[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6345161,"mediaKeyId","2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a","parentId",2249612,"title","Committee approves first substitute to expand prohibitions on altering political signs","audioSeconds",2508,"startMs",2512490,"endMs",3861,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a&start=2512&end=3","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a/thumbnail_2512490.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6345161/Utah/Committee-approves-first-substitute-to-expand-prohibitions-on-altering-political-signs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6345161-2ca9f812214516848720b0b6805000aa/orig.mp4?Expires=1771040459&Signature=mm9wwI2gX4BjOE8z-3YxmK6epmi1F8HotVztt-mYthfjnYNOqkIRuC7og0ZFvIKc4~8Xle4oQ3Qh4kb-T71OK6IHf76AIGlsAni1wao7vUspRSMFiTNJeYBYnaCEF0-Cn2oKYcZrwli8nKR7weRyUF4Z1-gkD~8fgpHABmfmnWGic4tbpyXFhq~wiXotoaicrulq1aRiO62gc3RInoGfrr1WVmMOlJpDJzlisiDcaeGi5rWZQd42y68mGXJZsuIyx~Ie-ICchI~vRHkahF9-6AeD~Jin~~AdGHRkB6YfqtT6o8ONFdGREs6h-QoCGSTUfzVk~tOobImZt7Xt-gH-IQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Utah State Legislature","date","2025-02-07T00:00:00Z","article","The committee adopted a first substitute to House Bill 292, clarifying that attaching or affixing an object — including another political sign — to a political sign, when that object obscures or changes the original message, is prohibited and subject to existing criminal penalties.

Representative Tusher, sponsor of the bill, said the change responds to incidents where one political sign was altered by affixing another sign or sticker that changed the message. “If someone attaches another political sign to a sign and it changes or misrepresents the intent of the sign, that should be included,” Tusher said while explaining the substitute.

The substitute narrows enforcement to conduct where the object is attached or fixed to the sign; signs placed adjacent to each other or with arrows are not criminalized under the substitute so long as they are not affixed. Sponsor and committee members emphasized the intent was to prevent deceptive alteration of signage rather than to penalize ordinary political speech.

Municipalities, county clerks and UDOT representatives told the committee they had worked with the sponsor on language and appreciated clarifications that allow state or municipal workers to remove or remedy safety hazards and that allow ordinary citizens to remove an object attached to their property sign. Laith Elder of the Utah Department of Transportation told the committee UDOT’s practice is to remove signs that create safety hazards and that the agency sought assurance employees would not be criminally exposed when removing hazardous signs.

Public commenters included candidates and clerks who said sign tampering is a recurring problem; county clerk Ricky Hatch said clerks get many calls but enforcement often falls to municipalities. The committee adopted the first substitute and then voted to pass HB 292 out of committee with a favorable recommendation.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Government Operations Committee - February 07, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The House Operations Committee adopted a first substitute to HB 292 to prohibit attaching objects — including another political sign — that obscure or change the message of a political sign.","taxTitle","2025 Utah Legislature, Utah Legislature, Utah Legislative Branch, Utah","taxId",78171,"location","Utah","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6345166,"Committee approves substitute to strengthen audit response requirements",1148,1433005,2581849,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a&start=1433&end=2581","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a/thumbnail_1433005.jpg","/articles/6345166/Utah/Committee-approves-substitute-to-strengthen-audit-response-requirements","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6345166-5e0ce0ee566984720f35dad9a3a93564/orig.mp4?Expires=1771040459&Signature=BOkiYAy~82UoGnFWqnYmuoRVANdrHu7S4gaMzNnV8-gzIP04ZzUW7amY9M5E25qPxOEC-CP2BaMzj2W1G1e4jg09oxitWe0mjKrI55~CAdE4AV3oHMqYJs~YsHNKrMPlWSEPAFFH1B969lxO-H~gNCVuuZqLkO0mUFJBrFbb2urxfaUxIPXwFDUo3vdKz-bErfjOiUO75Tiko29O3tgxLVaLcxNsSHQNQfX01VNBVVr5~QaF-gHHCOQlaRHSsDu1xVMnMlGQyqM0IDrWBmc7jhKxrYzifCGE1sZskYf0pRZHnNi6V4H~aX6awuUYN2ArKCVJ2iita99qqp3AWydNUA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The House Operations Committee adopted a first substitute to a bill clarifying the Office of the Legislative Auditor General’s authority to require agency responses to audit recommendations and preserving criminal penalties for interference as an enforcement backstop.

