Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 190 (2021GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Thurston, N.  (Thurston’s own bill)

Final action

House/ filed 3/5/2021

Outcome

Failed / filed without passage

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• enacts an interstate compact to award prizes for curing diseases, which includes:
• defining terms;
• establishing a commission to administer this compact and defines the commissions powers, duties, and governance;
• specifying requirement regarding finances, record keeping, and compliance;
• creating certain qualified immunities, defenses, and indemnifications for activities under this compact;
• describing the procedures for a state to join or leave the compact; and
• specifying other provisions necessary to carry out the provisions of the compact.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

INTERSTATE COMPACT ON CURING DISEASES
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Norman K. Thurston
Senate Sponsor: 
 Ann Millner
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill enacts the interstate compact known as the Solemn Covenant of the States to
Award Prizes for Curing Diseases.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ enacts an interstate compact to award prizes for curing diseases, which includes:
• defining terms;
• establishing a commission to administer this compact and defines the
commissions powers, duties, and governance;
• specifying requirement regarding finances, record keeping, and compliance;
• creating certain qualified immunities, defenses, and indemnifications for
activities under this compact;
• describing the procedures for a state to join or leave the compact; and
• specifying other provisions necessary to carry out the provisions of the compact.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
26-68-101
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-201
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-202
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-203
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-204
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-205
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-206
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-207
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-208
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-209
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-210
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-211
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-212
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-213
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-214
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-215
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
26-68-216
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
26-68-101
 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 67. SOLEMN COVENANT OF THE STATES TO AWARD
PRIZES FOR CURING DISEASES
Part 1. General Provisions
 26-68-101.
Title.
This chapter is known as the "Solemn Covenant of the States to Award Prizes for
Curing Diseases."
Section 2. Section 
26-68-201
 is enacted to read:
Part 2. Solemn Covenant of the States to Award Prizes for Curing Diseases
 26-68-201.
Definitions.
For purposes of this compact:
(1) "Compacting state" means:
(a) any state that has enacted the compact and which has not withdrawn or been
suspended pursuant to Section 
26-68-214
 of the compact; or
(b) the federal government in accordance with the commission's bylaws.
(2) "Compact" means the Solemn Covenant of the States to Award Prizes for Curing
Diseases enacted in this chapter.
(3) "Noncompacting state" means any state or the federal government, if it is not at the
time a compacting state.
(4) "Public health expenses" means the amount of all costs paid by taxpayers in a
specified geographic area relating to a particular disease.
(5) "State" means any state, district, or territory of the United States of America.
Section 3. Section 
26-68-202
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-202.
Commission -- Creation -- Membership.
(1) Upon the enactment of the compact by six states, the compacting states shall
establish the Solemn Covenant of States Commission.
(2) The commission is a body corporate and politic and an instrumentality of each of
the compacting states and is solely responsible for its liabilities, except as otherwise
specifically provided in the compact.
(3) Each compacting state shall be represented by one member as selected by the
compacting state. Each compacting state shall determine its member's qualifications and period
of service and shall be responsible for any action to remove or suspend its member or to fill the
member's position if it becomes vacant. Nothing in the compact shall be construed to affect a
compacting state's authority regarding the qualification, selection, or service of its own
member.
Section 4. Section 
26-68-203
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-203.
Powers and duties of the commission.
