SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- For the fifth year in a row, a Utah lawmaker has proposed a statewide law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual identity or orientation.

Fifteen municipalities in Utah have passed ordinances making it illegal to fire or evict someone for being gay or transgender, but statewide efforts have failed in the state's Republican-led Legislature.

St. George Republican Sen. Stephen Urquhart sponsored the bill, which he says deals with "one of the big issues of our time."

A Senate committee is scheduled to consider the bill Thursday afternoon.

Urquhart's legislation would not apply to religious organizations, which are already exempt from the state's anti-discrimination laws.

The bill also extends that exemption to any organization advocating a viewpoint that would affect their ability to advocate.