2
3
4
5 Cosponsors:
6 Nelson T. Abbott
7 Cheryl K. Acton
8 Carl R. Albrecht
9 Melissa G. Ballard
10 Stewart E. Barlow
11 Gay Lynn Bennion
12 Kera Birkeland
13 Brady Brammer
14 Joel K. Briscoe
15 Walt Brooks
16 Jefferson S. Burton
17 Scott H. Chew
18 Steve R. Christiansen
19 Kay J. Christofferson
20 Clare Collard
21 James A. Dunnigan
22 Steve Eliason
23 Joel Ferry
24 Francis D. Gibson
25 Matthew H. Gwynn
26 Craig Hall
27 Stephen G. Handy
28 Suzanne Harrison
29 Timothy D. Hawkes
Sandra Hollins
Dan N. Johnson
Marsha Judkins
Brian S. King
Michael L. Kohler
Karen Kwan
Bradley G. Last
Rosemary T. Lesser
Karianne Lisonbee
Steven J. Lund
Phil Lyman
A. Cory Maloy
Ashlee Matthews
Kelly B. Miles
Carol Spackman Moss
Jefferson Moss
Calvin R. Musselman
Merrill F. Nelson
Doug Owens
Michael J. Petersen
Val L. Peterson
Candice B. Pierucci
Stephanie Pitcher
Susan Pulsipher
Paul Ray
Adam Robertson
Angela Romero
Douglas V. Sagers
Mike Schultz
Travis M. Seegmiller
Rex P. Shipp
Casey Snider
V. Lowry Snow
Robert M. Spendlove
Jeffrey D. Stenquist
Andrew Stoddard
Keven J. Stratton
Mark A. Strong
Jordan D. Teuscher
Norman K. Thurston
Steve Waldrip
Raymond P. Ward
Christine F. Watkins
Elizabeth Weight
Douglas R. Welton
Mark A. Wheatley
Ryan D. Wilcox
Brad R. Wilson
Mike Winder
30
31
32 LONG TITLE
33 General Description:
34 This resolution honors legislative staff.
35 Highlighted Provisions:
36 This resolution:
37 ▸ honors legislative staff for their significant contributions to the Legislature.
38 Special Clauses:
39 None
40
41 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
42 WHEREAS, the staff for the Utah State Legislature is a world-class, exemplary model
43 of dedicated professionals;
44 WHEREAS, in the past several years, legislative staff have diligently and ceaselessly
45 worked to enable the Legislature to undertake large scale initiatives and to deal with significant
46 challenges facing the State of Utah, which have increased the workload and demands on
47 legislative staff;
48 WHEREAS, the fiscal, policy, legal, and legislative challenges arising from the
49 COVID-19 pandemic, a significant earthquake, and various incidents of civil unrest have also
50 contributed to the heightened workload and responsibilities of legislative staff;
51 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have continued to work extraordinary and
52 stressful hours during the 2020 interim, which had a historically high number of four special
53 sessions;
54 WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented elevated exposure to health risk,
55 to which the legislative staff have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate;
56 WHEREAS, legislative staff have proven to be essential workers and have consistently
57 provided exceptional service to the public, sometimes in the face of personal risk to their and
58 their families' health;
59 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have given of their time, energy, and talents, to
60 ensure the Utah legislative process continues uninterrupted;
61 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have responded to sudden changes that restricted
62 in-person meetings with decisive, efficient implementation to enable new ways of meeting and
63 conducting business while maintaining transparency and public access, resulting in Utah being
64 the first state in the nation to hold an entirely electronic legislative session;
65 WHEREAS, information technology staff within Legislative Services have toiled day
66 and night to implement various mechanisms for electronic meetings, to ensure that legislative
67 information systems and the Legislature's web site properly accommodated remote interactions,
68 and to set up and equip new meeting rooms suitable for conducting business during the
69 pandemic, in addition to all of their significant regular duties in keeping the electronic
70 backbone of the Legislature running;
71 WHEREAS, legislative printing staff within Legislative Services have made significant
72 adjustments to create remote solutions and have put in many hours printing bills, substitutes,
73 agendas, letterhead, and business cards, while also staffing the bill room and producing the
74 House and Senate journals;
75 WHEREAS, human resources staff within Legislative Services have worked quickly
76 and extensively to research, establish, and implement health guidelines and best practices for
77 the workplace, and have educated, assisted, and supported employees and legislators who have
78 been affected in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic;
79 WHEREAS, staff members for the Senate have worked tirelessly to support senators
80 during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical information to assist senators in making
81 informed decisions, corresponding with countless constituents by proactively providing updates
82 and answering questions to prepare the Senate for interim sessions, special sessions, and the
83 2021 General Session;
84 WHEREAS, staff members for the House of Representatives have worked vigorously
85 to provide support and accurate and timely information, and have grinded to prepare
86 representatives for interim meetings, the four special sessions, and the 2021 General Session so
87 representatives could keep Utahns informed;
88 WHEREAS, staff members of the Office of Legislative Auditor General have assisted
