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7 General Description:
8 This resolution honors legislative staff.
9 Highlighted Provisions:
10 This resolution:
11 ▸ honors legislative staff for their significant contributions to the Legislature.
12 Special Clauses:
13 None
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15 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
16 WHEREAS, the staff for the Utah State Legislature is a world-class, exemplary model
17 of dedicated professionals;
18 WHEREAS, in the past several years, legislative staff have diligently and ceaselessly
19 worked to enable the Legislature to undertake large scale initiatives and to deal with significant
20 challenges facing the State of Utah, which have increased the workload and demands on
21 legislative staff;
22 WHEREAS, the fiscal, policy, legal, and legislative challenges arising from the
23 COVID-19 pandemic, a significant earthquake, and various incidents of civil unrest have also
24 contributed to the heightened workload and responsibilities of legislative staff;
25 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have continued to work extraordinary and
26 stressful hours during the 2020 interim, which had a historically high number of four special
27 sessions;
28 WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented elevated exposure to health risk,
29 to which the legislative staff have gone to extraordinary lengths to accommodate;
30 WHEREAS, legislative staff have proven to be essential workers and have consistently
31 provided exceptional service to the public, sometimes in the face of personal risk to their and
32 their families' health;
33 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have given of their time, energy, and talents, to
34 ensure the Utah legislative process continues uninterrupted;
35 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have responded to sudden changes that restricted
36 in-person meetings with decisive, efficient implementation to enable new ways of meeting and
37 conducting business while maintaining transparency and public access, resulting in Utah being
38 the first state in the nation to hold an entirely electronic legislative session;
39 WHEREAS, information technology staff within Legislative Services have toiled day
40 and night to implement various mechanisms for electronic meetings, to ensure that legislative
41 information systems and the Legislature's web site properly accommodated remote interactions,
42 and to set up and equip new meeting rooms suitable for conducting business during the
43 pandemic, in addition to all of their significant regular duties in keeping the electronic
44 backbone of the Legislature running;
45 WHEREAS, legislative printing staff within Legislative Services have made significant
46 adjustments to create remote solutions and have put in many hours printing bills, substitutes,
47 agendas, letterhead, and business cards, while also staffing the bill room and producing the
48 House and Senate journals;
49 WHEREAS, human resources staff within Legislative Services have worked quickly
50 and extensively to research, establish, and implement health guidelines and best practices for
51 the workplace, and have educated, assisted, and supported employees and legislators who have
52 been affected in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic;
53 WHEREAS, staff members for the Senate have worked tirelessly to support senators
54 during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing critical information to assist senators in making
55 informed decisions, corresponding with countless constituents by proactively providing updates
56 and answering questions to prepare the Senate for interim sessions, special sessions, and the
57 2021 General Session;
58 WHEREAS, staff members for the House of Representatives have worked vigorously
59 to provide support and accurate and timely information, and have grinded to prepare
60 representatives for interim meetings, the four special sessions, and the 2021 General Session so
61 representatives could keep Utahns informed;
62 WHEREAS, staff members of the Office of Legislative Auditor General have assisted
63 legislators with information related to COVID-19, including testing, clinical trial therapies, and
64 challenges facing public education, and have deftly managed the transition to remote work in
65 an environment that requires daily interactions with entities being audited, while still releasing
66 a near record amount of audits in 2020;
67 WHEREAS, staff members of the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, despite
68 navigating remote work, have provided objective, accurate, and relevant budget advice from
69 the 2020 General Session through four special sessions, have helped legislators maintain a
70 balanced budget, have achieved 99% accurate revenue estimates despite economic disruptions,
71 federal interventions, and federal tax law changes, have recommended short and long term
72 appropriations adjustments to maintain structural balance, and have helped position Utah for a
73 healthy budget in the future;
74 WHEREAS, policy analysts within the Office of Legislative Research and General
75 Counsel have responded to the many unexpected challenges facing the state of Utah by
76 providing expert policy development, research, and analysis, by navigating the complex
77 transitions involved in organizing and conducting electronic meetings, and by providing
78 procedural advice and assistance to committee chairs and legislators who have faced new
79 technologies and meeting conditions;
80 WHEREAS, attorneys within the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel
81 have provided excellent legal advice to individual legislators and the Legislature during times
82 of unexpected developments in state and national affairs and have worked extensive hours to
83 draft bills, substitutes, and amendments for the general session in addition to drafting nearly
84 100 bills for the special sessions, all while performing their regular duties of handling litigation
85 and their many other in-house counsel functions for the legislative branch;
86 WHEREAS, legislative security staff have worked under unprecedented circumstances
87 involving threats to public health and security concerns to ensure that the work of the
88 Legislature will proceed safely;
89 WHEREAS, many staff members within the above offices working as clerks, executive
90 assistants, administrative assistants, receptionists, committee secretaries, pages, document
91 managers, proofers, and many other support positions have worked long hours to facilitate the
92 work of their fellow employees and legislators and to ensure that the processes and products of
93 the Legislature are managed and produced efficiently, accurately, and professionally;
94 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have trained, managed, and provided
95 information and assistance to almost 100 legislative interns, whose help is greatly appreciated
96 by their assigned legislators;
97 WHEREAS, partisan staff members have worked diligently to support and
98 communicate the political ideas and initiatives of the legislators in their caucus and to provide
99 invaluable assistance, all while working respectfully and with good will toward fellow staffers
100 serving other caucuses;
101 WHEREAS, non-partisan staff have worked diligently to provide all legislators with
102 data, facts, and policy options to ensure that every individual legislator has the information,
103 support, and tools to formulate and express the political ideas and initiatives that they believe
104 are the most beneficial for their constituents and the State of Utah;
105 WHEREAS, all staff offices have coordinated and cooperated to assure that all of the
106 legislative functions stated above are performed efficiently and professionally;
107 WHEREAS, legislative staff members have made immense personal sacrifices to
108 perform above and beyond expectations;
109 WHEREAS, legislative staff is unmatched in dedication, passion, professionalism, and
110 skill;
111 WHEREAS, the success of our democracy would be hindered without their concerted
112 efforts;
113 WHEREAS, legislative staff bring comradery, commitment, and sense of place to the
114 Utah State Capitol;
115 WHEREAS, legislative staff give generously of their patience, skill, intelligence, and
116 time;
117 WHEREAS, legislative staff continue to respond promptly to legislators' needs;
118 WHEREAS, the Legislature continues to efficiently and effectively plan, provide
119 oversight, appropriate funds, and pass legislation with the help of legislative staff;
120 WHEREAS, legislative staff members work tirelessly and perform their services
121 without expectations of personal gain, public credit for their ideas, or fame and glory; and
122 WHEREAS, legislative staff members are the unsung heroes of Utah's legislative
123 process:
124 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Utah State Legislature wishes to
125 extend the deepest appreciation to our staff members, who we admire, respect, and on whom
126 we depend on in order to successfully perform our legislative duties in representing the people
127 of Utah.
128 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the employees
129 of the Utah Senate, Utah House of Representatives, the Office of Legislative Research and
130 General Counsel, the Office of Legislative Auditor General, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal
131 Analyst, and Legislative Services.