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Government Operations Interim Committee

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MINUTES OF THE

GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS INTERIM COMMITTEE

Wednesday, July 15, 1998 . 2:00 p.m. . Room 416 State Capitol



Members Present:
    
    Rep. Jordan Tanner, Chair
    Sen. LeRay McAllister
    Sen. Robert M. Muhlestein
    Rep. Trisha S. Beck
    Rep. Perry L. Buckner
    Rep. Neal B. Hendrickson
    Rep. Joseph G. Murray
    Rep. Michael R. Styler
    


Members Absent:

    Sen. L. Alma "Al" Mansell, Chair
    Sen. Robert C. Steiner
    Rep. Lowell A. Nelson
    Rep. Martin R. Stephens

Staff Present:


    Mr. John Q. Cannon,
     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 Tanner called the meeting to order at 2:09 p.m.

2.    Committee Business -


    MOTION:
Rep. Hendrickson moved to approve the minutes of the June 17, 1998 meeting. The motion passed unanimously.

3.     Political Party Amendments - Mr. Cannon discussed draft legislation "Political Party Amendments," that was mailed to committee members. He highlighted amendments to the bill on page three concerning notice requirements.

    Ms. Kelleen Potter, Elections Director, Lt. Governor's Office, spoke in support of the legislation.

     MOTION: Rep. Hendrickson moved to approve draft legislation "Political Party Amendments" as a committee bill. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Beck absent for the vote.

4.    Public and Commercial Access to Voter Registration Information - Mr. Fellows distributed draft legislation "GRAMA - Voter Registration Form Amendments," and explained its

content. He said the four categories of possible classification of information are public, private, protected, and controlled.

     Sen. McAllister expressed concern that not all county clerks will be contacted. He said that if one is left out, it could cause a problem. Committee discussion followed.

    Ms. Potter spoke to the issue of voter history information.

    Mr. Lloyd Carr, Carr Printing, spoke to the bill.

     MOTION: Sen. McAllister moved to delete "the" after the word "with"on page 4, line 29. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Beck absent for the vote.

     MOTION: Rep. Murray moved to approve draft legislation "GRAMA - Voter Registration Form Amendments" as a committee bill, as amended. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Beck absent for the vote.

5.    Office of State Debt Collection - Mr. Fellows distributed a handout titled "Judicial Debt Collection Amendments, Interim Committee Amendments." He discussed draft legislation titled "Judicial Debt Collection Amendments."

    Sen. McAllister expressed concern about the bill and the courts' ability to collect debts. Committee discussion followed.

    Mr. Tim Shea, Administrative Office of the Courts, explained the Judicial Debt Collection Amendments, Interim Committee Amendments. He described each amendment in its entirety.

     MOTION: Rep. Murray moved to approve amendment number one as follows:

    Page 1, line 30:    After "criminal" insert "of the district court and justice court".

    The motion passed, with Sen. Muhlestein opposing the vote.

    Ms. Gwen Anderson, Director, Office of State Debt Collection (OSDC), indicated her office had no concerns with the proposed amendments.

    Sen. Muhlestein expressed concern about the timing and requested additional time to review the amendments.

    Sen. McAllister asked that OSDC be given time to consider the amendments.

    Chair Tanner indicated that the committee would act on the amendments, but bring the bill back to the committee as amended for a final vote at a subsequent meeting.

     MOTION: Sen. Muhlestein moved to approve amendment number two as follows:

    Page 5, line 10:    After line 10 insert:

                "(p) file a satisfaction of judgment in the district court by following the procedures and requirements of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure;"

                Renumber remaining subsections accordingly.

    The motion passed unanimously.

     MOTION: Sen. Muhlestein moved to approve amendment number three as follows:

    Page 10, line 27:    After line 27 insert:

                "(e) start the period of probation anew;"

    The motion passed unanimously.

     Rep. Murray expressed concern that if a criminal was sentenced to pay restitution on a crime that was committed, the criminal would pay for the first month and never pay again. He said that the courts should be held responsible for collecting those payments.

    Ms. Anderson said that the court collects the money and it is not turned over to OSDC unless the criminal has not made payment for 90 consecutive days.

    Mr. Shea said that the courts monitor the payments that are received. He said if payment is not made, the courts can issue a warrant of arrest. If it is still not paid within 90 days, it will be turned over to OSDC. He said that if the fine is not paid by the end of probation, it is automatically turned over to OSDC; there is not a 90-day grace period.

    Sen. Muhlestein recommended that staff invite a representative from the Department of Corrections to speak at the next meeting.

     MOTION: Rep. Murray moved to approve amendments four and five as amended by Sen. McAllister as follows:

    Page 11, Line 8:    After "(8) (a)" insert:
                "If a criminal judgment account receivable is past due in a felony case, the judge shall determine whether or not to record the unpaid balance of the account receivable as a civil judgment and transfer the responsibility for collecting the judgment to the Office of State Debt Collection.

                
"(b)" and after "receivable" insert "in a non-felony case"

    Page 11, Line 12:    Delete "(b)" and insert "(c)" and after "receivable" insert "in a non- felony case"

    The motion passed with Sen. Muhlestein voting in opposition.

    Chair Tanner requested that Mr. Shea and Ms. Anderson attend the August meeting.
    
6.    Voting Equipment and Voting Mechanisms - Mr. Cannon briefed the committee on the issue of certification of voting equipment.

    Ms. Potter spoke about voting equipment throughout the counties in Utah. She spoke in favor of National Association of State Elections Directors (NASED) certification of voting equipment. She also suggested that it should not be unreasonable for counties to ask the state for help in paying for new equipment.

    Mr. Dan Erker, Election Systems and Software, discussed voting equipment certification and systems and demonstrated optical scan voting equipment. Committee discussion and questions followed.

    Committee members expressed interest in possible legislation concerning prospective certification of voting equipment.

7.    Adjourn -                             

    MOTION: Rep. Hendrickson moved to adjourn the meeting at 4:25 p.m. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Styler absent for the vote.


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