Lawmakers unveil slate of bills aimed to aid women, the poor

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A bipartisan group of state lawmakers says eliminating Utah’s sales tax on groceries, providing birth control for poor women and tackling the gender pay gap are among the steps they want to take to help women and the poor this year.

The proposals are among plans about a dozen lawmakers touted at a press conference Thursday.

Details for some of the proposals or their estimated costs have not yet been released and legislators acknowledged that not all of them support every proposal their colleagues plan to put forward.

Bills that would eliminate some taxes and create new tax credits and exemptions could run into headwinds from legislative leaders and the governor, who say they want to look at getting rid of some exemptions and credits to ensure the state collects enough tax revenue.