; and a bill requiring students to pass a civics test before graduating high school.
By far, the biggest issue left untouched was Medicaid expansion. The House and Senate were divided on the merits of Herbert’s Healthy Utah plan, and lawmakers were unable to come to a compromise. But all parties involved vowed to reach a deal in a special session later this year.
Despite that glaring shortcoming, Senate Majority Leader Ralph Okerlund says the legislature did more “heavy-lifting” this year than he can remember.
“We’ve known we’ve got this backup of needs out there, we know that we’ve got water needs with the growth we’re going to have, we’ve known for a couple of years that we have some decisions to make on Medicaid and on healthcare coverage. This year, it just got to the point where this was the year to do something. Early in the fall, we decided that we’re going to tackle these issues this year. The consequences of that are really heavy lifting,” Okerlund said.
In the coming weeks, Herbert will be taking a look at the over-500 bills passed this session. For 2015’s legislation to become law, all that’s needed now is the governor’s signature.