| Members Present: Sen. Daniel W. Thatcher, Chair Sen. Ronald M. Winterton, Co-Chair Rep. Calvin R. Musselman, Chair Sen. David G. Buxton Sen. Don L. Ipson Sen. Jen Plumb Rep. Bridger Bolinder Rep. Scott H. Chew Rep. Kay J. Christofferson Rep. Stephanie Gricius | Rep. Sahara Hayes Rep. Michael J. Petersen Rep. Thomas W. Peterson Rep. Val L. Peterson Rep. Andrew Stoddard Rep. Douglas R. Welton Staff Present: Megan L. Bolin, Senior Policy Analyst Michael Cipriano, Associate General Counsel Thomas R. Vaughn, Managing Associate General Counsel Tracey Fredman, Administrative 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 Thatcher called the meeting to order at 1:33 p.m. |
| Megan Bolin, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, showed committee members how to access the statutorily required reports that have been submitted online by state agencies. |
| MOTION:Rep. Thomas Peterson motion to approve the minutes of the October 16, 2024, meeting.The motion passed with a vote of 13-0-3. | |||
| Yeas - 13 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 3 | |
| Rep. B. Bolinder Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. S. Hayes Sen. D. Ipson Rep. C. Musselman Rep. M. Petersen Rep. T. Peterson Sen. J. Plumb Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. V. Peterson Rep. A. Stoddard Rep. D. Welton |
| 2.Draft Legislation, "Appearance of Candidate Name on Ballot" |
| 4 - Draft Legislation, Appearance of Candidate Name on Ballot (V008) |
| Thomas Vaughn, Managing Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, discussed the provisions of 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Appearance of Candidate Name on Ballot," which would establishcriteria for permitting a candidate to use the candidate'smiddle name, nickname, or initial on a ballot. |
| Ryan Cowley, Elections Director, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, and Ricky Hatch, Weber County Clerk/Auditor, responded to committee members' questions. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Ricky Hatch; |
| Ryan Cowley; |
| Marilyn Momeny; and |
| Maryann Christensen. |
| MOTION:Rep. Bolinder moved to amend 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Appearance of Candidate Name on Ballot," on line 278 following "candidate's name" by deleting "described in Subsection (2) or (3)" and inserting "appearing on a ballot as otherwise described in this section".The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-5. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 5 | |
| Rep. B. Bolinder Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. S. Hayes Rep. M. Petersen Rep. T. Peterson Sen. J. Plumb Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Sen. D. Ipson Rep. C. Musselman Rep. V. Peterson Rep. A. Stoddard Rep. D. Welton |
| MOTION:Rep. Gricius moved to recommend as amended 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Appearance of Candidate Name on Ballot," as a committee bill.The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-4. | |||
| Yeas - 12 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 4 | |
| Rep. B. Bolinder Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. S. Hayes Sen. D. Ipson Rep. M. Petersen Rep. V. Peterson Sen. J. Plumb Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. C. Musselman Rep. T. Peterson Rep. A. Stoddard Rep. D. Welton |
| 3.Draft Legislation, "Ballot Information Accessibility Amendments" |
| 5 - Draft Legislation, Ballot Information Accessibility Amendments (V003) |
| Thomas Vaughn, Managing Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, introduced the issue addressed in 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Ballot Information Accessibility Amendments." |
| Rep. Gricius discussed the provisions of the draft legislation, which would make it unlawful to access ordisclose certain information relating to the method andtiming of a voter casting a vote or returning a ballot,including a penalty for a violation. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Mac Sims; and |
| Marilyn Momeny. |
| MOTION:Sen. Winterton moved to recommend 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Ballot Information Accessibility Amendments," as a committee bill.The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-5. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 5 | |
| Rep. B. Bolinder Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. S. Hayes Sen. D. Ipson Rep. V. Peterson Sen. J. Plumb Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. C. Musselman Rep. M. Petersen Rep. T. Peterson Rep. A. Stoddard Rep. D. Welton |
| 4.Draft Legislation, "Election Code Amendments" |
| 6 - Draft Legislation, Election Code Amendments (V009) |
| Ryan Cowley, Elections Director, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, discussed the provisions of 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Election Code Amendments," which would make several technical changes to theElection Code. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Ricky Hatch; and |
| Marilyn Momeny. |
| MOTION:Rep. Musselman moved to recommend 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Election Code Amendments," as a committee bill.The motion passed with a vote of 10-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 10 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 6 | |
| Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Hayes Sen. D. Ipson Rep. C. Musselman Rep. M. Petersen Sen. J. Plumb Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. B. Bolinder Rep. S. Gricius Rep. T. Peterson Rep. V. Peterson Rep. A. Stoddard Rep. D. Welton |
| 5.Draft Legislation, "Construction Amendments" |
| 7 - Draft Legislation, Construction Amendments (V011) |
| Rep. Musselman introduced 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Construction Amendments," which would establish standardsand penalties for non-compliance related to storm waterrunoff regulation and inspection. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| John Mackey, Director, Division of Water Quality; and |
| Leif Elder, Director, Policy and Legislative Services, Utah Department of Transportation. |
| No action was taken on this item. |
| 6.Draft Legislation, "Election Information Amendments" |
| 2 - Draft Legislation, Election Information Amendments (V020) |
| Rep. Norman K. Thurston introduced 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Election Information Amendments." |
| Megan Bolin, Senior Policy Analyst, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, presented the provisions of the draft legislation, which would authorize, undercertain circumstances, the county clerk, county legislativebody, or certain government entities, to examine an electroniccopy of election material to conduct election research. |
| Rep. Thurston responded to questions from the committee. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Mac Sims; |
| Dave Burton; |
| Marilyn Momeny; |
| Jennifer Garner; |
| Fred Hayes; |
| Matt Weed; |
| Darlene McDonald; |
| Ricky Hatch; and |
| Ryan Cowley. |
| MOTION:Sen. Buxton moved to go to the next agenda item. The motion failed with a vote of 7-6-3. | |||
| Yeas - 7 | Nays- 6 | Abs- 3 | |
| Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Chew Rep. S. Hayes Sen. D. Ipson Sen. J. Plumb Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. C. Musselman Rep. M. Petersen Rep. T. Peterson Rep. D. Welton | Rep. B. Bolinder Rep. V. Peterson Rep. A. Stoddard |
| MOTION:Rep. Musselman moved to recommend 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Election Information Amendments," as a committee bill.The motion failed with a vote of 7-7-2. | |||
| Yeas - 7 | Nays- 7 | Abs- 2 | |
| Rep. S. Chew Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. C. Musselman Rep. M. Petersen Rep. T. Peterson Rep. D. Welton | Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Hayes Sen. D. Ipson Sen. J. Plumb Rep. A. Stoddard Sen. D. Thatcher Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. B. Bolinder Rep. V. Peterson |
| 7.Draft Legislation, "Ballot Counting and Drop Box Amendments" |
| 3 - Draft Legislation, Ballot Counting and Drop Box Amendments (V011) |
| Rep. Norman K. Thurston discussed the provisions of 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Ballot Counting and Drop Box Amendments," which would providethat, for a ballot that is mailed to be valid, the electionofficer must receive the ballot before the polls close onelection day. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Nat Williams; |
| Jennifer Garner; |
| Marilyn Momeny; |
| Matt Williams; and |
| Brian McKenzie, Davis County Clerk. |
| MOTION:Rep. Musselman moved to recommend 2025 General Session draft legislation, "Ballot Counting and Drop Box Amendments," as a committee bill.The motion failed with a vote of 4-7-5. | |||
| Yeas - 4 | Nays- 7 | Abs- 5 | |
| Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. C. Musselman Rep. T. Peterson | Sen. D. Buxton Rep. S. Hayes Sen. J. Plumb Rep. A. Stoddard Sen. D. Thatcher Rep. D. Welton Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. B. Bolinder Rep. S. Chew Sen. D. Ipson Rep. M. Petersen Rep. V. Peterson |
| 8.Other Items/Adjourn |
| MOTION:Sen. Plumb moved to adjourn the meeting.The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-5. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 5 | |
| Sen. D. Buxton Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. S. Gricius Rep. S. Hayes Rep. C. Musselman Rep. T. Peterson Sen. J. Plumb Rep. A. Stoddard Sen. D. Thatcher Rep. D. Welton Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. B. Bolinder Rep. S. Chew Sen. D. Ipson Rep. M. Petersen Rep. V. Peterson |
| Chair Thatcher adjourned the meeting at 3:40 p.m. |