Utah Code 53-2a-218. Legislative Emergency Response Committee
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(1) There is created an ad hoc committee known as the Legislative Emergency Response Committee.
Terms Used In Utah Code 53-2a-218
- Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
- Department: means the Department of Public Safety created in Section
53-1-103 . See Utah Code 53-1-102 - Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
- Legislative emergency response committee: means the Legislative Emergency Response Committee created in Section 53-2a-218. See Utah Code 53-2a-203
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
- State of emergency: means a condition in any part of this state that requires state government emergency assistance to supplement the local efforts of the affected political subdivision to save lives and to protect property, public health, welfare, or safety in the event of a disaster, or to avoid or reduce the threat of a disaster. See Utah Code 53-2a-102
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
(2)
(2)(a) The committee membership includes:
(2)(a)(i) the same membership as the Executive Appropriations Committee as constituted at the time the committee is convened;
(2)(a)(ii) between four and six additional members designated by the speaker of the House of Representatives, chosen from the following:
(2)(a)(ii)(A) one or more members of the House of Representatives that serve as chair or vice-chair of a legislative committee with a subject matter focus relevant to the current emergency;
(2)(a)(ii)(B) one or more members of the House of Representatives with relevant expertise or experience relevant to the current emergency; or
(2)(a)(ii)(C) one or more members of the House of Representatives from a minority party that serves on a relevant legislative committee or that has expertise and experience relevant to the current emergency; and
(2)(a)(iii) between four and six additional members designated by the president of the Senate, chosen from the following:
(2)(a)(iii)(A) one or more members of the Senate that serve as chair or vice-chair of a legislative committee with a subject matter focus relevant to the current emergency;
(2)(a)(iii)(B) one or more members of the Senate with relevant expertise or experience relevant to the current emergency; or
(2)(a)(iii)(C) one or more members of the Senate from a minority party that serves on a relevant legislative committee or that has expertise and experience relevant to the current emergency.
(2)(b) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate shall coordinate to ensure they each appoint the same number of legislators as described under Subsections (2)(a)(ii) and (iii).
(3) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate shall serve as chairs of the committee.
(4) The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall provide staff support to the committee.
(5)
(5)(a) If the governor declares a state of emergency as described in this chapter, and the governor finds that the emergency conditions warrant an extension of the state of emergency beyond the 30-day term or another date designated by the Legislature as described in Section 53-2a-206, the governor shall provide written notice to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate at least 10 days before the expiration of the state of emergency.
(5)(b) If the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate receive notice as described in Subsection (5)(a) for a state of emergency within the first 30 days from the initial declaration of the state of emergency, or from the Department of Health and Human Services as described in Section 26B-7-317, or from a local health department as described in Section 26A-1-121, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate:
(5)(b)(i) shall poll the members of their respective bodies to determine whether the Legislature will extend the state of emergency; and
(5)(b)(ii) may jointly convene the committee.
(5)(c) If the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate receive notice as described in Subsection (5)(a) for a state of emergency that has been extended beyond 30 days from the initial declaration of a state of emergency, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate shall jointly convene the committee.
(6) If the committee is convened as described in Subsection (5), the committee shall conduct a public meeting to:
(6)(a) discuss the nature of the emergency and conditions of the emergency;
(6)(b) evaluate options for emergency response;
(6)(c) receive testimony from individuals with expertise relevant to the current emergency;
(6)(d) receive testimony from members of the public; and
(6)(e) provide a recommendation to the Legislature whether to extend the state of emergency by joint resolution.