1     
JOINT RULES RESOLUTION ON PRIORITIZED BILLS

2     
2018 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Jacob L. Anderegg

5     
House Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill modifies procedures in the joint legislative rules.
10     Highlighted Provisions:
11          This resolution:
12          ▸     requires Senate and House standing committee chairs to place prioritized bills
13     earlier on an agenda than non-prioritized bills;
14          ▸     requires appropriations subcommittee chairs to place prioritized bills earlier on an
15     agenda than non-prioritized bills;
16          ▸     increases the number of priority bills that may be requested by a legislator;
17          ▸     permits certain chairs to prioritize an additional number of bills; and
18          ▸     permits the leadership of each party caucus to prioritize a certain number of bills.
19     Special Clauses:
20               This bill provides a special effective date.
21     Legislative Rules Affected:
22     AMENDS:
23          JR3-2-201
24          JR3-2-602
25          JR4-2-102
26     

27     Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:

28          Section 1. JR3-2-201 is amended to read:
29          JR3-2-201. Standing committees -- Convening jointly -- Agenda requirements.
30          (1) The chairs of similar standing committees in the House and Senate may convene a
31     joint standing committee meeting to discuss legislation of common interest with the approval
32     of both the speaker of the House and president of the Senate.
33          (2) When preparing an agenda for a standing committee meeting, the chair of a Senate
34     standing committee established under SR3-2-201 or a House standing committee as defined in
35     HR3-2-201 shall ensure that bills that have been prioritized under a provision of JR4-2-102 are
36     placed earlier on the agenda than bills that were not prioritized under that section.
37          Section 2. JR3-2-602 is amended to read:
38          JR3-2-602. Chair to set agenda -- Requirements.
39          (1) The chair of an appropriations committee shall set the agenda for the committee
40     meeting.
41          (2) The chair shall ensure that bills that have been prioritized under a provision of
42     JR4-2-102 are placed earlier on the agenda than bills that were not prioritized under that
43     section.
44          Section 3. JR4-2-102 is amended to read:
45          JR4-2-102. Drafting and prioritizing legislation -- Legislator priorities and chair
46     priorities.
47          (1) (a) Requests for legislation shall be drafted on a first-in, first-out basis, except for
48     legislation that is prioritized under the provisions of this section.
49          (b) [Notwithstanding Subsection (1)(a), the] The following requests for legislation
50     shall be drafted before other requests for legislation when sufficient drafting information is
51     available:
52          (i) a request for legislation that is prioritized by a legislator under Subsection (2); and
53          (ii) a request for legislation that is requested by the majority vote of an interim
54     committee.
55          (2) (a) Beginning on the first day on which a request for legislation may be filed under
56     JR4-2-101, a legislator may designate up to [three] four requests for legislation as priority
57     requests subject to the following deadlines:
58          (i) priority request number one must be requested on or before 5:00 p.m. on the first

59     Thursday in November, or the following business day if the first Thursday falls on a holiday;
60          (ii) priority request number two must be requested on or before 5:00 p.m. on the first
61     Thursday in December, or the following business day if the first Thursday falls on a holiday;
62          [(ii)] (iii) priority request number [two] three must be requested on or before 5:00 p.m.
63     on the first Thursday in January, or the following business day if the first Thursday falls on a
64     holiday; and
65          [(iii)] (iv) priority request number [three] four must be requested on or before 5:00
66     p.m. on the first Thursday of the annual general session.
67          (b) (i) If a legislator is serving as a chair or vice chair of one or more of the following,
68     that legislator shall have three additional priority requests:
69          (A) an interim committee as defined in IR1-1-201;
70          (B) a Senate standing committee as defined in SR3-2-201;
71          (C) a House standing committee as defined in HR3-2-201;
72          (D) the Retirement and Independent Entities Committee created in Utah Code Section
73     63E-1-201; or
74          (E) a legislative task force that is created by statute or rule and that has received
75     approval to meet by legislative leadership during the interim preceding the general session or
76     during the general session.
77          (ii) The additional priority requests must be requested on or before 5:00 p.m. on the
78     first Thursday of the annual general session.
79          (c) (i) Each party caucus in each house of the Legislature shall have 10 priority requests
80     per general session, which shall be requested by the caucus majority or minority leader.
81          (ii) The caucus priority requests may be used at any time before or during the annual
82     general session.
83          [(b)] (d) A legislator who fails to make a priority request on or before a deadline loses
84     that priority request. However, the legislator is not prohibited from using any remaining
85     priority requests that are associated with a later deadline, if available.
86          [(c)] (e) A legislator who begins serving after a deadline has passed is entitled to use
87     only those priority requests that are available under an unexpired deadline.
88          [(d)] (f) A legislator may not designate a request for legislation as a priority request
89     unless the request:

90          (i) provides specific or conceptual information concerning the change or addition to
91     law or policy that the legislator intends the proposed legislation to make; or
92          (ii) identifies the specific situation or concern that the legislator intends the legislation
93     to address.
94          (3) A legislator may not:
95          (a) revoke a priority designation once it has been requested;
96          (b) transfer a priority designation to a different request for legislation; or
97          (c) transfer a priority designation to another legislator.
98          (4) Except as provided under JR4-2-502 or as otherwise provided in these rules, the
99     Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall:
100          (a) reserve as many bill numbers as necessary to number the bills recommended by an
101     interim committee; and
102          (b) number [all] other legislation in the order in which the legislation is approved by
103     the sponsor for numbering.
104          Section 4. Effective date.
105          This bill takes effect on January 1, 2019.






Legislative Review Note
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel