MINUTES OF THE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS INTERIM COMMITTEE

Wednesday, April 24, 2002 - 2:00 p.m. - Room 405 State Capitol



Members Present:

Sen. John W. Hickman, Senate Chair

Rep. Craig W. Buttars, House Chair

Sen. Lyle W. Hillyard

Sen. Millie M. Peterson

Rep. Eli H. Anderson

Rep. Ron Bigelow

Rep. DeMar "Bud" Bowman

Rep. Don E. Bush

Rep. Neil A. Hansen

Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson

Rep. Bradley A. Winn

Rep. Peggy Wallace

Members Absent:

Sen. Ron Allen

President Al Mansell



Staff Present:

Mr. John Q. Cannon, Research Analyst

Mr. Benjamin Christensen, Research Analyst

Ms. Cassandra N. Bauman, Legislative Secretary



Note: A list of others present and a copy of materials can be found at http://image.le.utah.gov/imaging/history.asp or contact the committee secretary at 538-1032.



1. Call to Order and Approval of Minutes



Chair Buttars called the meeting to order at 3:50 p.m.



MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved to approve the minutes of the January 16, 2002 meeting. The motion passed with Rep. Bush absent for the vote.



Mr. Cannon explained the information distributed to the Committee prior to the meeting. He stated that all the bills adopted by the Committee during the 2001 Interim passed during the 2002 General Session. He stated that a list of bills passed concerning government operations was included for the Committee to review for information purposes and for possible study. Committee discussion followed.



3. Election Law Issues



This item was not discussed.





Mr. Cannon distributed a list of potential study items for the 2002 Interim for the Committee to rank in order of importance for study. He explained the issues assigned by the Legislative Management Committee to the Government Operations Interim Committee as well as statutory and other recommended issues that the Government Operations Interim Committee may consider for prioritization during the 2002 Interim.



Sen. Hillyard indicated that the Committee should consider studying governmental immunity issues.



Sen. Peterson requested that the Committee add general ethical issues to the list for prioritization.



Sen. Hickman explained that the Committee discussed the licensing of commercial vehicles during the 2001 Interim involving the Department of Transportation and the Utah State Tax Commission. He requested that the Committee add to the study the Department of Environmental Quality, as a continued study of state department functions. Rep. Hendrickson also suggested studying an issue related to the Department of Transportation.



MOTION: Sen. Hillyard moved that staff work with the chairs in reviewing boards and commissions and that the chairs be authorized to report back to the Committee with up to five boards or commissions that might be studied in the 2002 Interim. The motion passed unanimously.



Committee members ranked priority items for the 2002 Interim.



5. Adjourn



MOTION: Sen. Peterson moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. Chair Buttars adjourned the meeting at 4:20 p.m.