| Members Present: Sen. Evan J. Vickers, Chair Rep. A. Cory Maloy, Chair Sen. Daniel McCay Sen. Stephanie Pitcher Sen. Scott D. Sandall Sen. Todd Weiler Rep. Melissa G. Ballard Rep. Jon Hawkins Rep. Ken Ivory Rep. Jason B. Kyle Rep. Ashlee Matthews Rep. Hoang Nguyen Rep. Jake Sawyer Rep. David Shallenberger |
Rep. Norman K Thurston Rep. Stephen L. Whyte Members Absent: Sen. Kirk A. Cullimore Speaker Mike Schultz Rep. Casey Snider Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox Staff Present: Allison Cowdell, Policy Analyst Rohnin Randles, Policy Analyst Tyler Moore, Associate General Counsel Austin Weenig, Associate General Counsel Alyssa Castor, 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. |
| Chair Vickers called the meeting to order at 1:41 p.m. |
| 1.Committee Business |
| MOTION:Rep. Sawyer moved to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2026, meeting.The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-8. | |||
| Yeas - 12 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 8 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Rep. H. Nguyen Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers Rep. S. Whyte |
Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. K. Ivory Sen. S. Pitcher Rep. M. Schultz Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. C. Snider Sen. T. Weiler Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 2.Legislative Prioritization of Occupation Reviews Report |
| 2 - Proposed Occupations for Review (OPLR) |
| Allison Cowdell provided an overview of the statutory process for periodic reviews completed by the Office of Professional Licensure Review (OPLR). |
| Jeff Shumway, Director, OPLR, provided an overview of construction trades proposed for review in 2027. |
| MOTION:Sen. McCay moved to approve the list of professions for OPLR to review in 2027.The motion passed with a vote of 13-0-7. | |||
| Yeas - 13 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 7 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Rep. H. Nguyen Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers Rep. S. Whyte |
Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. K. Ivory Sen. S. Pitcher Rep. M. Schultz Rep. C. Snider Sen. T. Weiler Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 3.Residence Lien Recovery Fund Report |
| Allison Cowdell provided an overview of the Residence Lien Recovery Fund. |
| 3 - Residence Lien Recovery Fund Report (Department of Commerce) |
| Mark Steinagel, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Commerce, provided a report on the state of the Residence Lien Recovery Fund and answered questions from the committee. |
| Adam Watson, Assistant Director, Division of Professional Licensing (DOPL), provided recommendations for the provisions of the Residence Lien Recovery Fund Act. |
| Mark Steinagel answered questions from the committee. |
| MOTION:Sen. Sandall moved to open a personal bill file and incorporate recommendations from DOPL regarding the Residence Lien Recovery Fund. |
| David Spatafore, lobbyist, provided public comment and answered questions from the committee. |
| Mark Steinagel answered questions from the committee. |
| Tyler Moore answered questions from the committee. |
| The underlying motionpassed with a vote 14-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 14 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 6 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. K. Ivory Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Rep. H. Nguyen Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers Sen. T. Weiler Rep. S. Whyte |
Sen. K. Cullimore Sen. S. Pitcher Rep. M. Schultz Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. C. Snider Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 4.Draft Legislation, "Health Professions Licensing Amendments" |
| 4 - Draft Legislation "Health Professions Licensing Amendments" (v007) (Drafter: C. Williams) |
| Chair Vickers presented 2027 General Session draft legislation, "Health Professions Licensing Amendments." |
| MOTION:Rep. Thurston moved to favorably recommend as a committee bill, "Health Professions Licensing Amendments."The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-9. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 9 | |
| Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. K. Ivory Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Sen. D. McCay Rep. H. Nguyen Sen. S. Sandall Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers Sen. T. Weiler Rep. S. Whyte |
Rep. M. Ballard Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. A. Matthews Sen. S. Pitcher Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. M. Schultz Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. C. Snider Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 5.Draft Legislation, "Professional Licensing Modifications" |
| 5 - Draft Legislation "Professional Licensing Modifications" (v020) (Drafter: C. Williams) |
| Rep. Thurston introduced 2027 General Session draft legislation, "Professional Licensing Modifications." |
| Chris Williams, Senior Associate General Counsel, Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, provided a summary of, "Professional Licensing Modifications," and answered questions from the committee. |