The commission has the following powers and duties:
(1) to adopt bylaws and rules pursuant to Sections 
26-68-205
 and 
26-68-206
 of the
compact, which shall have the force and effect of law and shall be binding in the compacting
states to the extent and in the manner provided in the compact;
(2) to receive and review in an expeditious manner treatments and therapeutic
protocols for the cure of disease submitted to the commission and to award prizes for
submissions that meet the commission's standards for a successful cure treatment or therapeutic
protocol;
(3) to make widely available a cure treatment or therapeutic protocol upon a prize
winner claiming a prize and transferring any intellectual property necessary for the manufacture
and distribution of the cure in accordance with Section 
26-68-206
(3)(g)(i), including by
arranging or contracting for the manufacturing, production, or provision of any drug, serum, or
other substance, device, or process, provided that the commission does not market the cure or
conduct any other activity regarding the cure not specifically authorized in the compact;
(4) to establish a selling price for the cure, which shall be not more than the expenses
for the cure's manufacturing, distribution, licensing, and any other necessary governmental
requirements for compacting states, or those expenses plus any royalty fees, for noncompacting
states; the price shall not include the expenses of any other activities;
(5) in noncompacting states and foreign countries, to establish and collect royalty fees
imposed on manufacturers, producers, and providers of any drug, serum, or other substance,
device, or process used for a cure treatment or therapeutic protocol, for which a prize is
awarded; royalty fees may be added to the sales price of the cure pursuant to item (4); provided
that the royalty fees shall cumulatively be not more than the estimated five-year savings in
public health expenses for that state or country, as calculated by actuaries employed or
contracted by the commission;
(6) to do the following regarding the collected royalty fees:
(a) pay or reimburse expenses related to the payment of a prize, which shall include
employing or contracting actuaries to calculate annual taxpayer savings amounts in compacting
states in accordance with Section 
26-68-206
(3)(g)(iii), and payment of interest and other
expenses related to a loan obtained in accordance with Section 
26-68-206
(3)(g)(vi); and
(b) annually disburse any amounts remaining after making payments or
reimbursements under subitem (6)(a) as refunds to compacting states based on the percent of
the state's prize obligation in relation to the total obligation amount of all compacting states;
(7) to bring and prosecute legal proceedings or actions in its name as the commission;
(8) to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the
production of evidence;
(9) to establish and maintain offices;
(10) to borrow, accept, or contract for personnel services, including personnel services
from employees of a compacting state;
(11) to hire employees, professionals, or specialists, and elect or appoint officers, and
to fix their compensation, define their duties and give them appropriate authority to carry out
the purposes of the compact, and determine their qualifications; and to establish the
commission's personnel policies and programs relating to, among other things, conflicts of
interest, rates of compensation, and qualifications of personnel;
(12) to accept any and all appropriate donations and grants of money, equipment,
supplies, materials, and services, and to receive, utilize, and dispose of the same; provided that
at all times the commission shall strive to avoid any appearance of impropriety;
(13) to lease, purchase, or accept appropriate gifts or donations of, or otherwise to own,
hold, improve, or use, any property, real, personal, or mixed; provided, that at all times the
commission shall strive to avoid any appearance of impropriety;
(14) to sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose
of any property, real, personal, or mixed;
(15) to monitor compacting states for compliance with the commission's bylaws and
rules;
(16) to enforce compliance by compacting states with the commission's bylaws and
rules;
(17) to provide for dispute resolution among compacting states or between the
commission and those who submit treatments and therapeutic protocols for the cure of disease
for consideration;
(18) to establish a budget and make expenditures;
(19) to borrow money;
(20) to appoint committees, including management, legislative, and advisory
committees comprised of members, state legislators or their representatives, medical
professionals, and such other interested persons as may be designated by the commission;
(21) to establish annual membership dues for compacting states, which shall be used
for daily expenses of the commission and not for interest or prize payments;
(22) to adopt and use a corporate seal; and
(23) to perform such other functions as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the
purposes of this compact.
Section 5. Section 
26-68-204
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-204.
Meetings and voting.
(1) The commission shall meet and take such actions as are consistent with the
compact, bylaws, and rules.
(2) A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a quorum necessary
in order to conduct business or take actions at meetings of the commission.
(3) Each member of the commission shall have the right and power to cast one vote
regarding matters determined or actions to be taken by the commission. Each member shall
have the right and power to participate in the business and affairs of the commission.
(4) A member shall vote in person or by such other means as provided in the
commission's bylaws. The commission's bylaws may provide for members' participation in
meetings by telephone or other means of communication.
(5) The commission shall meet at least once during each calendar year. Additional
meetings shall be held as set forth in the commission's bylaws.
(6) No decision of the commission with respect to the approval of an award for a
treatment or therapeutic process for the cure of a disease shall be effective unless two-thirds of
all the members of the commission vote in favor thereof.
(7) Guidelines and voting requirements for all other decisions of the commission shall
be established in the commission's bylaws.
Section 6. Section 
26-68-205
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-205.
Bylaws.
