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Show pe Le ce “DAILY HERA ~ 2Q0GLEGISLATURE Se aecommittee ee sigemeee o Oo bill passes be equbable,he said Utah motoristswill have to abide bystricter child restraint regulations under abill that passed Friday ina House committee. HB111 amends state law to require Utah drivers to provide appropriate child restraint devices for persons younger than eight years of Victims of domestic violence would not haveto pay, and those who can’t afford _the fee can sign an ee Protective orders is trigger exemption. — Daily Herald tall. Rep Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay said 32 children died during 1999 to 2003 because they weren't inpropersafety restraint devices. “Think of a classroom,” she Said to the committee. “An entire classroom of 32 empty , Seats,”shesaid. The bill passed with a 7-3 vote. A bill that would allow teenagers to declare emancipation ‘from their parents passed the House on Friday 45-26. Utah would join more than 25 other’states with emancipation lawsif the bill the Senate and the governor. “Many of our homeless youth engagein couchsurfingin orderto survive,” said age or shorter than 87 inches —Daily Herald Bill would increase divorcefiling fee Considering a divorce? Well, you might have to consider a $60 increase in filing fees too, should House Bill 322 continueits path toward law. The bill cleared’a House committee Friday thanks to a unanimously-approved amendment thatsmashed the sponsor’s original intent to up the currentfee from $95 to $500.The bill now raises it to $155. “I guess you got the feel of the committee here,” said chairman Rep. James Ferrin, R-Orem. Rep. Peggy Wallace, RWest Jordan, said the state currently pays 75 percent ofthe fee, while petitioners of divorces pay 25 percent. ising the cost to $500 would have made the burden more equal, she said. “It becomes very onerous to the State of Utah in these situations,” Wallace said. But Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan,said there are hundreds of lawsuits that cost the state far more money than divorce. Raising the fee to $500 would require them Offenders sex offenders to register when they move. The bill apportions about $40,000 to hire full-time person to administerthe license’ renewal program, Dee said, but the yearly driverlicense renewal fees will pay for it. Nothing on the license would indicate the holderis a sex offender. Tom Patterson, Utah State Sentencing Commission direc: tor,said the bill would enable police officers to more effectively track registered offenders, andit would also deter sex offenders from other states who are “shopping for a state that would be morefriendly to their circumstances,” “These are folks that have been convicted of crimes that havereally cut us to the quick in our families, especially with our young children,” he an“Even one offense is too While the committee discussed the bill, Utah County Commissioner Steve White shared his concerns about “travelers” — sex offenders who cometo Utah from other states. “Utah County has the youngest population of any county in the nation because of our high birth rate,” he said. “Because of the plentiful supply of children, travelers are a concern to me.” Continued from Al version of hate crime law legislation from Wisconsin, but conceded the governor there had vetded it. “Wehaveto address the unique nature of crimes motivated bybias,” Litvack said, adding they're not worse than other crimes, but they're unique. In 2003,a version ofthe bill actually passed the House 3835. But one who voted“yea” struggled withhis decision and underthe rules, brought the bill backto stay. Version 6.0 is slightly watered down’ »mpared to previous vers. ..s. Absent are sensitive wordslike “gender,” “race” and “ That list of groups has been a barrier in the past for lawmakers who thought it created exclusive rights, in particular, — for those with homosexual orientations, Litvack said. This year'sbill would not Rep. Roz MeGee,D-Salt Lake Once emancipated, youth “We're trying to do everything wecan to keep families together, and this would be one more thing that would part the family,” said Rep. David Hogue,R-Riverton. But Rep. Lorie Fowlke, RAlan Choate Orem,said teens who seek DAILY HERALD emancipation almost always already have broken families, Parents, educators and orand sometimes don't even ganizations should do more to know wheretheir parents are. , according | Emancipated minors would resolution approved by a Senate not be able to vote or pur| committee Friday. The reschtsondoesn’t create chase firearms, tobacco or alcohol. lawor appropriate money, but sayat — Daily Herald | it does do more than the community, and en- hance sentencesfor such crimes. “That wasn't an attack on him as a person, it was an attack ona perceived group of people” Shurtleff said. “We think they should be locked up create a separate hate crime longer.” sae It would only require Utah keeps hatecrime statistics on the books, even aes a judgeto consider any aggravating factors during senthey are not prosecuted state tencing.If it were determined . state law. Since 1998, ‘eae ve oe was committed with