H.R. 5

1

RESOLUTION URGING EXCLUSION OF
2 CERTAIN MEMBERS FROM SERVICE IN THE
3 2001 LEGISLATURE
4 2000 GENERAL SESSION
5 STATE OF UTAH
6 Sponsor: Glenn L. Way
7 A RESOLUTION OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES RELATING TO LEGISLATIVE
8 SERVICE; EXPRESSING A LEGISLATIVE POLICY ABOUT EXCLUDING
9 LEGISLATORS-ELECT FROM THE FIFTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE WHO HAVE
10 CERTAIN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
11 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
12 WHEREAS, Utah's government is a republic, which is a representative form of
13 government;
14 WHEREAS, Utah's Legislature is the governmental institution that establishes a
15 representative form of government in Utah in its purest form;
16 WHEREAS, Utah's Legislature must have and continue to have the trust of the people in
17 order to effectively exercise its function within that representative form of government;
18 WHEREAS, some persons elected to the Utah Legislature are employed by executive
19 branch agencies of the state and state institutions of higher education;
20 WHEREAS, funding for all of those agencies and institutions is established and received
21 in whole or in part from the Utah Legislature;
22 WHEREAS, many members of the public believe that a direct and absolute conflict of
23 interest exists when persons employed by executive branch agencies of the state and state
24 institutions of higher education make decisions about the funding that their employers receive;
25 WHEREAS, that perceived conflict of interest brings the Utah Legislature into disrepute
26 and undermines the people's trust in the Legislature and in our representative form of government;
27 WHEREAS, Article V, Section 1 of Utah's constitution prohibits persons exercising the

28 powers of one department or branch of government from exercising the functions of another
29 branch or department of government;
30 WHEREAS, it is the opinion of some constitutional scholars that Article V, Section 1
31 prohibits legislators from also serving in the executive branch of Utah state government;
32 WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 10 of Utah's Constitution vests each house of the Utah
33 Legislature with the power to determine the election and qualification of its members; and
34 WHEREAS, the Utah Legislature may exercise that power by excluding, or refusing to
35 seat, a member elected to the Legislature.
36 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the state of
37 Utah that when the Fifty-fourth Legislature convenes and organizes on January 15, 2001, members
38 of the Fifty-third Legislature that become members of the Fifty-fourth Legislature intend to make
39 motions to exclude any person elected to the Utah Legislature who is employed by an executive
40 branch agency of the state or of any state institution of higher education.
41 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, if the motion passes, each legislator-elect who is
42 employed by an executive branch agency of the state or employed by a state institution of higher
43 education will not be sworn in and will not be seated or allowed to perform legislative business.
44 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Lieutenant Governor provide a copy of this
45 resolution to each person who files a declaration of candidacy for a seat in the Utah House of
46 Representatives for the Fifty-fourth Legislature beginning in January, 2001.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-25-00 8:37 AM

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

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel