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MINUTES OF THE
SENATE JUDICIARY, LAW ENFORCEMENT & CRIMINAL JUSTICE
STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING
ROOM 250, STATE CAPITOL

February 6, 2012

Members Present:        Sen. Mark B. Madsen, Committee Chair
                Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard
                Sen. Ben McAdams
                Sen. Ross I. Romero
                Sen. Steve H. Urquhart
                Pres. Michael G. Waddoups
                Sen. Todd Weiler    
    
Staff Present:            Nathan Brady, Policy Analyst
                Karen C. Allred, Committee Secretary
    

A list of visitors and a copy of handouts are filed with the committee minutes.

Chair Madsen called the meeting to order at 2:11 p.m.

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to approve the minutes of the February 2, 2012 meeting. The motion passed unanimously with Sen. McAdams, Sen. Urquhart, Pres. Waddoups and Sen. Weiler absent for the vote.

S.B. 103    Personal Injury Protection Arbitration (Sen. C. Bramble)

Senate Bramble introduced and explained the bill.

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to amend S.B. 103 as follows:

1.    Page 2, Lines 38 through 41 :    

             38          (1) Any dispute regarding the recovery of medical expense benefits or other benefits
             39      provided under personal injury protection coverage pursuant to Section 31A-22-307 arising out
             40      of the operation, ownership, maintenance, or use of an automobile may be submitted to
             41      arbitration
{   on the initiative of any party   }        if all parties       to the dispute        agree       .


        The motion passed unanimously with Sen. McAdams, Sen. Urquhart, Pres. Waddoups and Sen. Weiler absent for the vote.

Spoke for the bill:    David Copeland, President, Sego Strategies and Consulting, LLC
            Greg Curtis, Allstate Insurance
Spoke to the bill:    Mike Zantag, Bear River Insurance


MOTION:    Sen. Urquhart moved to pass S.B. 103 out favorably. The motion passed with Sen. Hillyard voting in opposition.
    
S.B. 139    Child Custody Proceedings (Sen. L. Robles)
    
MOTION:    Sen. Romero moved to amend S.B. 139 as follows:

1.    Page 1, Lines 12 through 14 :    

             12          This bill:
             13          .    reduces the age from 16 to
{   14   }        12       for children who wish to express their opinion during

             14      a child custody proceeding regarding which parent they would prefer to reside with.

2.    Page 2, Lines 43 through 47 :    

             43          (d) The court may inquire of the children and take into consideration the children's
             44      desires regarding future custody or parent-time schedules, but the expressed desires are not
             45      controlling and the court may determine the children's custody or parent-time otherwise. The
             46      desires of a child [16]
{   14   }        12       years of age or older shall be given added weight, but is not the single

             47      controlling factor.
        
        The motion passed unanimously.

Sen. Robles introduced and explained the bill.

Spoke for the bill:        Marco Dinz, Father
                Grant Durtschi, Father
                Jackie Warren, Mother
                Madelyn Meyer, Child
                Dalane England, Eagle Forum            
Spoke against the bill:    Danny Hartvigsen, Mother                 

MOTION:    Sen. Romero moved to pass S.B. 139 out favorably. The motion failed with Sen. Madsen, Sen. McAdams and Sen. Romero voting in favor.

MOTION:    Sen. Romero moved to restore the bill to its before amendment form, and pass out favorably. The motion passed with Sen. Hillyard and Sen. Urquhart voting in opposition.             

S.B. 146    Property Rights Amendments (Sen. L. Robles)

Sen. Robles introduced and explained the bill

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to pass S.B. 146 out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Sen. Romero absent for the vote.

S.B. 141    Reauthorization of Prohibitions on Practicing Law Without a License (Sen. S. Jenkins)

Sen. Jenkins introduced and explained the bill.

MOTION:    Sen. Urquhart moved to amend S.B. 141 as follows:

    Reinstate lines 30 and 31, bracket 2012 and add in 2017.

    The motion failed with Sen. Madsen and Sen. Urquhart voting in favor.

MOTION:     Sen. Hillyard moved to pass S.B. 141 out favorably. The motion passed with Sen. Madsen and Sen. Urquhart voting in opposition.

S.B. 100    Law Library Self-help Center (Sen. S. Urquhart)

Sen. Urquhart introduced and explained the bill.

Spoke in for the bill:    Rick Schwermer, Administrative Office of the Courts

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to pass S.B. 100 out favorably. The motion passed unanimously.

S.B. 57    Issuance of Blasting Permits (Sen. R. Okerlund)

Sen. Okerlund introduced and explained the bill.

Spoke for the bill:    Brent Halladay, State Fire Marshall
Spoke to the bill:    Lynn Pace, Deputy City Attorney at Salt Lake City Corporation
        Todd Bingham, President, Utah Mining Association

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to pass S.B. 57 out favorably. The motion passed with Sen. McAdams voting in opposition.

S.B. 167    Children's Justice Center Program Amendments (Sen. R. Okerlund)

Sen. Okerlund introduced and explained the bill.


Spoke to the bill:    Tracy Tabet, Program Administrator, Children's Justice Centers

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to pass S.B. 167 out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Pres. Waddoups absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Sen. Hillyard moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously, with Pres. Waddoups absent for the vote.

Chair Madsen adjourned the meeting at 4:16 p.m.     
Minutes reported by Karen C. Allred, Secretary.





Sen. Mark B. Madsen, Committee Chair