Utah's first significant piece of AIDS legislation, "AIDS Testing, Reporting and Compensation for Emergency Medical Services Providers," was passed last summer. It calls for the voluntary testing of patients who have been transported by emergency teams where there's been a significant exposure. Members of the Legislative Health Interim Committee this month approved a slightly modified confidentiality bill. They also passed a bill that would require the names of people who test positively for the AIDS virus be reported to health officials - a move that the state Health Department opposes. Another bill being discussed addresses criminal penalities for people intentionally spreading the deadly virus.