The commission shall, by a majority vote of all the members of the commission,
prescribe bylaws to govern its conduct as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the
purposes, and exercise the powers, of the compact including, but not limited to:
(1) establishing the fiscal year of the commission;
(2) providing reasonable procedures for appointing and electing members, as well as
holding meetings, of the management committee;
(3) providing reasonable standards and procedures:
(a) for the establishment and meetings of other committees;
(b) governing any general or specific delegation of any authority or function of the
commission; and
(c) voting guidelines and procedures for commission decisions;
(4) providing reasonable procedures for calling and conducting meetings of the
commission that shall consist of requiring a quorum to be present, ensuring reasonable advance
notice of each such meeting and providing for the right of citizens to attend each such meeting
with enumerated exceptions designed to protect the public interest and the privacy of
individuals;
(5) providing a list of matters about which the commission may go into executive
session and requiring a majority of all members of the commission vote to enter into such
session. However, a soon as practicable, the commission shall make public:
(a) a copy of any vote going into executive session, revealing the vote of each member
with no proxy votes allowed; and
(b) the matter requiring executive session, without identifying the actual issues or
individuals involved;
(6) establishing the titles, duties, authority, and reasonable procedures for the election
of the officers of the commission;
(7) providing reasonable standards and procedures for the establishment of the
personnel policies and programs of the commission. Notwithstanding any civil service or other
similar laws of any compacting state, the commission's bylaws shall exclusively govern the
personnel policies and programs of the commission;
(8) allowing a mechanism for:
(a) the federal government to join as a compacting state; and
(b) foreign countries or subdivisions of those countries to join as liaison members by
adopting the compact; provided that adopting countries or subdivisions shall not have voting
power or the power to bind the commission in any way;
(9) adopting a code of ethics to address permissible and prohibited activities of
members and employees;
(10) providing for the maintenance of the commission's books and records;
(11) governing the acceptance of and accounting for donations, annual member dues,
and other sources of funding and establishing the proportion of these funds to be allocated to
prize amounts for treatments and therapeutic protocols that cure disease;
(12) governing any fundraising efforts in which the commission wishes to engage; and
(13) providing a mechanism for winding up the operations of the commission and the
equitable disposition of any surplus funds that may exist after the termination of the compact
after the payment and reserving of all its debts and obligations.
Section 7. Section 
26-68-206
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-206.
Rules.
(1) The commission shall adopt rules to do the following:
(a) effectively and efficiently achieve the purposes of this compact; and
(b) govern the methods, processes, and any other aspect of the research, creation, and
testing of a treatment or therapeutic protocol for each disease for which a prize may be
awarded.
(2) The commission shall adopt rules establishing the criteria for defining and
classifying the diseases for which prizes shall be awarded. The commission may define and
classify subsets of diseases, for example, tubular carcinoma of the breast. For purposes of
Subsections (3)(a) and (c), a subset of a disease shall be considered one disease. The
commission may consult the most recent edition of the international classification of disease as
published by the world health organization or other definitions agreed to by a two-thirds vote
of the commission.
(3) The commission shall adopt rules regarding prizes for curing diseases that establish
the following:
(a) at least ten major diseases for which to create prizes, which shall be determined
based on the following factors:
(i) the severity of the disease to a human individual's overall health and well-being;
(ii) the survival rate or severity of impact of the disease; and
(iii) the public health expenses and treatment expenses for the disease;
(b) the criteria a treatment or therapeutic protocol must meet in order to be considered
a cure for any of the diseases for which a prize may be awarded, which shall include the
following requirements:
(i) it must be approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration or have otherwise
obtained legal status for the compact to immediately contract to manufacture and distribute in
the United States;
(ii) except as provided in Subsection (4), it must yield a significant increase in survival
with respect to the diseases if early death is the usual outcome; and
(iii) it requires less than one year of the treatment or protocol to completely cure the
disease;
(c) the procedure for determining the diseases for which to award prizes, which
includes the option to award prizes for more than ten diseases that meet the above criteria, if
agreed to by two-thirds vote of the commission, and a requirement to update the list every three
years;
(d) the submission and evaluation procedures and guidelines, including filing and
review procedures, a requirement that the person or entity submitting the cure bears the burden
of proof in demonstrating that the treatment or therapeutic protocol meets the above criteria,
and limitations preventing public access to treatment or protocol submissions;
(e) the estimated five-year public health savings that would result from a cure, which
shall be equal to the five-year public health expenses for each disease in each compacting state,
and a procedure to update these expenses every three years in conjunction with the
requirements in item (3)(c). The estimated five-year public health savings amount shall be
calculated, estimated, and publicized every three years by actuaries employed or contracted by
the commission;
(f) the prize amount with respect to cures for each disease, which shall be equal to the
most recent estimated total five-year savings in public health expenses for the disease as
calculated in item (3)(e) in all of the compacting states; amounts donated by charities,
individuals, and any other entities intended for the prize; and any other factors that the
commission deems appropriate;
(g) the prize distribution procedures and guidelines, which shall include the following
requirements:
(i) Upon acceptance of a cure, the prize winner shall transfer to the commission the
patent and all related intellectual property for the manufacture and distribution of the treatment
or therapeutic protocol in exchange for the prize, except in the case that the prize money is
considered by the commission to be too low, and that a prize will be awarded only to the first
person or entity that submits a successful cure for a disease for which a prize may be awarded.
