H.J.R. 21

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JOINT RULES RESOLUTION - QUORUM REQUIREMENTS
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: John W. Hickman
5 A JOINT RESOLUTION OF THE LEGISLATURE AMENDING JOINT RULES; MODIFYING
6 COMMITTEE QUORUM REQUIREMENTS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
7 This resolution affects legislative rules as follows:
8 AMENDS:
9 JR-3.02
10 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
11 Section 1. JR-3.02 is amended to read:
12 JR-3.02. Joint Appropriations Committee.
13 (1) The Joint Appropriations Committee of the Legislature consists of all the members of
14 the Legislature.
15 (2) (a) The members of the Joint Appropriations Committee shall be divided into the
16 following subcommittees:
17 (i) Capital Facilities and Administrative Services;
18 (ii) Commerce and Revenue;
19 (iii) Economic Development and Human Resources;
20 (iv) Executive Offices, Criminal Justice, and Legislature;
21 (v) Health and Human Services;
22 (vi) Higher Education;
23 (vii) Physical Resources;
24 (viii) Public Education;
25 (ix) Retirement; and
26 (x) Transportation and Environmental Quality.
27 (b) The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House shall appoint their respective

1 members to each subcommittee.
2 (c) The Retirement Subcommittee shall have the same members as the Retirement
3 Standing and Retirement Interim Committees.
4 (3) (a) A majority of any committee or subcommittee constitutes a quorum for the
5 transaction of business. [If a member of a committee fails, without giving prior notice of the
6 reason for his absence, to attend two consecutive meetings of the committee or subcommittee of
7 which he is a member, his membership in the committee or subcommittee may not be counted in
8 determining a quorum in any subsequent meeting that the committee member misses.]
9 (b) In determining a committee or subcommittee quorum, a majority is at least 50% in one
10 house and more than 50% in the other.
11 (c) In all decisions of the subcommittees, a majority vote will prevail. A majority vote is
12 at least 50% of the members of one house and more than 50% in the other house in attendance.
13 (4) (a) There shall be an Executive Appropriations Committee consisting of 18 members
14 composed of:
15 (i) three members of the majority leadership of the Senate and four members of the
16 majority leadership of the House;
17 (ii) two members of the minority leadership of the Senate and three members of the
18 minority leadership of the House;
19 (iii) the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the chair of the House
20 Appropriations Committee; and
21 (iv) (A) one member from the majority party of the Senate as appointed by the President
22 of the Senate or as chosen by the Senate majority caucus;
23 (B) two members from the minority party of the Senate as appointed by the Senate
24 minority leader or as chosen by the Senate minority caucus; and
25 (C) one member from the minority party of the House as appointed by the House minority
26 leader or as chosen by the House minority caucus.
27 (b) A member of the Executive Appropriations Committee, whose membership is
28 determined under Subsection (i) or (ii), may appoint a designee to permanently serve in that
29 individual's place with the approval of the Speaker or the President for any majority party member
30 or with the approval of the House or Senate minority party leader for any minority party member.
31 (c) In all decisions of the Executive Appropriations Committee, a majority vote prevails.

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1 When a division is requested, that vote must include at least 50% of the members of one house and
2 more than 50% of the members of the other house in attendance.
3 (5) (a) The Executive Appropriations Committee shall meet no later than the third
4 Wednesday in December to:
5 (i) direct staff as to what revenue estimate to use in preparing budget recommendations;
6 (ii) decide whether or not to set aside special allocations for the end of the session;
7 (iii) set aside an appropriate amount for fiscal note bills;
8 (iv) approve the appropriate amount for each subcommittee to use in preparing its budget;
9 and
10 (v) set a budget figure.
11 (b) The chairs of each appropriation subcommittee are invited to attend this meeting.
12 (6) The Office of Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall prepare revised revenue estimates in
13 February.
14 (7) The Executive Appropriations Committee shall include in its consideration tax
15 collections and revenue policy, tax administration, and analysis of revenue sources.
16 (8) (a) With the approval of the Executive Appropriations Committee, time schedules for
17 subcommittee meetings will be determined so that no conflict exists with the annual general
18 sessions or standing committee meetings of the Legislature.
19 (b) Appropriations subcommittees may not meet while the Senate or House is in session
20 without special leave from the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate.
21 (9) (a) (i) It is the duty of the appropriations chair of each house to receive the reports of
22 the subcommittees and to forward the reports to the Executive Appropriations Committee.
23 (ii) The Executive Appropriations Committee shall combine the reports into a total
24 appropriations bill.
25 (b) The Executive Appropriations Committee shall establish a liaison between their
26 committee and each of the appropriations subcommittees.
27 (10) All proposed items of expenditure to be included in the final appropriations bill,
28 including appropriations for the Legislature and its committees and staff, shall be submitted to one
29 of the subcommittees named in this rule for consideration and recommendation.
30 (11) (a) After receiving and reviewing subcommittee reports, the Executive Appropriations
31 Committee may refer the report back to an appropriations subcommittee with any guidelines the

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1 Executive Appropriations Committee considers necessary to assist the subcommittee in producing
2 a balanced budget.
3 (b) The subcommittee shall meet to review the new guidelines and report the adjustments
4 to the chairs of the Executive Appropriations Committee as soon as possible.
5 (12) (a) After receiving the reports, the appropriations chairs will report them to the
6 Executive Appropriations Committee.
7 (b) That committee shall:
8 (i) make any further adjustments necessary to balance the budget; and
9 (ii) complete all decisions necessary to draft the final appropriations bill no later than the
10 38th day of the annual general session.
11 (13) (a) During the interim, the Executive Appropriations Committee shall meet at least
12 every other month on the day before interim meetings on alternating months between Legislative
13 Management Committee meetings.
14 (b) The first meeting of the Executive Appropriations Committee shall be in the month
15 following the first meeting of the Legislative Management Committee.
16 (c) The appropriations subcommittee chairs may attend these meetings and provide input
17 regarding their budget.
18 Section 2. Effective date.
19 This resolution takes effect upon approval by a constitutional majority vote of all members
20 of the Senate and House of Representatives.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-6-97 6:55 PM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

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