It was a heated debate to be sure, but some lawmakers thought state Sen. Chris Buttars stepped over the line on Tuesday.

Several other senators had used baby references throughout the debate, as in cutting babies in half, a la Solomon.

After the bill was voted on, the Senate took a 10-minute break.

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said he and several other senators were immediately concerned about what Buttars had said. During the break he took several minutes to discuss the situation with Buttars, who then offered to apologize for his words.

As they came back, Valentine called everyone to the floor saying the house had a "breach of decorum."

"We are the representatives of the people of the state of Utah," he said. "Our comments mean a lot to people, even if we make them inadvertently."

He then turned to Buttars, giving him a chance to backtrack.

"I made a comment a lot of people could take as racist," Buttars said. "I apologize to the quorum, I apologize to anyone who took offense. In no way did I mean that to be degrading in any way."

Sen. Ross Romero, D-Salt Lake City, took a moment to caution his colleagues about their words in light of the flood of immigration bills that are being debated.

"We need to be really mindful of what we say and how we say it," he said, "particularly as we address bills that may be coming up that have significant weight as it relates to ethnic communities in our state."

He said afterward that it was the first time he'd heard such a thing overtly on or off the floor by a senator. He said he is especially concerned about the possibility that "dialogue clouds policy discussion."