89 legislators with information related to COVID-19, including testing, clinical trial therapies, and
90 challenges facing public education, and have deftly managed the transition to remote work in
91 an environment that requires daily interactions with entities being audited, while still releasing
92 a near record amount of audits in 2020;
93 WHEREAS, staff members of the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, despite
94 navigating remote work, have provided objective, accurate, and relevant budget advice from
95 the 2020 General Session through four special sessions, have helped legislators maintain a
96 balanced budget, have achieved 99% accurate revenue estimates despite economic disruptions,
97 federal interventions, and federal tax law changes, have recommended short and long term
98 appropriations adjustments to maintain structural balance, and have helped position Utah for a
99 healthy budget in the future;
100 WHEREAS, policy analysts within the Office of Legislative Research and General
101 Counsel have responded to the many unexpected challenges facing the state of Utah by
102 providing expert policy development, research, and analysis, by navigating the complex
103 transitions involved in organizing and conducting electronic meetings, and by providing
104 procedural advice and assistance to committee chairs and legislators who have faced new
105 technologies and meeting conditions;
106 WHEREAS, attorneys within the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel
107 have provided excellent legal advice to individual legislators and the Legislature during times
108 of unexpected developments in state and national affairs and have worked extensive hours to
109 draft bills, substitutes, and amendments for the general session in addition to drafting nearly
110 100 bills for the special sessions, all while performing their regular duties of handling litigation
111 and their many other in-house counsel functions for the legislative branch;
112 WHEREAS, legislative security staff have worked under unprecedented circumstances
113 involving threats to public health and security concerns to ensure that the work of the
114 Legislature will proceed safely;
115 WHEREAS, many staff members within the above offices working as clerks, executive
116 assistants, administrative assistants, receptionists, committee secretaries, pages, document
117 managers, proofers, and many other support positions have worked long hours to facilitate the
118 work of their fellow employees and legislators and to ensure that the processes and products of
119 the Legislature are managed and produced efficiently, accurately, and professionally;
120 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have trained, managed, and provided
121 information and assistance to almost 100 legislative interns, whose help is greatly appreciated
122 by their assigned legislators;
123 WHEREAS, partisan staff members have worked diligently to support and
124 communicate the political ideas and initiatives of the legislators in their caucus and to provide
125 invaluable assistance, all while working respectfully and with good will toward fellow staffers
126 serving other caucuses;
127 WHEREAS, non-partisan staff have worked diligently to provide all legislators with
128 data, facts, and policy options to ensure that every individual legislator has the information,
129 support, and tools to formulate and express the political ideas and initiatives that they believe
130 are the most beneficial for their constituents and the State of Utah;
131 WHEREAS, all staff offices have coordinated and cooperated to assure that all of the
132 legislative functions stated above are performed efficiently and professionally;
133 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have made immense personal sacrifices to
134 perform above and beyond expectations;
135 WHEREAS, legislative staff is unmatched in dedication, passion, professionalism, and
136 skill;
137 WHEREAS, the success of our democracy would be hindered without their concerted
138 efforts;
139 WHEREAS, legislative staff bring comradery, commitment, and sense of place to the
140 Utah State Capitol;
141 WHEREAS, legislative staff give generously of their patience, skill, intelligence, and
142 time;
143 WHEREAS, legislative staff continue to respond promptly to legislators' needs;
144 WHEREAS, the Legislature continues to efficiently and effectively plan, provide
145 oversight, appropriate funds, and pass legislation with the help of legislative staff;
146 WHEREAS, legislative staff members work tirelessly and perform their services
147 without expectations of personal gain, public credit for their ideas, or fame and glory; and
148 WHEREAS, legislative staff members are the unsung heroes of Utah's legislative
149 process:
150 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Utah State Legislature wishes to
151 extend the deepest appreciation to our staff members, who we admire, respect, and on whom
152 we depend on in order to successfully perform our legislative duties in representing the people
153 of Utah.
154 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the employees
155 of the Utah Senate, Utah House of Representatives, the Office of Legislative Research and
156 General Counsel, the Office of Legislative Auditor General, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal
157 Analyst, and Legislative Services.