2023 Utah Code › Title 36 - Legislature › Chapter 12 - Legislative Organization › Section 7 - Legislative Management Committee -- Duties -- Litigation.

Effective 5/4/2022
36-12-7.
Legislative Management Committee -- Duties -- Litigation.
(1) The Senate or House Management Committee shall:
(a) receive legislative resolutions directing studies on legislative matters and may assign these studies to the appropriate interim committee of its house;
(b) assign to interim committees of the same house, matters of legislative study not specifically contained in a legislative resolution but considered significant to the welfare of the state;
(c) receive requests from interim committees of its house for matters to be included on the study agenda of the requesting committee. Appropriate bases for denying a study include inadequate funding to properly complete the study or duplication of the work;
(d) establish a budget account for interim committee day as designated by Legislative Management Committee and for all other legislative committees of its house and allocate to that account sufficient funds to adequately provide for the work of the committee; and
(e) designate the time and place for periodic meetings of the interim committees.
(2) To maximize the use of legislators' available time, the Senate and House Management Committees should attempt to schedule the committee meetings of their respective houses during the same one or two-day period each month. This does not preclude an interim committee from meeting at any time it determines necessary to complete its business.
(3) The Legislative Management Committee shall:
(a) employ, after recommendation of the appropriate subcommittee of the Legislative Management Committee, without regard to political affiliation, and subject to approval of a majority vote of both houses, persons qualified for the positions of director of the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, legislative fiscal analyst, legislative general counsel, and legislative auditor general. Appointments to these positions shall be for terms of six years subject to renewal under the same procedure as the original appointment. A person may be removed from any of these offices before the expiration of the person's term only by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature or by a two-thirds vote of the management committee for such causes as inefficiency, incompetency, failure to maintain skills or adequate performance levels, insubordination, misfeasance, malfeasance, or nonfeasance in office. If a vacancy occurs in any of these offices after adjournment of the Legislature, the committee shall appoint an individual to fill the vacancy until such time as the person is approved or rejected by majority vote of the next session of the Legislature;
(b) develop policies for personnel management, compensation, and training of all professional legislative staff;
(c) develop a policy within the limits of legislative appropriation for the authorization and payment to legislators of compensation and travel expenses, including out-of-state travel;
(d) approve special study budget requests of the legislative directors; and
(e) assist the speaker-elect of the House of Representatives and the president-elect of the Senate, upon selection by their majority party caucus, to organize their respective houses of the Legislature and assume the direction of the operation of the Legislature in the forthcoming annual general session.
(4)
(a) The Legislature delegates to the Legislative Management Committee the authority, by means of a majority vote of the committee, to direct the legislative general counsel in matters involving the Legislature's participation in litigation.
(b) The Legislature has an unconditional right to intervene in a state court action and may provide evidence or argument, written or oral, if a party to that court action challenges:
(i) the constitutionality of a state statute;
(ii) the validity of legislation; or
(iii) any action of the Legislature.
(c) In a federal court action that challenges the constitutionality of a state statute, the validity of legislation, or any action of the Legislature, the Legislature may seek to intervene, to file an amicus brief, or to present argument in accordance with federal rules of procedure.
(d) Intervention by the Legislature pursuant to Subsection (4)(b) or (c) does not limit the duty of the attorney general to appear and prosecute legal actions or defend state agencies, officers or employees as otherwise provided by law.
(e) In any action in which the Legislature intervenes or participates, legislative counsel and the attorney general shall function independently from each other in the representation of their respective clients.
(f) The attorney general shall notify the legislative general counsel of a claim in accordance with Subsection 67-5-1(1)(y).
Amended by Chapter 222, 2022 General Session