(ii) Donation amounts intended for the prize shall be kept in a separate, interest-bearing
account maintained by the commission. This account shall be the only account in which prize
money is kept.
(iii) Each compacting state shall have the responsibility to pay annually the compacting
state's actual one-year savings in public health expenses for the particular disease for which a
cure has been accepted. The compacting state shall make such an annual payment until it has
fulfilled its prize responsibility as established in item (3)(f). Each compacting state's payment
responsibility begins one year after the date the cure becomes widely available. The
commission shall employ or contract with actuaries to calculate each state's actual one-year
savings in public health expenses at the end of each year to determine each state's responsibility
for the succeeding year.
(iv) Compacting states may meet prize responsibilities by any method including the
issuance of bonds or other obligations, with the principal and interest of those bonds or
obligations to be repaid only from revenue derived from estimated public health expense
savings from a cure to a disease. If the compacting state does not make such revenue available
to repay some or all of the revenue bonds or obligations issued, the owners or holders of those
bonds or obligations have no right to have excises or taxes levied to pay the principal or
interest on them. The revenue bonds and obligations are not a debt of the issuing compacting
state.
(v) A compacting state may issue bonds or other debt that are general obligations,
under which the full faith and credit, revenue, and taxing power of the state is pledged to pay
the principal and interest under those obligations, only if authorized by the compacting state's
constitution or, if constitutional authorization is not required, by other law of the compacting
state.
(vi) Upon acceptance of a cure, the commission shall obtain a loan from a financial
institution in an amount equal to the most recently calculated total estimated five-year public
health expenses for the disease in all compacting states, in accordance with item (3)(f). The
commission reserves the right to continuously evaluate the cure in the interim and rescind a
prize offer if the commission finds that the cure no longer meets the commission's criteria.
(4) The commission may award a prize for a treatment or therapeutic protocol that
yields a survival rate that is less than what is established in the cure criteria through at least five
years after the treatment or protocol has ended. In that case, the prize amount awarded for that
treatment or therapeutic protocol shall be reduced from the prize amount originally determined
by the commission for a cure for that disease. The reduction shall be in proportion to the
survival rate yielded by that treatment or protocol as compared to the survival rate established
in the cure criteria.
(5) The commission shall adopt rules that do the following:
(a) establish the following regarding commission records:
(i) conditions and procedures for public inspection and copying of its information and
official records, except such information and records involving the privacy of individuals or
would otherwise violate privacy laws under federal law and the laws of the compacting states;
(ii) procedures for sharing with federal and state agencies, including law enforcement
agencies, records and information otherwise exempt from disclosure; and
(iii) guidelines for entering into agreements with federal and state agencies to receive
or exchange information or records subject to nondisclosure and confidentiality provisions;
(b) provide a process for commission review of submitted treatments and therapeutic
protocols for curing diseases that includes the following:
(i) an opportunity for an appeal, no later than thirty days after a rejection of a treatment
or protocol for prize consideration, to a review panel established under the commission's
dispute resolution process;
(ii) commission monitoring and review of treatment and protocol effectiveness
consistent with the cure criteria established by the commission for the particular disease; and
(iii) commission reconsideration, modification, or withdrawal of approval of a
treatment or protocol for prize consideration for failure to continue to meet the cure criteria
established by the commission for the particular disease; and
(c) establish a dispute resolution process to resolve disputes or other issues under the
compact that may arise between two or more compacting states or between the commission and
individuals or entities who submit treatments and therapeutic protocols to cure diseases, which
process shall provide for:
(i) administrative review by a review panel appointed by the commission;
(ii) judicial review of decisions issued after an administrative review;
(iii) qualifications to be appointed to a panel, due process requirements, including
notice and hearing procedures, and any other procedure, requirement, or standard necessary to
provide adequate dispute resolution; and
(iv) establish and impose annual member dues on compacting states, which shall be
calculated based on the percentage of each compacting state's population in relation to the
population of all the compacting states.