Bureau of Criminal Identification showsan averageof 66 jas, the judge would levy an enhanced hate crimes per year have been Gries sid the billwould do committed in Utah. During more harm than “It won't stop tl coe It's just going to increase the terror,” said Jonas Rodrigues, a Brazilian immij “Weare going back to the dark ages cite fo tices Wins 6c Rep, Glenn Donnelson, RNorth Ogden, expressed concern that anybody could claim crimes committed against them were done withbias. But Attorney General Mark Sponsored by: Patrice Arent(D-Salt Lake City) Resolution Encouraging School Boards to Adopt Policy Prohibiting Bullying — Resolution would en| courage school boards to / adopt anti-bullying policies. Sponsored by: Brad Dee (R-Washington Terrace) Sen. Patrice Arent, D-Salt Lake . “It’s a community issue as . That's whereI think this “It's a broaderissue than just a school issue,” said Rep. Ronda Menlove, R-Garland, who is sponsoring the measure with Children whoare bullied often miss school, perform poorly in ee and develop emoti psychological problems,In the extreme, | helping victims of bullies. Sex Offender Amend- ments — Thisbill would provide that a driver's licenseor state identification card expire on the birth date of the applicant 2004, the last year for which numbers are available, 56 hate crimes were committed. Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, was one who voted to ‘and you don't change bad people by threatening them more,” he said. “But at the sametime, people deserve to walk the streets andfeelsafe.” ience the kind of pain Ray Pens i does until 24 weeks or later. Theyalso said the bill targets women who,in most cases, are seinete a their fan health is atrie or because their fetus is suffering from defects that will prevent its survival. “Creating another barrier for them to get the medical care that they need is really unjust,” said Dr. David Turock, who practices at the University of Utah Hospital. Turock said he couldn't find a physician in Utah who knows how to provide the kindof pain medicationto a fetus the bill would require. Surgeries onfetuses, where anesthesia is administered, are not currently peng performed in Utah, he No one in Utah knows how this would be done without increneis the risk to the mom,” he said. Ray countered that doctorsin Utah poetier the technology and ski Hesaid ae's beentoldby other physicians that pain medication is not currently offered in abortions because it’s not required under Utah law. Menlovepointed out,bullied or ostracized children are the ones who act out violently — even fatally — at school. The Senate Education Committee also heard from television reporter Reed Cowan, who is part of the “Power In You”children’s help program by first Mary Kaye Kaye Huntsman. Hedtaledhhow he was bullied i jarten h 12th grade read mene from fifth- and sixth-grade students who are being similarly tormented. “I was afraid every day because of a permissiveculture” But with work on the issue, he added, “soon wewill be able to say, ‘No morevictims ever again ... because school is a safe and happy pllace.’” In other beer the committee forwarded to the Senate: » SenateBill 174, which would allow members of the Utah National Guardto pay in-state tuition at state schools, evenif they are not state residents, » Senate Joint Resolution 9 from state Sen. Parley Hellewell, R-Orem, that would bipartisan committee,although the two Democrats present questioned the accuracy of some of the resolution's wordit “We may be todo some cleanup on the +” said Arent. in thefirst year following the date thelicense or identification was issued if the person is required to register as a sex of- fender. Resolutions parked in House committee | | | ——— The latest traveler in Utah The aims were straightfor| ward— changethe state con- County was arrested in a sting operation set up by local law enforcement agentsin con- junction with the FBI, White said. Agents asunder- Alan Choate DAILY HERALD stitution to give property tax breaks to military veterans and | low-income people. But the measures didn't fare | well in the UtahConstitutional agegirls on the Internet set up | Revi SenosWah Tio ie pate because members tl Frida the and apprehended him w! showed up. | Last year,local law enforcement arrested 40 travelers in Utah County, White said. “Wehave enough bad people in our ownstate, we don't need to be a magnet,” he said. “I'm very much in favor of eee the sex offender registry, paying whatever the county needs to pay, because this is the most grievous system. The commission to recommend HJR 5, “Resolu~—_|_tion Provi Tax Exemption for ee Mark Wheatley. They have members. to make a formal recommendaa eite: unde to hope soo tion cineTilefacesihe mt Ve net tha wehave. The bill now moves to the House floor. - its would undermine Utah's property tax athe capronelaroma toomenions nonetheless. Wheatley's proposal would Meter aa, Saar piece of make somet! tional allow armed forces veterans ae ony Caer to a exemption on The amendment Hogue, R-Riverton, would be on ability to — his _the taxable value of their primary residence. proposal would re freeze the tax valuation for “American veterans