This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Gov. Gary Herbert signed into law on Friday, 50 bills passed during the recent legislative session, including a bill requiring a report on why Utah women get abortions and others aimed at increasing access to public records.
SB60, sponsored by Sen. Margaret Dayton, R-Orem, requires the Utah Department of Health to prepare an annual report on the number of abortions in the state, why the patient receives an abortion and the race of the woman who receives the procedure.
The information is already gathered for the federal government but not at the state level. Dayton, an abortion opponent, said the data could be used to inform debate on future abortion bills.
The governor also signed SB77, which requires many public entities to put audio recordings and meeting minutes online, and SB283, giving a board the duty of making recommendations for making public information accessible through a website. Both bills were sponsored by Sen. Deidre Henderson, R-Spanish Fork.
And SB169, sponsored by Sen. Stuart Reid, R-Ogden, will establish a 14-member education task force, created to make recommendations on long-term policies for public and higher education.
Reid also sponsored SB53, which creates a commission and advisory committee aimed at breaking intergenerational cycles of poverty.
Another bill, HB93, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Peterson, R-Ogden, requires a prosecutor to approve a guilty plea by a driver charged in an accident that causes serious bodily injury.
The Legislature has sent more than 500 bills to the governor for action. So far he has signed 90 of them and vetoed one, a bill changing Utah's concealed weapons law.