Representative Burton, sponsor of the audit measure, said the substitute clarifies who is the chief officer responsible for ensuring audited units respond to findings and that the office’s intent is to ensure agencies do not ignore audit recommendations. “This bill helps to clarify some of the language from the original bill. It’s a good bill to ensure government accountability,” Burton said.

Cade Minche, the legislative auditor, told the committee the updated language arose from implementation experience and suggestions from the attorney general’s office to make enforcement clearer. Minche said the office uses administrative remedies and subpoenas and has not relied on criminal prosecution in his 23 years in the office; the criminal provisions exist as a last-resort measure.

Committee members pressed on enforcement and whether criminal penalties could deter ordinary employees from cooperating. The auditor and sponsor said administrative steps and subpoenas are the ordinary tools and criminal charges have never been used by the office in their experience.

State Board of Education audit staff noted the board was responding to numerous audits and recommended flexibility in time lines and reporting to avoid undue workload impacts; Jenny Earl, a representative from the State Board, told the committee the board currently has 10 audits and 11 items in corrective action that affect workload.

The committee adopted the first substitute and then voted to recommend the substitute bill out of committee with a favorable recommendation.","Lawmakers approved a substitute to clarify who must respond to legislative audit findings and retain a criminal interference penalty as a backstop; legislative auditors and the State Board of Education commented on implementation burdens.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6345170,"Committee sends bill funding Veterans Day school assemblies to full House",1305,53655,1359309,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a&start=53&end=1359","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2249612-e1861da2c30a4c55027d784571bdf66a/thumbnail_53655.jpg","/articles/6345170/Utah/Committee-sends-bill-funding-Veterans-Day-school-assemblies-to-full-House","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6345170-1838b78480b591a78b374578740ba330/orig.mp4?Expires=1771040459&Signature=U3aUCdPdH9qlfIjRIQNM4ftn2lZRSxT4Yf3xgbBoODKkJQn31KSeyCCTvpmtdgNt7WSUiLS8PYurwHhz2YNUtIZtbdxLdgPiEMsqRAo67FwIXJfJsmVJMKWkk129Pleq-UhYOs1K0bmxfhKwoiMiplhtG-McP84OuV26k7pY7fAwH4xAAUEnflTADcssZuQdHd7NLZ8~vx4kmx0QdYWbwEUPDJNLtMULrZhnJ1dk6-yUCSLWk9O4durxVRcoWnv-69cJkBTPSzKlw2F91UI2XoiTHO6s3wry3NK3Wc2XnvZuvMefsr6BhyoIkp3HBltEawcIpO4jERlmyPc44XZr4g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Senate Bill 88, a bill to provide roughly $1,000 per school to support Veterans Day assemblies, was given a favorable recommendation out of the House Operations Committee after discussion about funding sources and precedent.

The bill, presented to the committee by Senator Fillmore, would set aside about $1,000 per school for schools that choose to hold an assembly during the week of Veterans Day to honor local veterans. “It’s a small amount intended to help to defray the cost but how schools use it would be up to them,” Senator Fillmore said.

Committee members expressed broad support for honoring veterans while also questioning whether the state should be subsidizing school assemblies. Representative McPherson urged caution because of competing education funding needs and suggested holding the bill while funding was resolved. “There’s a million priorities, and they’re all important,” McPherson said, urging deliberation about whether the stabilization fund should be used now.

Sponsor and supporters said the proposal is optional for districts and schools and would be administered through the regular appropriations process. Senator Fillmore told the committee the proposal would come from the state’s stabilization account and that finding “a little under $1,000,000 shouldn’t be that difficult,” and that if full funding is not available the per-school amount could be reduced.

After debate and a failed substitute motion to move on to the next agenda item, Representative Peterson made the motion to favorably pass SB 88 to the full body. The committee carried the motion by voice vote; the chair declared the recommendation unanimous.

The bill does not require schools to hold assemblies; it only provides funding to schools that opt in, and schools would not be required to submit receipts under the sponsor’s description.","The House Operations Committee gave a favorable recommendation to Senate Bill 88, which would provide about $1,000 per school for Veterans Day assemblies; sponsors and members debated funding sources and whether the measure sets a state funding precedent.","actionData","errors"]

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Committee approves first substitute to expand prohibitions on altering political signs

Committee approves substitute to strengthen audit response requirements

Committee sends bill funding Veterans Day school assemblies to full House