Auto thefts are also expected to be the subject of another bill sponsored by Ray. The Automobile Crime Prevention Bill, HB21, would tack on an additional $1 to vehicle registration fees, raising grant money for police departments to use in vehicle anti-theft programs. Although Ray said there hasn't been a fixed estimate as to how much money can be raised through the bill, he said he is hoping to raise $1 million.

The bill would also create an eight-member board comprised of representatives from police associations, local car dealerships and the vehicle insurance industry.

"We have a problem in this state with auto crime," said Col. Scott Duncan, superintendant of the Utah Highway Patrol. Duncan said in the last few years, Utah has seen about 4,000 vehicles stolen each year. Although the national rate for stolen vehicle recovery is around 62 percent, Duncan said Utah's recovery rate is down around 20 percent.

"Why this is, we don't know," Duncan said, but officers have speculated many cars are either victims of chop shops or are simply taken out of state.

"If we can decrease auto crimes, what we can do for the citizens is drive down the costs for auto insurance," Ray said.

The bill was introduced last year but didn't pass due to lack of funding, Ray said.

Two bills sponsored by Sen. Greg Bell, R-Fruit Heights, deal with giving Utah's judges more power to enforce victim restitution and freeze bank assets in pending fraud cases.

SB94, Bell said, would allow a district court judge who awards restitution, to continue to have jurisdiction over that order for one year. Bell said the benefit is that the judge is more familiar with the order than the state board of pardons.

"They hold off until the case comes up for parole and the evidence is cold and witnesses wander off," Bell said. "We're making it clear in the statute that judges have continuing jurisdiction to order restitution within a year."

Bell is also pursuing a bill that will give judges the ability to tie up assets and place liens on property in cases where financial fraud is alleged. Bell said it would prevent someone from playing shell games with their money during criminal cases.

Expansion of services for child victims is also being sought by Buttars in SB15. The steady increase in meth usage among parents has prompted a new need to expand the services of the 15 Children's Justice Centers across the state, Buttars said.

"We have a new phenomenon of horribleness out there," he said. Reports of parents "cooking" meth on one stove burner while cooking a child's meal on another has come to be a troubling symbol to state child welfare workers.

"We're having a hard time keeping our head above water," said Susan Mitchell with the Children's Justice Center in West Jordan, adding that cases have increased by 22 percent statewide ince last year. In Salt Lake County alone, cases have increased by 800.

Buttars said SB15 will ask for $200,000 to hire experts for each center, who will be able to better evaluate a child's level of need.

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E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com