(6) (a) Recognizing that the goal of the compact is to pool the potential savings of as
many states and countries as possible to generate sufficient financial incentive to develop a
cure for many of the world's most devastating diseases, the compact will respect the laws of
each of these United States by adopting rules that establish ethical standards for research that
shall be followed in order for a prize to be claimed. The compact, in the rules, shall establish a
common set of ethical standards that embodies the laws and restrictions in each of the states so
that to be eligible for claiming a prize the entity submitting a cure must not have violated any
of the ethical standards in any one of the fifty states, whether the states have joined the compact
or not. The compact will publish these common ethical standards along with the specific
criteria for a cure for each of the diseases the compact has targeted.
(b) So long as a researcher follows the common ethical standards in effect at the time
the research is done, an entity presenting a cure will be deemed to have followed the standards.
On or before January first of each year, the compact shall review all state laws to determine if
additional ethical standards have been enacted by any of the fifty states and the federal
government. Any changes to the common ethical standards rules based on new state laws shall
be adopted and published by the compact, but shall not take effect in cure criteria for a period
of three years to allow for sufficient notice to researchers.
(7) All rules may be amended as the commission sees necessary.
(8) All rules shall be adopted pursuant to a rule-making process that conforms to the
model state administrative procedure act of 1981 by the uniform law commissioners, as
amended, as may be appropriate to the operations of the commission.
(9) In the event the commission exercises its rule-making authority in a manner that is
beyond the scope of the purpose of this compact, or the powers granted hereunder, then such
rule shall be invalid and have no force and effect.
Section 8. Section 
26-68-207
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-207.
Committees.
(1) (a) The commission may establish a management committee comprised of no more
than fourteen members when twenty-six states enact the compact.
(b) The committee shall consist of those members representing compacting states
whose total public health expenses of all of the established diseases are the highest.
(c) The committee shall have such authority and duties as may be set forth in the
commission's bylaws and rules, including:
(i) managing authority over the day-to-day affairs of the commission in a manner
consistent with the commission's bylaws and rules and the purposes of the compact;
(ii) overseeing the offices of the commission; and
(iii) planning, implementing, and coordinating communications and activities with
state, federal, and local governmental organizations in order to advance the goals of the
compact.
(d) The commission annually shall elect officers for the committee, with each having
such authority and duties as may be specified in the commission's bylaws and rules.
(e) The management committee, subject to commission approval, may appoint or retain
an executive director for such period, upon such terms and conditions, and for such
compensation as the committee determines. The executive director shall serve as secretary to
the commission, but shall not be a member of the commission. The executive director shall hire
and supervise such other staff as may be authorized by the committee.
(2) The commission may appoint advisory committees to monitor all operations related
to the purposes of the compact and make recommendations to the commission; provided that
the manner of selection and term of any committee member shall be as set forth in the
commission's bylaws and rules. The commission shall consult with an advisory committee, to
the extent required by the commission's bylaws or rules, before doing any of the following:
(a) approving cure criteria;
(b) amending, enacting, or repealing any bylaw or rule;
(c) adopting the commission's annual budget; or
(d) addressing any other significant matter or taking any other significant action.
Section 9. Section 
26-68-208
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-208.
Finance.
(1) The commission annually shall establish a budget to pay or provide for the payment
of its reasonable expenses. To fund the cost of initial operations, the commission may accept
contributions and other forms of funding from the compacting states and other sources.
Contributions and other forms of funding from other sources shall be of such a nature that the
independence of the commission concerning the performance of its duties shall not be
compromised.
(2) The commission shall be exempt from all taxation in and by the compacting states.
