In the mid-1980s, the Legislature was weighing a bill that would exempt hired limousine drivers and the so-called "fun buses" taking revelers to Wendover from the open-carry law that barred having an opened alcoholic beverage inside a moving vehicle.The legislation had the support of the state economic-development office, the tourism office, the governor and law enforcement. The idea was that it would help limo and tourism businesses boost Utah's image among out-of-state travelers and, more important, keep alcohol out of the hands of drivers by putting the drinkers in the passenger seats.
The bill breezed through the House. But it stayed in the Senate Rules Committee until the session's last day.
When it finally came up on the board for a possible vote, one senator asked to have the bill circled — delaying any action — while he researched the policy in surrounding states.
And that was the end of the bill. It died without a vote when the clock struck midnight.
It turned out that two lobbyists for the LDS Church, which had never taken a public position on the measure, called two senators in the session's waning hours: the senator who moved to circle the bill and the Senate president who would not recognize any senator trying to uncircle it.
Those were the only two senators contacted by the church, and it was done secretly. The proposal vanished; the church's fingerprints were wiped clean.
So the church's public statements that can kill bills may be seen, in some way, as progress.
prolly@sltrib.com
