In a vote that nearly didn t happen, the Senate Education Committee passed late Monday a measure meant to change Dixie State University s name after another sometimes-heated debate over the word Dixie.
HB 278 substitute one passed with a favorable recommendation, six to one, and now moves on to the full Senate. Sen. John D. Johnson, R-Ogden, the committee chair, was the lone vote in opposition.
The proposal moves to the full Senate for consideration but only after some of the original bill s language regarding Dixie was softened.
And, unlike the original bill, the revised bill does not explicitly state that the name Dixie cannot be used in the school s new name.