(3) The commission shall keep complete and accurate accounts of all of its internal
receipts, including grants and donations, and disbursements of all funds under its control. The
internal financial accounts of the commission shall be subject to the accounting procedures
established under the commission's bylaws or rules. The financial accounts and reports
including the system of internal controls and procedures of the commission shall be audited
annually by an independent certified public accountant. Upon the determination of the
commission, but no less frequently than every three years, the review of the independent
auditor shall include a management and performance audit of the commission. The commission
shall make an annual report to the governors and legislatures of the compacting states, which
shall include a report of the independent audit. The commission's internal accounts shall not be
confidential and such materials may be shared with any compacting state upon request
provided; however, that any work papers related to any internal or independent audit and any
information subject to the compacting states' privacy laws, shall remain confidential.
(4) No compacting state shall have any claim or ownership of any property held by or
vested in the commission or to any commission funds held pursuant to the provisions of the
compact.
Section 10. Section 
26-68-209
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-209.
Records.
Except as to privileged records, data, and information, the laws of any compacting state
pertaining to confidentiality or nondisclosure shall not relieve any member of the duty to
disclose any relevant records, data, or information to the commission; provided, that disclosure
to the commission shall not be deemed to waive or otherwise affect any confidentiality
requirement; and further provided, that, except as otherwise expressly provided in the compact,
the commission shall not be subject to the compacting state's laws pertaining to confidentiality
and nondisclosure with respect to records, data, and information in its possession. Confidential
information of the commission shall remain confidential after such information is provided to
any member. All cure submissions received by the commission are confidential.
Section 11. Section 
26-68-210
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-210.
Compliance.
The commission shall notify a compacting state in writing of any noncompliance with
commission bylaws and rules. If a compacting state fails to remedy its noncompliance within
the time specified in the notice, the compacting state shall be deemed to be in default as set
forth in Section 
26-68-214
.
Section 12. Section 
26-68-211
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-211.
Venue.
Venue for any judicial proceedings by or against the commission shall be brought in the
appropriate court of competent jurisdiction for the geographical area in which the principal
office of the commission is located.
Section 13. Section 
26-68-212
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-212.
Qualified immunity -- Defenses -- Indemnification.
(1) The members, officers, executive director, employees, and representatives of the
commission shall be immune from suit and liability, either personally or in their official
capacity, for any claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or other civil
liability caused by or arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred,
or that such person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of the
person's commission employment, duties, or responsibilities; provided, that nothing in this
subsection shall be construed to protect any such person from suit or liability for any damage,
loss, injury, or liability caused by the intentional or wilful and wanton misconduct of that
person.
(2) The commission shall defend any member, officer, executive director, employee, or
representative of the commission in any civil action seeking to impose liability arising out of
any actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of the person's
commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that such person had a reasonable basis
for believing occurred within the scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities;
provided, that nothing in the compact or commission bylaws or rules shall be construed to
prohibit that person from retaining his or her own counsel; and provided further, that the actual
or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from that person's intentional or wilful and
wanton misconduct.
(3) The commission shall indemnify and hold harmless any member, officer, executive
director, employee, or representative of the commission for the amount of any settlement or
judgment obtained against the person arising out of any actual or alleged act, error, or omission
that occurred within the scope of the person's commission employment, duties, or
responsibilities, or that such person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the
scope of commission employment, duties, or responsibilities; provided, that the actual or
alleged act, error, or omission, did not result from the intentional or wilful and wanton
misconduct of that person.
Section 14. Section 
26-68-213
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-213.
Compacting states -- Effective date -- Amendment.
(1) Any state is eligible to become a compacting state.
(2) The compact shall become effective and binding upon legislative enactment of the
compact into law by two compacting states; provided, the commission only shall be established
after six states become compacting states. Thereafter, the compact shall become effective and
binding as to any other compacting state upon enactment of the compact into law by that state.
(3) Amendments to the compact may be proposed by the commission for enactment by
the compacting states. No amendment shall become effective and binding until all compacting
states enact the amendment into law.
(4) If funding is requested or required, the legislative authority of each compacting
state shall be responsible for making the appropriations it determines necessary to pay for the
costs of the compact, including annual member dues and prize distributions.
Section 15. Section 
26-68-214
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-214.
Withdrawal -- Default -- Expulsion.
(1) (a) Once effective, the compact shall continue in force and remain binding upon
each and every compacting state; provided, that a compacting state may withdraw from the
compact by doing both of the following:
(i) repealing the law enacting the compact in that state; and
(ii) notifying the commission in writing of the intent to withdraw on a date that is both
of the following:
(A) at least three years after the date the notice is sent; and
(B) after the repeal takes effect.
