Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                         H.B. 34
                      BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AMENDMENTS
                                       2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                           STATE OF UTAH
                             Chief Sponsor: Jeffrey D. Stenquist
                                Senate Sponsor: David G. Buxton
 6
 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill amends provisions relating to boards and commissions.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < addresses reporting requirements relating to an executive board; and
        < requires an interim committee to review, for potential repeal, an executive board
 that fails to comply with the five-year reporting requirement for an executive board.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        67-1-2.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapters 84, 345
22
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 67-1-2.5 is amended to read:
        67-1-2.5. Executive boards -- Database -- Governor's review of new boards.
        (1) As used in this section:
        (a) "Administrator" means the boards and commissions administrator designated under
 Subsection (3).
        (b) "Executive board" means an executive branch board, commission, council,
       H.B. 34                                                                          Enrolled Copy
 committee, working group, task force, study group, advisory group, or other body:
        (i) with a defined limited membership;
        (ii) that is created by the constitution, by statute, by executive order, by the governor,
 lieutenant governor, attorney general, state auditor, or state treasurer or by the head of a
 department, division, or other administrative subunit of the executive branch of state
 government; and
        (iii) that is created to operate for more than six months.
        (2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(c), before August 1 of the calendar year
 following the year in which a new executive board is created in statute, the governor shall:
        (i) review the executive board to evaluate:
        (A) whether the executive board accomplishes a substantial governmental interest; and
        (B) whether it is necessary for the executive board to remain in statute;
        (ii) in the governor's review described in Subsection (2)(a)(i), consider:
        (A) the funding required for the executive board;
        (B) the staffing resources required for the executive board;
        (C) the time members of the executive board are required to commit to serve on the
 executive board; and
        (D) whether the responsibilities of the executive board could reasonably be
 accomplished through an existing entity or without statutory direction; and
        (iii) submit a report to the Government Operations Interim Committee recommending
 that the Legislature:
        (A) repeal the executive board;
        (B) add a sunset provision or future repeal date to the executive board;
        (C) make other changes to make the executive board more efficient; or
        (D) make no changes to the executive board.
        (b) In conducting the evaluation described in Subsection (2)(a), the governor shall give
 deference to:
        (i) reducing the size of government; and
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       Enrolled Copy                                                                               H.B. 34
          (ii) making governmental programs more efficient and effective.
          (c) The governor is not required to conduct the review or submit the report described in
 Subsection (2)(a) for an executive board that is scheduled for repeal under Title 63I, Chapter 1,
 Legislative Oversight and Sunset Act, or Title 63I, Chapter 2, Repeal Dates by Title Act.
          (3) (a) The governor shall designate a board and commissions administrator from the
 governor's staff to maintain a computerized database containing information about all
 executive boards.
          (b) The administrator shall ensure that the database contains:
          (i) the name of each executive board;
          (ii) the current statutory or constitutional authority for the creation of the executive
 board;
          (iii) the sunset date on which each executive board's statutory authority expires;
          (iv) the state officer or department and division of state government under whose
 jurisdiction the executive board operates or with which the executive board is affiliated, if any;
          (v) the name, address, gender, telephone number, and county of each individual
 currently serving on the executive board, along with a notation of all vacant or unfilled
 positions;
          (vi) the title of the position held by the person who appointed each member of the
 executive board;
          (vii) the length of the term to which each member of the executive board was
 appointed and the month and year that each executive board member's term expires;
          (viii) whether members appointed to the executive board require the advice and
 consent of the Senate;
          (ix) the organization, interest group, profession, local government entity, or geographic
 area that an individual appointed to an executive board represents, if any;
          (x) the party affiliation of an individual appointed to an executive board, if the statute
 or executive order creating the position requires representation from political parties;
          (xi) whether each executive board is a policy board or an advisory board;
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       H.B. 34                                                                            Enrolled Copy
        (xii) whether the executive board has or exercises rulemaking authority, or is a
 rulemaking board as defined in Section 63G-24-102; and
        (xiii) any compensation and expense reimbursement that members of the executive
 board are authorized to receive.
        (4) The administrator shall ensure the governor's website includes:
        (a) the information contained in the database, except for an individual's:
        (i) physical address;
        (ii) email address; and
        (iii) telephone number;
        (b) a portal, accessible on each executive board's web page within the governor's
 website, through which a member of the public may provide input on:
        (i) an individual appointed to serve on the executive board; or
        (ii) a sitting member of the executive board;
        (c) each report the administrator receives under Subsection (5); and
        (d) the summary report described in Subsection (6).
        (5) (a) Before August 1, once every five years, beginning in calendar year 2024, each
 executive board shall prepare and submit to the administrator a report that includes:
        (i) the name of the executive board;
        (ii) a description of the executive board's official function and purpose;
        (iii) a description of the actions taken by the executive board since the last report the
 executive board submitted to the administrator under this Subsection (5);
        (iv) recommendations on whether any statutory, rule, or other changes are needed to
 make the executive board more effective; and
        (v) an indication of whether the executive board should continue to exist.
        (b) The administrator shall compile and post the reports described in Subsection (5)(a)
 to the governor's website before September 1 of a calendar year in which the administrator
 receives a report described in Subsection (5)(a).
        (6) (a) Before September 1 of a calendar year in which the administrator receives a
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                            H.B. 34
 report described in Subsection (5)(a), the administrator shall prepare a report that includes:
        (i) as of July 1 of that year, the total number of executive boards that exist;
        (ii) a summary of the reports submitted to the administrator under Subsection (5),
 including:
        (A) a list of each executive board that submitted a report under Subsection (5);
        (B) a list of each executive board that [did not] failed to timely submit a report under
 Subsection (5);
        (C) an indication of any recommendations made under Subsection (5)(a)(iv); and
        (D) a list of any executive boards that indicated under Subsection (5)(a)(v) that the
 executive board should no longer exist; and
        (iii) a list of each executive board, identified and reported by the Division of Archives
 and Record Services under Section 63A-16-601, that did not post a notice of a public meeting
 on the Utah Public Notice Website during the previous fiscal year.
        (b) On or before September 1 of a calendar year in which the administrator prepares a
 report described in Subsection (6)(a), in accordance with Section 68-3-14, the administrator
 shall submit the report to:
        (i) the president of the Senate;
        (ii) the speaker of the House of Representatives; and
        (iii) the Government Operations Interim Committee.
        (c) (i) Within 60 days after the day on which an executive board fails to timely submit
 a report under Subsection (5), a legislative interim committee shall conduct a review to
 determine whether to recommend repeal of the executive board.
        (ii) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall notify the chairs of
 an interim committee whose subject area most closely relates to an executive board described
 in Subsection (6)(c)(i) of:
        (A) the name of the board;
        (B) information regarding the function of the board; and
        (C) the deadline by which the interim committee is required to conduct a review
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        H.B. 34                                                                        Enrolled Copy
 described in Subsection (6)(c)(i).
        (iii) If there is not an interim committee with a subject area relating to the executive
 board, or if the interim committee described in Subsection (6)(c)(ii) is unable to timely conduct
 the review described in Subsection (6)(c), the Government Operations Interim Committee shall
 conduct the review.
        (iv) If an interim committee recommends that an executive board described in
 Subsection (6)(c)(i) be repealed, the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall
 draft a bill repealing the executive board.
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Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 67-1-2.5
Enrolled: 67-1-2.5