H.J.R. 301 Enrolled

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BILL REQUEST PROCEDURES JOINT RESOLUTION
2 2011 THIRD SPECIAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper
5 Senate Sponsor: Margaret Dayton
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This rules resolution modifies procedures for prioritizing requests for legislation.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This resolution:
12 . extends and staggers the deadlines for a legislator to designate priority status for a
13 request for legislation;
14 . provides that a legislator will forfeit one or more priority requests if the legislator
15 fails to make a priority designation before a staggered deadline passes;
16 . clarifies existing restrictions on the use and transfer of priority designations;
17 . clarifies language regulating the order in which legislation is drafted; and
18 . changes language to provide for more consistent use of terms.
19 Special Clauses:
20 None
21 Legislative Rules Affected:
22 AMENDS:
23 JR4-2-102
24
25 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
26 Section 1. JR4-2-102 is amended to read:
27 JR4-2-102. Prioritizing Legislation.
28 [(1) Consistent with JR4-2-101 on prefiling of bills, beginning 60 days after each
29 annual general session and ending December 1 of each year, each legislator may make an

30 irrevocable and nontransferable prioritization of up to three bills.]
31 (1) (a) Beginning on the first day on which a request for legislation may be filed under
32 JR4-2-101, a legislator may designate up to three requests for legislation as priority requests
33 subject to the following deadlines:
34 (i) priority request number one must be requested on or before the first Thursday in
35 December, or the following business day if the first Thursday falls on a holiday;
36 (ii) priority request number two must be requested on or before the first Thursday in
37 January, or the following business day if the first Thursday falls on a holiday; and
38 (iii) priority request number three must be requested on or before the first Thursday of
39 the annual general session.
40 (b) A legislator who fails to make a priority request on or before a deadline loses that
41 priority request. However, the legislator is not prohibited from using any remaining priority
42 requests that are associated with a later deadline, if available.
43 (c) A legislator who begins serving after a deadline has passed is entitled to use only
44 those priority requests that are available under an unexpired deadline.
45 (2) A legislator may not:
46 (a) revoke a priority designation once it has been requested;
47 (b) transfer a priority designation to a different request for legislation; or
48 (c) transfer a priority designation to another legislator.
49 [(2)] (3) (a) (i) When sufficient drafting information is available, [priority bills]
50 prioritized requests for legislation and interim committee bills shall be drafted [first] before
51 other requests for legislation.
52 (ii) [All other bills] Subject to preference for priority status as provided in Subsection
53 (3)(a)(i), requests for legislation shall be drafted on a first-in, first-out basis.
54 (b) Except as otherwise provided in these rules, [before numbering any bills,] the
55 Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall reserve as many bill numbers as
56 necessary to allow all [designated priority bills to be the first bills numbered] prioritized
57 requests for legislation to receive lower bill numbers than non-prioritized requests.

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