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RESOLUTION HONORING LEGISLATIVE STAFF

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2021 GENERAL SESSION

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STATE OF UTAH

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Chief Sponsor: Jennifer Dailey-Provost

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6     LONG TITLE
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
14     

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.