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Government Operations Interim Committee

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MINUTES OF THE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS INTERIM COMMITTEE

Wednesday, June 17, 1998 . 2:00 p.m. . Room 416 State Capitol



Members Present:
    Sen. L. Alma "Al" Mansell, Chair
    Sen. LeRay McAllister
    Sen. Robert M. Muhlestein
    Sen. Robert C. Steiner
    Rep. Trisha S. Beck
    Rep. Perry L. Buckner
    Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
    Rep. Joseph G. Murray
    Rep. Martin R. Stephens
    Rep. Michael R. Styler
    

Members Excused:
    Rep. Jordan Tanner, Chair
    Rep. Lowell A. Nelson

Staff Present:
    Mr. Stewart E. Smith,
     Managing Research Analyst
    Mr. John L. Fellows,
     Associate General Counsel
    Ms. Angela D. Kelley,
     Legislative Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and handouts distributed are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.

1.     Call to Order - Chair Mansell called the meeting to order at 2:29 p.m.
                                    
2.    Committee Business -

     MOTION: Chair Mansell moved to approve the minutes of the May 20, 1998 minutes. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Beck absent for the vote.
    
3.    Political Party Amendments -

Draft Legislation _ "Political Party Amendments"

     Ms. Kelleen Potter, Elections Director, Lt. Governor's Office, explained the Political Party Amendments Bill. She said that the bill requires the county political parties to certify to the Lt. Governor and the County Clerk that they will follow their state parties' constitution and bylaws, or they must certify a copy of their own constitution and bylaws. She also said that the bill will require advance written notice of any proposed amendments to candidates, delegates, and other interested members of the political party before the amendments are adopted.

    Rep. Stephens asked what the committee is trying to solve with the legislation. Ms. Potter explained that throughout this year there have been a series of complaints dealing with political parties. She said that there are no provisions stating that the county political parties have to follow the state party constitution and bylaws.

    Mr. Fellows said that the state party bylaws and the constitution would define how the county parties function. He said it was assumed that the county party was part of the state party and not an independent entity. He noted that if the counties are functioning on their own, when selecting county officers, there need to be bylaws and constitutions for the county parties available for the public as well.

    Ms. Potter said some counties have the bylaws and constitutions but some do not.

    Ms. Ruth Robinson, League of Women Voters, said anything that takes a step in the direction of requiring these parties to be responsible for what they do is important. She was concerned about accountability because she said in order to access government one would have to go through a political party, and they need to have rules.

    Mr. Rob Bishop, Chairman of the State Republican Party, asked the committee to allow him more time to get input from political parties. He said that he would like to gather information and come back to the committee to discuss the bill.

    Chair Mansell said that the committee is willing to set the political party amendments aside until next month.

     MOTION: Rep. Hendrickson moved that the committee direct staff to clarify the language of the bill to indicate that candidates and delegates receive advance written notice of any proposed amendments, and other interested members of the political party receive advanced written notice of proposed amendment if requested in writing. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Beck and Sen. Muhlestein absent for the vote.

4.    Public and Commercial Access to Voter Registration Information

Draft Legislation - "GRAMA - Voter Registration Form Amendments"

    Mr. Fellows distributed a handout titled "Access to Voter Registration Information: Issues for the Government Operations Committee," and discussed the content of the handout. He suggested they look at each piece of information and decide if it should be public or private.

    Rep. Styler suggested that mandatory information be made public.

    Rep. Stephens said that some of the optional information should be made public, as well as the mandatory information.

     MOTION: Sen. Mansell moved that the "Name of the Voter (First, Middle, Last)," "Voting Precinct," and "Political Party" should be public. The motion passed unanimously.

    Ms. Candice Dailey, Vice Chair, Davis County Republican Party, said that there are some instances when birth dates are used in regards to some of the groups that are related with the different party affiliations, such as teenage republicans, college republicans, etc. She said the birth date would be helpful in deciding who should receive mailings

    Ms. Joyce Barns, League of Women Voters of Salt Lake, was concerned that more information made public will cause fewer voters to register. She suggested making the least amount of information public.

    Mr. Joel Campbell, Utah Press Association, said that it is important to have the date of birth because when they do a story, they usually need the age of voters. He said that he is doing a story right now on young voters and it is critical to have their age to know whether the information he is giving to the public is accurate.

    Ms. Potter said that anyone can go to the county clerk's office and access information from past elections, so the date of birth could be accessed anyway.
    
    MOTION: Sen. Mansell moved to make the "Date of Birth" public. The motion passed, with Sen. McAllister, Sen. Steiner, and Rep. Buckner against the motion.

     MOTION: Sen. Mansell moved to make the "Street Address of Principal Place of Residence (City, County, State, Zip Code)," "Place of Birth," and "Voter History" public. The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Sen. Mansell moved to make the "Telephone Number" public. The motion passed, with Sen. McAllister and Rep. Styler against the motion.

     MOTION: Sen. Mansell moved to make the "Drivers License or Identification Card Number" and "Last four digits of Social Security Number" private. The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Sen. Mansell moved to take "Last former address at which I was registered to Vote (City, County, State, Zip Code)" off the list. The motion passed unanimously.
    
     MOTION: Rep. Stephens moved that a uniform charge reflecting the cost of reproduction be assessed for obtaining information. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Styler absent for the vote.

5.    Office of State Debt Collection - Mr. Fellows distributed an article titled, "Utah's bad at collecting debts," and briefed the committee on the article.

     Draft Legislation - "Judicial Debt Collection Amendments"

    Mr. Fellows distributed a draft bill titled "Judicial Debt Collection Amendments," and briefed the committee on the draft bill.

    Ms. Gwen Anderson, Director, Office of State Debt Collection, said there is a good process in effect to start collecting state debt, but the law needs to change to help it get where it needs to be.

    Mr. Tim Shea, Administrative Office of the Courts, said the courts will retain the primary responsibility for collection on fines, fees, forfeitures, costs, restitution, surcharges, and any money owed by criminal defendants. He said once the account is delinquent for 60-90 days, the courts will issue a warrant of arrest, and if there is no response after that, the responsibility is passed to the Office of State Debt Collection. The courts will electronically provide the information to the Office of State Debt Collection Office for further pursuit of the debt.

    Sen. McAllister asked what efforts are made to collect during that 60-90 days that the account is delinquent. Mr. Shea answered that they write letters, telephone the defendant, and issue warrants.

    Mr. Fellows said that after the 90 days, if the bill does not get paid, it is recorded as a civil judgement. He said the law specifies that the victim may collect the judgement and the Office of State Debt Collection would have the responsibility to collect the money on behalf of the company and the courts would still have the responsibility to revoke the probation.

    MOTION: Sen. Steiner moved that Mr. Fellows re-draft the "Accounts receivable" section to reflect that the person responsible for criminal justice accounts receivable will collect from a criminal order. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Stephens and Rep. Styler absent for the vote.

6.    Adjourn

    MOTION: Chair Mansell moved to adjourn the meeting at 3:50 p.m. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Stephens and Rep. Styler absent for the vote.
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