embody the eeoe country property owned by retired people of low to moderate incomes. was founded,” said Wheatley, them a debt of That's true, said commission could have w: cat effects. proposesto aaah ja! Constitution to mod- "ify provision regardi fac compton. HRHG “This just undercuts the con- or other valued public servants? “If you do engage inthis de_bate.... it's a very slope,” said Utah Supreme Chief Justice Christine Durham. Mike Jerman, vice president of the Utah T: Associatign, notéd that some veterans are wealthy and that the law allows property tax breaks for low-income member Roger Tew. He added that it reminded him of California's Proposition 13, which ey ae and “destroyed the property tax system in California.” Utah Assessor Poulson noted that even in California, values are allowed to increase 2 ayear. He warned that changes of this a we're going to kind of tax,” he said, “it be based on ability to pay.” unintended Jerman added that owners are already Cannon \ eeeensroe: iW Mab le ith and —but what about re- cept that property is taxed at tired police officers, firefighters fair market value,” said com- en eeeee Sponsored by: . Mark Wheatley (D-Murray) ‘ i je If put into effect, commission D-Murray. “When these individ- members said, the uals return from war, weowe | HIR#6 Bane oaks are eon by: Hogue (RRiverton) ' lution Limiting Property Tax on Primary Residence — The resolution Proposes to amend the Utah Constitution to allow armed veterans who are honorably discharged to claim a $4,000 exemption on the taxable value of thelt primary residence. + & toex fom taxation 45 parce tte vali of tee ack mary residénce. immigratiion reform ing property to eae i sponsoring a stretch =v er Fomorsafety sgn wi 3 memorial a fe such as “Drowsy Driving Kil s” and the crash districts and state agencies to determine ceores fe and dic ie memorials like. It also allows for a public agency to for part or all of sy’ on state rig! way, saying all private memorials will crosses to to those who have died in the line of duty. elie ea te US House is to give states more discretion, said Ellen of American A\ in a telephone interview from Parsippany, N.J. “What do you do next? In public schools sell off the area under a teacher's desk where there are prayers? Start selling parts of courtrooms and town Squareshere and there? It gets absurd.” Harper'sbill would allow en aen victim's name. Choate vi Visit His proposed solution is reves th ead autho eee lek wares govern in America is to let the states do it,” he said. Cannon made those comments on the Senate floor after answering three different questions from représentatives on the House floor: How do we get the federal out of our hair? will federal government allow us to make more decisions on we “ind? and Why is federal g¢ ‘ mment always overriding states’ ‘Cannon said the solution to kann tia menay wita tate budgets, because as long as ate, ti jating factors that pose harm to It calls for a definition of bullying,a unified statewide ap| proachto addressing the problem, a system of reporting and | | responding to bullying incidents at schools and a process for geeaeen a es way Patrol logo beneatht American Atheists Inc. says there's no question the require courts to consider if crimes were committed with biased, | “bullying is bad.” sociation to place the crosses on state property and the use of the Highway Patrol logo are violations of the separation between church and state. The bill allows for the use of public money to build and maintain on public land or land donated or soldtoaprivate group. Tenetrenee earn, tha aos Bony three nonprofit eneee to state ficers nadackaowiedypthat service, Criminal Penalty Amendments — Thisbill would exist before sentence enhancementcould occur. For example, he said police wouldhave sought enhanced penalties for a man who called Shack employe Resolution encourages policy to combat bullies Memorials cepted as a symbol of a death, and not a religious symbol, when placed along a highway.” The crosses were erected 8 oahe Highway Patrol Assohe 1990s. Sponsored by: David Litvack (D-Salt Lake City) passed edgertbadaeslaoha tie morning, making it availStes oeee tx oe the second time since the Salt havecivil law privileges granted to adultslike signing legal documents and borrowing money.But criminal law still applies to them as minors. Teens would haveto petition a juvenile court for emancipation, and prove they are employed, cai meet their ownneeds, and that emancipation would be in their best interests. A court-appointed guardian must also present an evaluation of whatis in the child's best interests. Some representatives felt a bill would weaken fami- Raysaid he based his bill on Shurtleff said the burden of After five failed attempts to create a penalty for hate crimes in Utah,some would City. Fetal pain Committee passessixth Continued from Al stops and on roadsides near wheretroopers have been killed passed the House 68-1. session of the Utah Legislature. Dill passes House HB#168 Continued from Al There are 3-1/2 weeks left of the general Tyler Peterson DAILY HERALD Teen emancipation y Saturday, February4 2006 ei fae Pree ernment |