This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
After Utah made national news for trying to shut down the insurance company, Zenefits, the House voted 64-1 Monday for legislation now on its way to the Senate that would let the business operate within state law.
A state ban on offering "inducements" to potential customers had jeopardized the company's ability to do business in the state, because it gives potential clients free human-resource software in hopes of persuading them to contract with Zenefits to meet their insurance needs.
The state insurance commissioner had notified the company in November that it had to cease the practice.
Rep. John Knotwell, R-Herriman, sponsored HB141 (second substitute), which says that Zenefits and others can offer free or low-cost gifts to potential customers, provided that they disclose that recipients are not obligated to buy insurance in order to keep the gifts.
"To date, we are the only state to effectively ban Zenefits from doing business," Knotwell said. "This creates what I believe was the spirit, the intent of the inducement law in the first place."
Rep. Curt Webb, R-Logan, who sells title insurance, objected to what he saw as special treatment for Zenefits because of a "full-court press" by the company and its lobbyists.
— Robert Gehrke