H.B. 67

1

TASK FORCE ON FAMILY CONFLICT
2 RESOLUTION
3 2000 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: A. Lamont Tyler
6 David M. Jones
7 Lloyd W. Frandsen
8 Judy Ann Buffmire
9 Patrice M. Arent
Afton B. Bradshaw
Gary F. Cox
Sheryl L. Allen
Greg J. Curtis
Susan J. Koehn
Carl R. Saunders
Keele Johnson

10 AN ACT RELATING TO HUSBAND AND WIFE; CREATING THE TASK FORCE ON
11 FAMILY CONFLICT RESOLUTION; PROVIDING FOR MEMBERSHIP; DELINEATING
12 RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROCEDURES; PROVIDING A REPORTING DATE;
13 APPROPRIATING $31,000 FROM THE GENERAL FUND; AND PROVIDING A REPEAL
14 DATE.
15 This act enacts uncodified material.
16 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
17 Section 1. Task Force on Family Conflict Resolution -- Creation -- Membership --
18 Quorum -- Compensation -- Staff.
19 (1) (a) There is created the Task Force on Family Conflict Resolution consisting of the
20 following 16 members:
21 (i) two members of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate, no more than one
22 of whom may be from the same political party;
23 (ii) two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker of the House
24 of Representatives, no more than one of whom may be from the same political party;
25 (iii) a district court judge appointed by the Judicial Council;
26 (iv) a juvenile court judge appointed by the Judicial Council;
27 (v) a domestic relations commissioner appointed by the Judicial Council;
28 (vi) a current or past chair of the Utah State Bar Family Law Section appointed jointly by

29 the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives;
30 (vii) the director of the Office of Guardian ad Litem;
31 (viii) a professional counselor or therapist trained as a mediator or familiar with family
32 mediation processes, and familiar with family dynamics and impacts of divorce on children jointly
33 appointed by the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives;
34 (ix) a curriculum specialist from the State Office of Education appointed by the state
35 superintendent of education;
36 (x) the director of the Division of Child and Family Services or his designee;
37 (xi) two parents - one married and one single - with a demonstrated interest in public
38 policy affecting children and families, to be selected by the remaining members of the task force
39 at the first meeting;
40 (xii) the director or his designee of a child advocacy organization jointly appointed by the
41 president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives; and
42 (xiii) one member from the religious community jointly appointed by the president of the
43 Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives.
44 (b) By majority vote, the task force may designate up to three additional members with
45 expertise in areas the task force considers beneficial to its area of study.
46 (2) (a) The president of the Senate shall designate a member of the Senate appointed under
47 Subsection (1)(a)(i) as a cochair of the task force.
48 (b) The speaker of the House of Representatives shall designate a member of the House
49 of Representatives appointed under Subsection (1)(a)(ii) as a cochair of the task force.
50 (3) A majority of the members of the task force constitute a quorum. The action of a
51 majority of a quorum at a meeting constitutes the action of the task force.
52 (4) (a) Salaries and expenses of the members of the task force who are legislators shall be
53 paid in accordance with Section 36-2-2 and Legislative Joint Rule 15.03.
54 (b) Members of the task force who are not legislators may not receive compensation for
55 their work associated with the task force, but may receive per diem and expenses incurred as a
56 member of the task force at the rates established by the Division of Finance under Sections
57 63A-3-106 and 63A-3-107 .
58 (5) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall provide staff support to
59 the task force.

60 Section 2. Duties -- Interim report.
61 (1) With the awareness that intense, unresolved emotional conflict in domestic relations
62 is destructive to children and their families, and that out-of-court conflict resolution processes can
63 prevent or resolve family conflict both before formal court processes are invoked and after children
64 and families have left the court system, the task force shall review and make recommendations on
65 the following issues:
66 (a) the availability of support services, whether from private or public sources, for Utah
67 families involved in divorce or related family conflicts, including education about options other
68 than divorce, counseling, financial management, parenting skills, nonadversarial dispute
69 resolution, postdivorce counseling for families, and legal services related to conflict resolution;
70 (b) the status of all Utah statutes, programs and policies that either alleviate or accentuate
71 the negative impact of divorce or conflict on children, along with recommendations for
72 diminishing negative influences, reinforcing positive influences, and implementing new programs
73 to minimize the adverse effect of divorce or conflict on children;
74 (c) whether through private or public sources, the statewide availability and quality of
75 education for children, premarital couples, and parents about financial management, child
76 development, parenting skills, healthy relationships, and peaceful conflict resolution and the costs
77 of providing such education where it is not available;
78 (d) the legitimate role of state government with respect to the education described in
79 Subsection (1)(c) and the resolution of conflict within families, including a survey of any
80 successful efforts by other states in these areas;
81 (e) potential nonpublic funding sources for educational and counseling programs;
82 (f) methods of coordinating various organizations working on conflict resolution and
83 education for families, and of providing simple, readily accessible public information about
84 resources and services through a variety of information sources and outlets; and
85 (g) other issues related to family conflict resolution.
86 (2) A final report, including any proposed legislation shall be presented to the Health and
87 Human Services Interim Committee, the Judiciary Interim Committee, or the Education Interim
88 Committee before November 30, 2000.
89 Section 3. Appropriation.
90 There is appropriated from the General Fund for fiscal year 1999-2000:

91 (1) $3,000 to the Senate to pay for the compensation and expenses of senators on the task
92 force;
93 (2) $3,000 to the House of Representatives to pay for the compensation and expenses of
94 representatives on the task force; and
95 (3) $25,000 to the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to pay for staffing
96 the task force.
97 Section 4. Repeal date.
98 This act is repealed November 30, 2000.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-4-00 5:41 PM

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

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel