Here are some major moves by Utah's Legislature with just days before the session ends

Just days away from the Friday midnight close of the annual legislative session, Utah lawmakers waded through hundreds of bills and funding requests last week, advancing measures to change primary elections, hand out some tax relief and crack down on abuses at treatment centers for troubled youths.

The Republican-dominated Legislature spent serious time and attention on locking down GOP control of its candidate-nominating process, ensuring that only party loyalists would have a say in picking its office seekers, with minimal interference from other voters, independent or Democratic.

A proposal that could sweep away Utah’s system for nominating candidates for elected office gained steam in the Legislature, clearing its first big hurdle in the Senate.

SB205 gives political parties the option of eliminating a signature-gathering path to the primary ballot — something Republican Party insiders have been pushing for since the current system was enacted in 2014.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2021/02/27/here-are-some-major-moves/
(Salt Lake Tribune)