| Members Present: Sen. Daniel W. Thatcher, Chair Rep. A. Cory Maloy, Chair Sen. David G. Buxton Sen. Don L. Ipson Sen. Jani Iwamoto Sen. Ann Millner Rep. Joel K. Briscoe Rep. Phil Lyman Rep. Val L. Peterson Rep. Douglas V. Sagers Rep. Travis M. Seegmiller Rep. Jeffrey D. Stenquist | Rep. Norman K. Thurston Rep. Douglas R. Welton Members Absent: Rep. Nelson T. Abbott Rep. Stephanie Pitcher Staff Present: Lisa Sorensen, Policy Analyst Alan Houston, Associate General Counsel Thomas R. Vaughn, Associate General Counsel Tracey Fredman, Administrative Assistant Abigail Jacobson, Research Assistant |
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Note: A copy of related materials and an audio recording of the meeting can be found at www.le.utah.gov.
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| 1.Committee Business |
| Chair Maloy called the meeting to order at 8:35 a.m. |
| 2.Open and Public Meetings Act |
| 2a - Presentation, Open and Public Meetings Act |
| Alan Houston, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, discussed potential amendments to the Open and Public Meetings Act to address electronic meeting requirements. |
| MOTION:Sen. Thatcher moved to open a committee bill file to address issues related to remote meetings within the Open and Public Meetings Act.The motion passed with a vote of 8-0-8. | |||
| Yeas - 8 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 8 | |
| Rep. J. Briscoe Sen. D. Buxton Sen. D. Ipson Sen. J. Iwamoto Rep. P. Lyman Rep. A. Maloy Rep. T. Seegmiller Rep. D. Welton | Rep. N. Abbott Sen. A. Millner Rep. V. Peterson Rep. S. Pitcher Rep. D. Sagers Rep. J. Stenquist Sen. D. Thatcher Rep. N. Thurston |
| MOTION:Sen. Thatcher moved to approve the minutes of the May 18, 2021 meeting.The motion passed with a vote of 8-0-8. | |||
| Yeas - 8 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 8 | |
| Rep. J. Briscoe Sen. D. Buxton Sen. D. Ipson Sen. J. Iwamoto Rep. P. Lyman Rep. A. Maloy Rep. T. Seegmiller Rep. D. Welton | Rep. N. Abbott Sen. A. Millner Rep. V. Peterson Rep. S. Pitcher Rep. D. Sagers Rep. J. Stenquist Sen. D. Thatcher Rep. N. Thurston |
| 3.Election Methodologies |
| Kory Holdaway, Utah Ranked Choice Voting, provided an update on the ranked choice voting pilot program. |
| 3a - Presentation, Approval Voting [Utah Center for Electoral Reform] |
| Ammon Gruwell, Utah Center for Electoral Reform, spoke in support of approval voting. |
| The following individuals provided public comment regarding election methods: |
| Ben Smith, citizen, spoke in favor of ranked choice voting; |
| David Buck, citizen, spoke in support of approval voting; and |
| Jordan Gunderson, citizen, spoke in support of ranked choice voting. |
| 4.Precincts |
| 4a - Presentation, Voting Precincts [Utah Association of Counties] |
| Ricky Hatch, County Clerk/Auditor, and Daniel Wade, Candidate Services/Voter Registration, Weber County, discussed the history and purpose of voting precincts and proposed improvements to precincts, including the use of population in determining precinct boundaries and the increase or elimination of precinct size restrictions. |
| Carson Jorgensen, Chair, Utah Republican Party, spoke in support of the organizational structure of precincts, and suggested consideration of the number of party members in determining precincts. |
| Jeff Merchant, Chair, Utah Democratic Party, noted that increasing the number of precincts is a better option than increasing the size of precincts. |
| 5.Plain Language Ballots |
| This item was not discussed. |
| 6.Committee Bill File Requests |
| Sen. Thatcher briefed committee members on bill file requests that have been opened on behalf of the committee. |
| Justin Lee, Director of Elections, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, presented issues to be addressed through legislation in the 2022 General Session. |
| 7.Executive Branch Pay Equity Study |
| 7a - Presentation, Branch Pay Equity [Governor's Office of Planning and Budget] |
| 7b - Presentation, Pay Equity Study [Governor's Office of Planning and Budget] |
| 7c - Handout, Executive Branch Pay Equity Study [Governor's Office of Planning and Budget] |
| Sophia DiCaro, Executive Director, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, introduced Nate Talley, Deputy Director and Chief Economist, Robbi Poulson, Senior Economist, and Katie Miner, Public Information Officer, Governor's Office of Planning and Budget, and John Barrand, Executive Director, Department of Human Resource Management. These presenters discussed findings of the Branch Pay Equity Study and participated in the committee discussion that followed by responding to committee members' questions. |
| No action was taken on this item. |
| 8.Adjourn |
| MOTION:Rep. Stenquist moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 10 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 6 | |
| Sen. D. Buxton Sen. J. Iwamoto Rep. P. Lyman Rep. A. Maloy Rep. D. Sagers Rep. T. Seegmiller Rep. J. Stenquist Sen. D. Thatcher Rep. N. Thurston Rep. D. Welton | Rep. N. Abbott Rep. J. Briscoe Sen. D. Ipson Sen. A. Millner Rep. V. Peterson Rep. S. Pitcher |
| Chair Maloy adjourned the meeting at 10:46 a.m. |