The Utah legislature session will end on Thursday and hundreds of bills are still awaiting to be discussed. The lawmakers are doing overtime to take more and more bills on the floor.
761 bills, which is an all-time high in the last decade, were introduced by the lawmakers this session. However, only 163 bills have been passed so far and hundreds remains to be discussed. Last year, the lawmakers had cleared 263 bills at this point.
Following are the top most agendas likely to be debated in the legislature in the concluding week:
BUDGET
Planning the next fiscal budget will be the top most agenda for the Utah legislators. A $200 million proposal of distributing digital tablet among Utah students without raising taxes is likely to consume the maximum time.
MEDICAID
The legislators may take up one of the United States’ highly debated issue of healthcare. Gov. Gary Herbert may call up a special session to discuss the issue if something realistic does not come out before session ends Thursday. The legislators will discuss whether to expand the program under President Barack Obama’s federal health overhaul or to pursue one of three alternative plans.
STATE PRISON
The shifting of state prison is likely to be taken up on the floor. A Senate committee on Friday also approved a proposal creating a new board tasked with recommending where to move the prison.
COCK FIGHTING
Utah is the only Western state without a offense penalty for cockfighting. Hence, the legislators may take up a proposal to stricken the penalties on cockfighting.
