House passes hate-crimes measure
Compromise may have a good chance in Senate
"To the general public . . . I would have them know that this body here is an exemplary illustration of the very spiritedness of what this bill would accomplish," said Rep. LaVar Christensen. "This is the result of a diligent search for the right language."
The Draper Republican substituted the original bill with a version that removed hotly contested terms like "bias" and "hate" and assured opponents the proposal wouldn't violate free-speech rights.
Longtime sponsoring Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, was satisfied with the changes, although he was worried late Wednesday when he was blindsided by Christensen's substitution.
While describing his feeling as "ecstatic" after the House vote, Litvack acknowledged the bill still has a ways to go before it becomes law. The last time the bill made it out of the House three years ago, it was recalled and not voted on.
"This time I don't have to worry that it will be reconsidered," he said. "It was a great way to get it out of the House."
Praise was also offered to Christensen, who worked with Litvack late Wednesday night to hammer out details of a new compromise version of HB90.
Litvack said the bill provides the tool law enforcement and prosecutors need "to be able to hold offenders accountable, to be able to be accountable to victims."
Those who spoke for the bill included some lawmakers who have staunchly opposed hate-crimes legislation in the past.
"Last year I spoke very heavily against the bill in committee," Rep. Curt Oda, R-Clearfield, said. "I completely support fourth substitute HB90, I hope everyone will vote for it."
The bill now moves to the Senate, where President John Valentine, R-Orem, has said it has the best chance of passing of any such legislation he's seen. Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. also supports the legislation.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said Thursday he believes the bill the House voted on "is a law we can use."
"It's going to give me and my prosecutors an opportunity to take a case that some people call a hate crime and bring evidence before a judge and keep (offenders) in jail longer," he said.
Past attempts that failed to pass the Legislature simply boosted the charge for a crime by one step if the crime was committed because of bias or hate against the victim's race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. This year's versions removed those categories and instead of stepping up a charge, the latest version would create an aggravating factor to be considered at sentencing.
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