Download Zipped Introduced WP 6.1 HB0157.ZIP 10,172 Bytes
[Status][Bill Documents][Fiscal Note][Bills Directory]

H.B. 157

1    

JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSION

2    
AMENDMENTS

3    
1998 GENERAL SESSION

4    
STATE OF UTAH

5    
Sponsor: Christine R. Fox-Finlinson

6    AN ACT RELATING TO THE ELECTION CODE; SPECIFYING PROCEDURES FOR
7    SELECTING JUDICIAL NOMINEES TO BE CERTIFIED TO THE GOVERNOR; MAKING
8    TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
9    This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10    AMENDS:
11         20A-12-104 (Effective 07/01/98), as last amended by Chapter 249, Laws of Utah 1997
12    Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
13        Section 1. Section 20A-12-104 (Effective 07/01/98) is amended to read:
14         20A-12-104 (Effective 07/01/98). Procedures governing meetings of judicial
15     nominating commissions.
16        (1) The Judicial Council shall:
17        (a) enact rules establishing procedures governing the meetings of the judicial nominating
18    commissions; and
19        (b) ensure that those procedures include:
20        (i) a minimum recruitment period of 30 days and a procedure to extend that period for an
21    additional 30 days if fewer than nine applications are received for a judicial vacancy;
22        (ii) standards for maintaining the confidentiality of the applications and related documents;
23        (iii) standards governing the release of applicant names before nomination;
24        (iv) standards for destroying the records of the names of applicants, applications, and
25    related documents upon completion of the nominating process;
26        (v) an opportunity for public comment concerning the nominating process, qualifications
27    for judicial office, and individual applicants;


1        (vi) evaluation criteria for the selection of judicial nominees;
2        (vii) procedures for taking summary minutes at nominating commission meetings;
3        (viii) procedures for simultaneously forwarding the names of nominees to the governor,
4    the president of the Senate, and the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel; and
5        (ix) standards governing a nominating commissioner's disqualification and inability to
6    serve.
7        (2) (a) (i) Except as provided in this Subsection (2)(a)(ii), if a judicial nominating
8    commission receives 15 or more applications to fill a judicial vacancy, the nominating commission
9    shall submit at least five names to the governor.
10        (ii) Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(i), if five applicants do not receive the required
11    number of votes as specified in Subsection [(2)(c)] (3) from the nominating commission, the
12    commission shall submit only the names of applicants that received the required number of votes,
13    but must submit the names of at least three applicants.
14        (b) In determining whether or not to submit an applicant's name to the governor, a
15    commission may not decline to consider an applicant merely because:
16        (i) the nominating commission had declined to submit that candidate's name to the
17    governor to fill a previous vacancy;
18        (ii) a previous nominating commission had declined to submit that candidate's name to the
19    governor; or
20        (iii) that nominating commission or a previous nominating commission had submitted the
21    applicant's name to the governor and the governor selected someone else to fill the vacancy.
22        [(c) The vote required to submit an applicant's name to the governor is as follows:]
23        [(i) if all seven members of the nominating commission are present and considering
24    applicants, a vote in favor of the applicant by four commissioners submits the candidate's name
25    to the governor;]
26        [(ii) if only six members of the nominating commission are present and considering
27    applicants because one member is unable to attend, has recused himself or is otherwise
28    disqualified, a vote in favor of the applicant by four commissioners submits the candidate's name
29    to the governor;]
30        [(iii) if only five members of the nominating commission are present and considering
31    applicants because two members are unable to attend, have recused themselves, or are otherwise

- 2 -


1    disqualified, a vote in favor of the applicant by three commissioners submits the candidate's name
2    to the governor; and]
3        [(iv) if only four members of the nominating commission are present and considering
4    applicants because three members are unable to attend, have recused themselves, or are otherwise
5    disqualified, a vote in favor of the applicant by three commissioners submits the candidate's name
6    to the governor.]
7        (3) (a) Voting for the selection of nominees may differ from voting during the screening
8    process. Voting may occur in one or two more rounds, depending on the outcome of each round.
9    Each commissioner is allotted a number of votes for each round equal to the number of nominees
10    remaining to be selected. For the selection of nominees for a trial court, each commissioner has
11    five votes during the first round. If one nominee is selected during the first round, each
12    commissioner has four votes during the next round. If there are multiple vacancies, the number
13    of votes allotted to each commissioner during each round of voting is multiplied by the number
14    of vacancies, and the commission selects nominees as a pool without matching any vote or any
15    candidate to a particular vacancy.
16        (b) Voting is by confidential ballot.
17        (c) A commissioner may not cast more than one vote for a single candidate during any
18    single round of voting.
19        (d) A commissioner must cast all allotted votes in each round.
20        (e) Any candidate receiving in any round a number of votes one less than the number of
21    voting commissioners present is selected as a nominee. If, after any round of voting, a candidate
22    receives two or fewer votes, the candidate is removed from consideration during subsequent
23    rounds of voting. The commission should further debate the qualifications of candidates who are
24    neither selected nor removed from consideration before conducting the next round of voting.
25    Voting and discussion continues until the requisite number of nominees have been selected.
26        (f) The commission can reconsider its action on any candidate upon a majority vote to do
27    so.
28        (g) If after full deliberation the commission is unable to agree upon the required number
29    of nominees in the above described manner, those candidates not removed from consideration shall
30    be considered to be tied within the meaning of Section 20A-12-105(3), and the commission may
31    certify up to two additional names.

- 3 -


1        (h) The total vote tally, but not the vote of individual commissioners, is recorded in the
2    minutes. After the vote tallies are verified and recorded, the ballots are destroyed.
3        (4) Unless the commission determines that there are not five qualified applicants, a list of
4    five names shall be certified to the governor for his selection, but in no event shall fewer than three
5    names be certified.
6        (5) The governor may reject the initial list sent by the commission and request a new list,
7    but the timelines for selection remain as provided by the Utah Constitution.
8        [(3)] (6) A judicial nominating commission may not nominate a justice or judge who was
9    not retained by the voters for the office for which the justice or judge was defeated until after the
10    expiration of that term of office.
11        [(4)] (7) Judicial nominating commissions are exempt from the requirements of Title 52,
12    Chapter 4, Open and Public Meetings, and Title 63, Chapter 46a, Utah Administrative Rulemaking
13    Act.
14        Section 2. Effective date.
15        This act takes effect on July 1, 1998.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 1-27-98 7:00 PM


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

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


- 4 -


[Bill Documents][Bills Directory]