Legislators deadlock on animal-cruelty bill

Members of a group formed to fight for "Henry's Law," Help Us Help Them, supported the attempt to come up with a bill that both sides could support. "This is politics. We do need to compromise," said Anne Davis, the organization's president.

During the Senate debate on the bills, Sen. Jon Greiner, R-Ogden, argued that some crimes against people carry lesser penalties, including assault against a police officer.

Greiner questioned whether "animals should be placed above human beings" and called for more public discussion of the proposals.

The votes to send the bills to committee — unanimous on Christensen's bill and largely divided along party lines on Davis' — also sent a message to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. It's the governor who sets the special session agenda.

Huntsman, Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said, should make sure that there's strong support for a bill before putting it on a special session agenda. "The problem with a special session is we don't have time to get into issues," Hillyard said.

Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said the governor was fulfilling a promise he had made. "The governor felt it was important to put it on the special session call, because he had promised his constituents he would. He had received hundreds if not thousands of e-mails and calls regarding this particular issue," she said.

Meanwhile, the bill authorizing the state to place more inmates in the Garfield County Jail, SJR101, passed both the Senate and the House unanimously. The price tag for the jail expansion, which will allow for housing 80 more inmates, is expected to be $4 million.

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, said his effort to get the authorization during the 2007 Legislature failed because lawmakers ran out of time. He said housing inmates in county facilities benefits the state.

"We save money," he said. "We can move prisoners away from gangs or personal harm. We have the flexibility to move prisoners out and free up places for female prisoners. It's good for the state, good for the county."

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