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MINUTES OF THE

HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING

Room 20, West Office Building

February 14, 2012

MEMBERS PRESENT:    Rep. Kay McIff, Chair
                Rep. LaVar Christensen, Vice Chair
                Rep. Derek Brown                
                Rep. Fred Cox
                Rep. Brian Doughty
                Rep. Chris Herrod
                Rep. Ken Ivory
                Rep. Brian King
                Rep. V. Lowry Snow
                Rep. Mark A. Wheatley
                Rep. Brad Wilson

MEMBERS ABSENT:    Rep. Eric Hutchings
                Rep. Paul Ray    
    
STAFF PRESENT:        Mr. Jerry D. Howe, Policy Analyst
                Ms. Linda Black, Committee Secretary
    

NOTE:    A list of visitors and a copy of handouts are filed with the committee minutes.

Rep. McIff called the meeting to order at 2:05 p.m.

MOTION:    Rep. Wheatley moved to approve the minutes of February 10, 2012. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Brown, Rep. Herrod, and Rep. King absent for the vote.

H.B. 405    Jury Service Amendments (Rep. C. Watkins)

Rep. Watkins presented the bill to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Cox moved to pass the bill out favorably. The motion passed unanimously Rep. Brown was absent for the vote.

H.B. 141    State Sovereignty and Rights of Set-off (Rep. L. Christensen)

Rep. Christensen presented the bill to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Wilson moved to amend the bill.

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



1.    Page 1, Lines 16 through 21 :    

             16          .    reserves all rights of the state to claim a credit or set-off for any amount
  inequitably or unlawfully claimed by the federal government.            {   the state

             17      may incur due to the loss or wrongful withholding of its public lands or for the
             18      incarceration of illegal aliens that are not reimbursed by the federal government
             19      against any amount that the state is claimed to owe the federal government; and
             20          .    provides that the state is relieved of all liability for the payment of funds owed to
             21      the federal government for which the state exercises its rights of set-off.  
}


2.    Page 2, Lines 38 through 47 :    

             38      the State of Utah against any amounts
  it claims to have been inequitably or unlawfully imposed by the federal government.            {   the state may be unlawfullyclaimed to owe the federal government.

(2) The state may exercise and apply as a credit, any amounts the state incurs due to the
             40      violation of the state's sovereign powers or other acts and omissions of the federal government,
             41      including:
             42          (a) all costs and damages sustained by the state due to the loss or wrongful withholding
             43      of its public lands; and
             44          (b) all costs of incarceration of illegal aliens for crimes committed in the state if and to
             45      such extent as those costs are not fully reimbursed by the federal government.
             46          (3) The state is not liable for any amounts or federal claims which are subject to this
             47      section or other legal and equitable protections of the state's interests.  
}


The motion passed unanimously with Rep. Brown absent for the vote.

MOTION:    Rep. Wilson moved to pass the bill out favorably as amended. The motion passed. Rep. Wilson was absent for the vote.


H.B. 107 Joint Custody Modifications (Rep. G. Froerer)

Rep. Froerer presented the bill to the committee.

MOTION:    Rep. Wilson moved to replace H.B. 107 with 1st Substitute H.B. 107. The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Brown was absent for the vote.

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


1.    Page 2, Line 45 through Page 3, Line 58 :    

             45          (b) [The court shall, in every case, consider joint custody but may award any form of
             46      custody which is determined to be] There shall be a rebuttable presumption that joint legal
             47      custody, as defined in Section 30-3-10.1 , is in the best interest of the child[.], so long as the
             48      party who desires joint legal custody files a proposed parenting plan in accordance with
             49      Sections 30-3-10.8 and 30-3-10.9 . The presumption may be rebutted by a showing by a
             50      preponderance of the evidence that the following circumstances exist:
             51          
{   (i) the parents were not married to each other;   }

             52          
{   (ii)   }        (i)       domestic violence in the home or in the presence of the child;

             53          
{   (iii)   }        (ii)       special physical or mental needs of a parent or child, making joint legal custody

             54      unreasonable;
             55          
{   (iv)   }        (iii)       physical distance between the residences of the parents, making joint decision

             56      making impractical in certain circumstances; or
             57          
{   (v)   }        (iv)       any other factor the court considers relevant, including those listed in Section

             58      30-3-10.2 .

The motion passed unanimously. Rep. Brown was absent for the vote.

Chair McIff relinquished the gavel to Vice Chair Christensen at 3:15 p.m.

Spoke in favor of the bill:    Mr. Justin Traver, citizen
                Mr. Jeff Rifleman, citizen


                Ms. Jackie de Gaston, citizen
                Mr. Dan Duell, Weber Co. Nine-Eleven Project
                Mr. Eric Durtschi, citizen
                Mr. Grant Durtschi, citizen
                Ms. Mary Durtschi, citizen
                Mr. Eric Johnson, citizen
                Mr. Stewart Ralphs, Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake City

Spoke to the bill:        Mr. Todd Stone, citizen

Chair McIff resumed the chair at 3:40 p.m.

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


1.    Page 2, Line 45 through Page 3, Line 58 :    

             45          (b) [The court shall, in every case, consider joint custody but may award any form of
             46      custody which is determined to be] There shall be a rebuttable presumption that joint legal
             47      custody, as defined in Section 30-3-10.1 , is in the best interest of the child[.], so long as the
             48      party who desires joint legal custody files a proposed parenting plan in accordance with
             49      Sections 30-3-10.8 and 30-3-10.9 . The presumption may be rebutted by a showing by a
             50      preponderance of the evidence that the following circumstances exist:
             51          
{   (i) the parents were not married to each other;   }

             52          
{   (ii)   }        (i)       domestic violence in the home or in the presence of the child;

             53          
{   (iii)   }        (ii)       special physical or mental needs of a parent or child, making joint legal custody

             54      unreasonable;
             55          
{   (iv)   }        (iii)       physical distance between the residences of the parents, making joint decision

             56      making impractical in certain circumstances; or
             57          
{   (v)   }        (iv)       any other factor the court considers relevant, including those listed in Section

             58      30-3-10.2 .


The motion passed unanimously.

MOTION:    Rep. Wilson moved to pass the bill out favorably as amended. The motion passed unanimously.

The following bills were not heard:

H.B. 130    Custodial Interference Amendments
(Rep. G. Froerer)

H.B. 235    Offer of Judgment in Civil Cases
(Rep. K. Ivory)

H.B. 236    Alimony Modifications (Rep. S. Sandstrom)

MOTION:    Rep. Ivory moved adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

Chair McIff adjourned the meeting at 3:55 p.m.







     ___________________________________
                    Rep. Kay McIff, Chair