(b) The effective date of withdrawal is the date described in item (1)(a)(ii).
(c) The member representing the withdrawing state immediately shall notify the
management committee in writing upon the introduction of legislation in that state repealing
the compact. If a management committee has not been established, the member immediately
shall notify the commission.
(d) The commission or management committee, as applicable, shall notify the other
compacting states of the introduction of such legislation within ten days after its receipt of
notice.
(e) The withdrawing state is responsible for all obligations, duties, and liabilities
incurred through the effective date of withdrawal, including any obligations, the performance
of which extend beyond the effective date of withdrawal. The commission's actions shall
continue to be effective and be given full force and effect in the withdrawing state.
(f) Reinstatement following a state's withdrawal shall become effective upon the
effective date of the subsequent enactment of the compact by that state.
(2) (a) If the commission determines that any compacting state has at any time
defaulted in the performance of any of its obligations or responsibilities under the compact or
the commission's bylaws or rules, then, after notice and hearing as set forth in the bylaws, all
rights, privileges, and benefits conferred by this compact on the defaulting state shall be
suspended from the effective date of default as fixed by the commission. The grounds for
default include failure of a compacting state to perform its obligations or responsibilities, and
any other grounds designated in commission rules. The commission immediately shall notify
the defaulting state in writing of the suspension pending cure of the default. The commission
shall stipulate the conditions and the time period within which the defaulting state shall cure its
default. If the defaulting state fails to cure the default within the time period specified by the
commission, the defaulting state shall be expelled from the compact and all rights, privileges,
and benefits conferred by the compact shall be terminated from the effective date of the
expulsion. Any state that is expelled from the compact shall be liable for any cure prize or
prizes for three years after its removal. The commission also shall take appropriate legal action
to ensure that any compacting state that withdraws from the compact remains liable for paying
its responsibility towards a prize for a cure that was accepted while the compacting state was a
member of the commission.
(b) The expelled state must reenact the compact in order to become a compacting state.
(3) (a) The compact dissolves effective upon the date of either of the following:
(i) the withdrawal or expulsion of a compacting state, which withdrawal or expulsion
reduces membership in the compact to one compacting state; or
(ii) the commission votes to dissolve the compact.
(b) Upon the dissolution of the compact, the compact becomes null and void and shall
be of no further force or effect, and the business and affairs of the commission shall be
concluded and any surplus funds shall be distributed in accordance with the commission's
bylaws; provided, that the commission shall pay all outstanding prizes awarded before the
dissolution of the compact, as well as any other outstanding debts and obligations incurred
during the existence of the compact. Any unawarded funds donated to be a part of a prize shall
be returned to the donor, along with any interest earned on the amount.
Section 16. Section 
26-68-215
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-215.
Severability and construction.
(1) The provisions of the compact shall be severable; and if any phrase, clause,
sentence, or provision is deemed unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the compact shall
be enforceable.
(2) The provisions of the compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate its
purposes.
Section 17. Section 
26-68-216
 is enacted to read:
 26-68-216.
Binding effect of compact and other laws.
(1) Nothing herein prevents the enforcement of any other law of a compacting state,
except as provided in Subsection (2)(b).
(2) (a) All lawful actions of the commission, including all commission rules, are
binding upon the compacting states.
(b) All agreements between the commission and the compacting states are binding in
accordance with their terms.
(c) Except to the extent authorized by the compacting state's constitution or, if
constitutional authorization is not required, by other law of the compacting state, such state, by
entering into the compact does not:
(i) commit the full faith and credit or taxing power of the compacting state for the
payment of prizes or other obligations under the compact; and
(ii) make prize payment responsibilities or other obligations under the compact a debt
of the compacting state.
(d) Upon the request of a party to a conflict over the meaning or interpretation of
commission actions, and upon a majority vote of the compacting states, the commission may
issue advisory opinions regarding the meaning or interpretation in dispute.
(e) In the event any provision of the compact exceeds the constitutional limits imposed
on any compacting state, the obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction sought to be conferred
by that provision upon the commission shall be ineffective as to that compacting state, and
those obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction shall remain in the compacting state and shall
be exercised by the agency to which those obligations, duties, powers, or jurisdiction are
delegated by law in effect at the time the compact becomes effective.