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MINUTES OF THE
HOUSE GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS STANDING COMMITTEE
ROOM W010, WEST OFFICE BUILDING, STATE CAPITOL COMPLEX
JANUARY 28, 2005



MEMBERS PRESENT:    Rep. Douglas C. Aagard, Chair
        Rep. Gregory H. Hughes, Vice Chair
        Rep. Craig W. Buttars
        Rep. Stephen D. Clark
        Rep. Neil A. Hansen
        Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
        Rep. Eric K. Hutchings
        Rep. John G. Mathis
        Rep. Aaron Tilton
        Rep. Mark Wheatley                        
        
MEMBERS ABSENT:    Rep. DeMar "Bud" Bowman
        
STAFF PRESENT:    John Cannon, Managing Policy Analyst
        Sylvia Newton, Committee Secretary

Note:    A list of visitors and copy of handouts are filed with committee minutes.


Rep. Hughes called the meeting to order at 2:07 p.m.

MOTION:    Rep. Buttars moved to approve the minutes of the January 26, 2005 meeting.
        The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Clark, Rep. Hendrickson, and Rep. Aagard absent for the vote.


S.B. 79    Extension of Sunset Date on Resource Development Coordinating Committee (Sen. B. Evans)

Sen Evans introduced S.B. 79 and explained it to the committee.

Spoke in favor of the bill:    John Harja, Department of Natural Resources

Rep. Hughes relinquished the chair to Rep. Aagard.

MOTION:    Rep. Hansen moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Clark and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Hansen moved to place S.B. 79 on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Clark and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.




H.B. 90    Search and Rescue Advisory Board - Amendments (Rep. J. S. Adams)

Rep. Adams introduced H.B. 90 and explained it to the committee.

Spoke to the bill:    Thomas Clay, citizen

MOTION:    Rep. Buttars moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Clark and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Buttars moved to place H.B. 90 on the Consent Calendar. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Clark and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.


H.B. 211    Integrity of Election Results Amendments (Rep. J. Dougall)

Rep. Dougall introduced H.B. 211 and explained it to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Hendrickson moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 1, Lines 13 through 16 :    

             13          .    amends the Election Code to require that voting equipment be capable of producing
             14      an
{   unalterable,   } auditable      {   record   }        , voter verified paper trail       of votes cast in order to be certified for use;

             15          .    amends the duties of the chief election officer to require that any voting equipment
             16      purchased be capable of producing an
{   unalterable,   } auditable      {   record   }        , voter verified paper trail       of votes cast;


2.    Page 3, Lines 80 through 82 :    

             80          (xiii) produce
{   an unalterable record   }        voter verified paper trail       of each vote recorded by the voting equipment that

             81      would permit a third party to inspect and verify the votes cast for the purposes of auditing and
             82      insuring the integrity of the elections process; and

The motion to amend the bill passed unanimously with Rep. Clark and Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.




MOTION:    Rep. Hutchings moved to amend the bill as follows:

1.    Page 1, Line 22 through Page 2, Line 28 :    

             22          .    amends the Election Code to require the lieutenant governor to provide the public
             23      with an opportunity to review and comment on new voting equipment systems
             24      before new voting equipment systems are purchased;
  and      

             25          
{   .    amends the Election Code and the duties of the chief election officer to permit the

             26      use and purchase of automatic voting equipment that permits a voter, at a time
             27      subsequent to casting a vote, to verify that the vote was properly recorded, provided
             28      that the voter's rights are preserved; and  
}


2.    Page 3, Lines 71 through 72 :    

             71          (ix) permit each voter
  , including those with disabilities,       to        independently       verify and correct the voter's selections before the voter casts

             72      the ballot;

3.    Page 3, Line 88 through Page 4, Line 91 :    

             88          
{   © The lieutenant governor may purchase an automated voting system that has the

             89      ability to permit an individual voter, at any time after casting a ballot and before the board of
             90      canvassers certifies the election results, to verify that the voter's vote was properly recorded,
             91      provided that the voter's rights, including the right to a secret ballot, are preserved.  
}


The motion to amend the bill passed unanimously with Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Buttars moved to amend the bill as follows:

Page 3, Line 80:    Before "voter verified paper trail", insert "a"

The motion to amend the bill passed unanimously with Rep. Hughes absent for the vote.




Spoke to the bill:    Lloyd Carr, Carr Printing Company
            Michael Cragun, Director, Elections Office
            Brent Gardner, Utah Association of Counties

Rep. Aagard relinquished the chair to Rep. Hughes.

Spoke to the bill:    Thomas Clay, citizen, software developer
            Clarity Sanderson, Utah Democratic Party Caucus
            Fraser Nelson, Disability Law Center
            Jason Yocum, Chief Deputy Clerk, Salt Lake County
            Tom Stutz, citizen
            Alan Ernstsen, citizen

MOTION:    Rep. Hansen moved to pass the bill out favorably.

SUBSTITUTE
MOTION:    Rep. Hutchings moved to amend the bill as follows:

1. Page 3, Lines 80 & 81:    After "the voting equipment" delete "that would permit a third party to inspect and verify the votes cast"

2. Page 3, Line 81:        After "for the purposes of" delete "auditing and"

MOTION:    Rep. Clark moved to call the question. The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Wheatley absent for the vote.

The substitute motion to amend the bill failed with Rep. Hendrickson, Rep. Hutchings, and Rep. Mathis voting in favor of the motion and Rep. Wheatley absent for the vote.


MOTION:    Rep. Clark moved to adjourn. The motion passed with Rep. Hansen voting in opposition to the motion and Rep. Wheatley absent for the vote.

Rep. Hughes adjourned the meeting at 3:33 p.m.

    



                    __________________________
                    Rep. Douglas C. Aagard, Chair