| Members Present: Sen. Ronald M. Winterton, Chair Rep. Ken Ivory, Chair Sen. David P. Hinkins Sen. Karen Kwan Sen. Derrin R. Owens Sen. Keven J. Stratton Rep. Carl R. Albrecht Rep. Jefferson S. Burton Rep. Kay J. Christofferson Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost Rep. Rosalba Dominguez Rep. Calvin Roberts Rep. Casey Snider Rep. Jason E. Thompson Justin Anthony Jennifer Brown Jim Moss | Lisa Roskelley Casey Saxton Mike Smith Kael Weston Kyle Wilson Members Absent: Rob Bishop Jason Chaffetz Lorie Fowlke Ben McAdams Chris Stewart Jerry Taylor Staff Present: Nathan W. Brady, Policy Analyst Gus Harb, Associate General Counsel Samantha Merrell, 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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| Chair Ivory called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. |
| 1.Commission Business |
| MOTION:Sen. Winterton moved to approve the minutes of the November 19, 2024, meeting.The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-3. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 3 | |
| Rep. C. Albrecht Rep. J. Burton Rep. K. Christofferson Rep. J. Dailey-Provost Sen. D. Hinkins Rep. K. Ivory Sen. K. Kwan Sen. D. Owens Rep. C. Roberts Rep. C. Snider Sen. R. Winterton | Rep. R. Dominguez Sen. K. Stratton Rep. J. Thompson |
| 1 - Federalism Commission Composition |
| Chair Ivory welcomed the commission. Legislative commission members and staff introduced themselves. |
| Chair Ivory continued introductions of nonvoting commission members and asked members who represent Utah's congressional delegation to speak briefly to any high-level issues at the national level relating to federalism during their introduction. |
| Chair Ivory introduced himself and spoke to the importance of the efforts of the commission. |
| 2.Overview of Federalism Commission |
| 1 - Proposed 2025 Meeting Schedule |
| Chair Ivory proposed a future meeting schedule for the commission this year. |
| Justin Anthony, State Director for Senator Mike Lee, introduced himself and spoke to federalism issues Senator Lee's office finds pressing. |
| 3 - Federalism Commission Overview |
| 3 - Statutory Standards for Evaluating Federal Laws |
| Gus Harb, Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, presented an overview of the commission's statutorily required duties and H.B. 488, Federalism Amendments, from the 2025 General Session. |
| Chair Ivory let the commission know how to access meeting materials and gave background on the statutory standards for evaluating federal laws document. |
| Chair Ivory spoke on additional federalism-related legislation from the session, including H.B. 380, Presumption of State Jurisdiction Amendments. |
| 3.Implementation of H.B. 488, 2025 General Session |
| Rep. Jason Thompson introduced H.B. 488, Federalism Amendments, 2025 General Session and the National Federalism Initiative. |
| Matthew Broadben, Senior Director, Center for Constitutional Studies, Utah Valley University (UVU), gave some background on the Center for Constitutional Studies and their relationship with the Legislature. |
| Rep. Thompson spoke to the excellent work being done by the Center for Constitutional Studies. |
| Troy Smith, Director of the Constitutional Federalism Initiative, Center for Constitutional Studies, UVU, spoke on his role and presented an overview of the center's implementation efforts of H.B. 488. |
| Justin Jones, Director, Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy (Herbert Institute), UVU, introduced the Herbert Institute and who within the institute will be helping with federalism efforts. |
| Jim Moss, Herbert Institute, UVU, presented on the continuing education and training program requirement of H.B. 488 and how he is coordinating that effort. |
| Rep. Thompson gave an overview of the three pillars of the National Federalism Initiative. |
| Chair Ivory gave some background on H.B. 488 and spoke on outreach efforts to other states. |
| The committee discussed the National Federalism Initiative. |
| 4.Federalism as Structural Matter |
| Rep. Jennifer Dailey-Provost presented on the structural nature and apolitical goals of federalism and the National Federalism Initiative. |
| Sen. Karen Kwan continued to speak on the need to frame federalism issues based on structure, not politics. |
| 5.Department of Environmental Quality |
| Tim Davis, Director, Department of Environmental Quality, spoke on high-level interactions the department is having with federal agencies. |
| Tim Davis responded to questions from the commission. |
| 6.Other Business |
| Chair Ivory offered concluding remarks on the meeting and invited committee members to participate in outreach efforts. |
| Chair Ivory adjourned the meeting at 12:13 p.m. |