Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.R. 1 (2025GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Dunnigan, James A.

Final action

House/ to Lieutenant Governor 2/7/2025

Outcome

House/ to Lieutenant Governor

Summary

What it does

• This resolution:
• updates outdated language;
• changes the name of the House Business and Labor Standing Committee to the House Business, Labor, and Commerce Standing Committee;
• requires certain changes to legislation to be made by a motion to substitute the legislation rather than a motion to amend the legislation;
• prohibits a committee member from requesting a personal privilege during a committee meeting;
• clarifies House floor procedures related to substitute and privileged motions; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

10
HR2-4-101
HR3-2-201
HR3-2-406
HR3-2-510
HR4-3-301
HR5-2-101
House Rules Resolution - Amendments to House Rules
2025 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: James A. Dunnigan
LONG TITLE
Committee Note:
 The Legislative Process Committee recommended this bill.
Legislative Vote:
6 voting for
0 voting against
2 absent
General Description:
This resolution modifies House rules.
Highlighted Provisions:
This resolution:
updates outdated language;
changes the name of the House Business and Labor Standing Committee to the House 
Business, Labor, and Commerce Standing Committee;
requires certain changes to legislation to be made by a motion to substitute the legislation 
rather than a motion to amend the legislation; 
prohibits a committee member from requesting a personal privilege during a committee 
meeting; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Legislative Rules Affected:
AMENDS:
HR2-4-101
, 
HR3-2-201
, 
HR3-2-406
, 
HR3-2-510
, 
HR4-3-301
, 
HR5-2-101
, 
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the state of Utah:
Section 1. 
HR2-4-101
 is amended to read:
HR2-4-101. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Department head" means the same as that term is defined in Utah Code Section 
63A-17-807
 or a department head's designee.
(2)
"Former legislator" means a person who is not a current member of the Legislature, but 
who served in the Utah House or Utah Senate at one time.
(3)
(a)
"Guest" means an individual who is afforded access to the House space under a 
provision of this chapter, who is not an individual described in Subsection 
(3)
(c) or a 
special guest as described under 
HR2-4-101.2(5)
.
(b)
"Guest" includes:
(i)
the governor, the lieutenant governor, the state attorney general, the state treasurer, 
the state auditor, and governor's staff; and
(ii)
a former legislator who is an individual described in Subsection 
(3)
(b)(i).
(c)
"Guest" does not mean a legislator, a member of House or Senate staff, a member of 
professional legislative staff, a House intern, or a lobbyist.
(4)
"House conference rooms" means one of the conference rooms adjacent to the House 
lounge, speaker's office, or the majority caucus room.
(5)
"House halls" means the passageways that allow access to:
(a)
the House chamber;
(b)
the House lounge;
(c)
the House offices; or
(d)
any other nonpublic areas adjoining the House chamber.
(6)
"House intern" means an individual who is:
(a)
an official participant in the student intern program sponsored by the Utah 
Legislature and administered by the Office of Legislative 
Research and General 
Counsel
Services
; and
(b)
is assigned to a representative.
(7)
"House offices" means:
(a)
Representatives' offices adjacent to the House chamber;
(b)
Representatives' offices on the third and fourth floors of the capitol building;
(c)
Representatives' offices in the House building; and
(d)
kitchens, restrooms, elevators, and any auxiliary rooms in the nonpublic areas 
connected with the offices listed above.
(8)
"House or Senate staff" means an individual who is employed directly by the House or 
Senate.
(9)
(a)
"House space" means the House chamber, House lounge, House offices, House 
halls, and House conference rooms.
(b)
"House space" does not mean the common public space outside the House chamber.
(10)
"Immediate family" means any parent, spouse, child, grandparent, grandchild, 
great-grandparent, great-grandchild, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece, or nephew of a member 
of the House, provided that the individual is not a lobbyist.
(11)
"Lobbying" means communicating with a legislator for the purpose of influencing the 
passage, defeat, amendment, or postponement of legislative action.
(12)
"Lobbyist" means an individual who is required to register as a lobbyist by Utah Code 
Section 
36-11-103
.
(13)
"Professional legislative staff" means an individual employed by one of the 
Legislature's profession-based staff offices, namely the Office of Legislative Research 
and General Counsel, the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, the Office of the 
Legislative Auditor General, or the Office of Legislative 
Printing
Services
.
Section 2. 
HR3-2-201
 is amended to read:
HR3-2-201. Standing committees -- Creation.
There are created the following standing committees to consider legislation during an 
annual general or special session:
(1)
Business
 and
,
 Labor
, and Commerce
;
(2)
Economic Development and Workforce Services;
(3)
Education;
(4)
Government Operations;
(5)
Health and Human Services;
(6)
House Rules;
(7)
Judiciary;
(8)
Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice;
(9)
Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment;
(10)
Political Subdivisions;
(11)
Public Utilities and Energy;
(12)
Revenue and Taxation; and
(13)
Transportation.
Section 3. 
HR3-2-406
 is amended to read:
HR3-2-406. Amending legislation -- Verbal amendments -- Amendments must 
be germane.
(1)
(a)
Subject to 
Subsection 
(2)
the provisions of this rule
 and 
HR3-2-306
, and if 
recognized by the chair during the presentation phase or the committee action phase, 
a committee member may make a motion to amend the legislation that is under 
consideration.
(b)
(i)
A committee member may propose a verbal amendment to the legislation 
under consideration if the amendment contains 15 or fewer words.
(ii)
Unless the amendment contains 15 or fewer words, before proposing a motion to 
amend, a committee member shall ensure that a copy of the proposed amendment 
is available online.
(iii)
Each word inserted shall count as one of the 15 words permitted under a verbal 
amendment, except that:
(A)
numbering shall not be counted as a word;