| Rep. Thurston and Chris Williams answered questions from the committee. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Beth Luthy, Associate Dean, BYU College of Nursing; |
| Mark Taylor, optometrist, Kaysville; |
| Stan Lockhart, Executive Director, Utah Academy of Physicians Assistants; |
| Michelle McComber, CEO, Utah Medical Association; |
| Sheldon Birch, compounding pharmacist, Birch Family Pharmacy; and |
| Jessica Black, Legislative Chair, Utah Mental Health Counselors Association. |
| The committee discussed policy options. |
| MOTION:Rep. Ballard moved to favorably recommend as a committee bill, "Professional Licensing Modifications." |
| 5 - Draft Legislation "Professional Licensing Modifications" (v019 compared with v020) (Drafter: C. Williams) |
| Chris Williams clarified the differences between version 19 and version 20 of, "Professional Licensing Modifications." |
| Chair Vickers answered questions from the committee regarding the number of available committee bill files. |
| The underlying motionpassed with a vote 13-1-6. | |||
| Yeas - 13 | Nays- 1 | Abs- 6 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. K. Ivory Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Rep. H. Nguyen Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers Sen. T. Weiler Rep. S. Whyte |
Rep. D. Shallenberger |
Sen. K. Cullimore Sen. S. Pitcher Sen. S. Sandall Rep. M. Schultz Rep. C. Snider Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 6.Draft Legislation, "Health Profession Licensing Modifications" |
| 6 - Draft Legislation "Health Profession Licensing Modifications" (v006) (Drafter: C. Williams) |
| Rep. Raymond Ward presented 2027 General Session draft legislation, "Health Profession Licensing Modifications." |
| Brittany Carver, CEO, Utah Assisted Living Association, provided public comment. |
| MOTION:Rep. Maloy moved to favorably recommend as a committee bill, "Health Profession Licensing Modifications."The motion passed with a vote of 14-0-6. | |||
| Yeas - 14 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 6 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. K. Ivory Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Rep. H. Nguyen Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers Sen. T. Weiler Rep. S. Whyte |
Sen. K. Cullimore Sen. S. Pitcher Sen. S. Sandall Rep. M. Schultz Rep. C. Snider Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 7.Draft Legislation, "Property Management Amendments" |
| 7 - Draft Legislation "Property Management Amendments" (v008) (Drafter: A. Weenig) |
| Austin Weenig provided an overview of 2027 General Session draft legislation, "Property Management Amendments," and answered questions from the committee. |
| Leigh Veillette, Director, Division of Real Estate, and Daniel Larsen, Interim Director, Division of Consumer Protection, answered questions from the committee. |
| Public comment was heard from: |
| Justin Allen, Government Affairs Director, Rental Housing Association of Utah, who answered questions from the committee; |
| Angela Kraniski, lobbyist, Utah Safe and Stable Rentals Project; |
| Kyle Arbizu, former President, Institute of Real Estate Management; and |
| Karly Walton, co-chair, Institute of Real Estate Management. |
| Chair Vickers asked for committee members to indicate if they want to be involved in further discussions of, "Property Management Amendments," and moved on to the next agenda item. |
| 8.Health Insurance Policy Review |
| 8 - Health Insurance Policy Review Presentation (Insurance Department) |
| Jon Pike, Commissioner, Insurance Department, presented information on health insurance markets and state policy, and answered questions from the committee. |
| MOTION:Sen. McCay moved to open a committee bill file and incorporate recommendations from the Insurance Department.The motion passed with a vote of 11-0-9. | |||
| Yeas - 11 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 9 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. K. Ivory Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Sen. S. Pitcher Sen. S. Sandall Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers |
Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. H. Nguyen Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. M. Schultz Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. C. Snider Sen. T. Weiler Rep. S. Whyte Rep. R. Wilcox |
| 9.Office of AI Policy: AI Learning Laboratory Report |
| Zach Boyd, Director, Office of Artificial Intelligence Policy, presented recommendations for policy consideration resulting from the 2026 Learning Laboratory Program. |
| 10.Other Items/Adjourn |
| MOTION:Sen. McCay moved to adjourn.The motion passed with a vote of 12-0-8. | |||
| Yeas - 12 | Nays- 0 | Abs- 8 | |
| Rep. M. Ballard Rep. J. Hawkins Rep. K. Ivory Rep. J. Kyle Rep. A. Maloy Rep. A. Matthews Sen. D. McCay Sen. S. Pitcher Sen. S. Sandall Rep. J. Sawyer Rep. N. Thurston Sen. E. Vickers |
Sen. K. Cullimore Rep. H. Nguyen Rep. M. Schultz Rep. D. Shallenberger Rep. C. Snider Sen. T. Weiler Rep. S. Whyte Rep. R. Wilcox |
| Chair Vickers adjourned the meeting at 4:03 p.m. |