(B)
instructions to delete a word or words shall not count as a word; and
(C)
a word or an exact phrase that is inserted in multiple locations shall only be 
counted for the first insertion.
(2)
(a)
A committee member may only make a motion to amend that is germane to the 
subject of the legislation under consideration.
(b)
A committee member who believes that an amendment is not germane to the subject 
of the legislation may make a point of order or appeal as described in 
HR3-2-506
.
(3)
(a)
A committee member may not propose an amendment to legislation that:
(i)
adds or removes an entire section from the legislation; or
(ii)
modifies the legislation's effective date.
(b)
To change legislation as described in Subsection 
(3)(a)
, a committee member may, 
subject to 
HR3-2-407
, make a motion to substitute the legislation.
Section 4. 
HR3-2-510
 is amended to read:
HR3-2-510. Prohibited motions.
(1)
(a)
Except for a motion to adjourn or a motion to recess, a committee member may 
not make a motion unless a quorum of the standing committee is present.
(b)
When a quorum is not present, a motion to adjourn or a motion to recess is passed 
with a majority vote of those present.
(2)
No motion is in order during a vote.
(3)
A point of order is not in order during a vote.
(4)
A committee member may not make a motion to:
(a)
strike the enacting clause of legislation;
(b)
strike the resolving clause of a resolution;
(c)
circle legislation;
(d)
place legislation on a time certain calendar;
(e)
postpone legislation to a day certain; or
(f)
postpone legislation indefinitely.
(5)
(a)
A personal privilege is not a motion.
(b)
A committee member may not request a personal privilege during a committee 
meeting.
Section 5. 
HR4-3-301
 is amended to read:
HR4-3-301. Amendments in order on third reading -- 15 word rule -- Passage of 
amendments by a majority vote.
(1)
A
Subject to Subsections 
(2)
 and (3), a
 motion to amend a piece of legislation is in 
order on third reading.
(2)
(a)
A representative may verbally propose an amendment to legislation if the 
amendment contains 15 or fewer words
.
(b)
Unless the amendment contains 15 or fewer words, before a representative makes a 
motion to amend, the representative shall ensure that a copy of the proposed 
amendment is available online.
(c)
Each word inserted shall count as one of the 15 words permitted under a verbal 
amendment, except that:
(i)
numbering shall not be counted as a word;
(ii)
instructions to delete a word or words shall not count as a word; and
(iii)
a word or an exact phrase that is inserted in multiple locations shall only be 
counted for the first insertion. 
(3)
(a)
A representative may not propose an amendment to legislation that:
(i)
adds or removes an entire section from the legislation; or
(ii)
modifies the legislation's effective date.
(b)
To change legislation as described in Subsection (3)(a), a representative may, subject 
to Part 2, Substitute Legislation, make a motion to substitute the legislation.
(4)
A constitutional amendment, resolution, or bill requiring a constitutional two-thirds vote 
for final passage, may be amended by a majority vote.
(4)
(5)
When legislation is amended by the House, the chief clerk shall:
(a)
for each page of the legislation modified by a House amendment, cause a new page 
to be printed that clearly identifies each House amendment to that page; and
(b)
print that new page on lilac-colored paper.
Section 6. 
HR5-2-101
 is amended to read:
HR5-2-101. Lobbyist code of ethics.
A lobbyist, volunteer lobbyist, or government official may not:
(1)
attempt to influence a representative, elected or appointed state official, state employee, 
or legislative employee by means of deceit or by threat of violence or economic or 
political reprisal against any person or property, with intent by doing so to alter or affect 
the representative's, elected or appointed state official's, state employee's, or legislative 
employee's decision, vote, opinion, or action concerning any matter that is to be 
considered or performed by the representative, official, or employee or the agency or 
body of which the representative, official, or employee is a member;
(2)
knowingly provide false information to a representative, elected or appointed state 
official, state employee, or legislative employee as to any material fact pertaining to any 
legislation;
(3)
knowingly omit, conceal, or falsify in any manner information required by the lobbyist 
registration and lobbyist disclosure reports;
(4)
participate in committee assignments or leadership races of the House of 
Representatives;
(5)
cause or influence the introduction of any piece of legislation, substitute, or amendment 
for the purpose of afterwards becoming employed to secure its passage or defeat;
(6)
misappropriate or misuse legislative office supplies;
(7)
use legislative reproduction or facsimile machines without paying for that use;
(8)
enter or use a representative's, elected or appointed state official's, state employee's, or 
legislative employee's office, phone, computer, or parking space without explicit 
permission;
(9)
attempt to remove or remove any document from any representative's or legislative 
employee's office, desk, file cabinet, reproduction machine, facsimile machine, or any 
other place without explicit permission;
(10)
engage in sexually harassing behavior or behavior violating the state's sexual 
harassment policy toward representatives or employees of the Legislature
engage in 
discriminatory conduct, as defined in Legislative Management Committee Policy E -- 
Legislative Workplace Discrimination Prevention, toward a representative or legislative 
employee
;
(11)
offer employment to a representative or legislative employee that impairs the 
representative's or legislative employee's independence of judgement as to their official 
duties;
(12)
offer employment that would require or induce a representative or legislative employee 
to disclose records classified as private, protected, or controlled;
(13)
use or disclose for personal financial gain any records classified as private, protected, 
or controlled that were obtained from a representative or legislative employee or 
conspire with any person for that purpose; or
(14)
induce or seek to induce a representative or legislative employee to commit a violation 
of any provision of this House rule.
Section 7. 
Effective Date.
This resolution takes effect upon a successful vote for final passage.
1-15-25 3:25 PM