Special Session Tomorrow- Priorities for Utah's Cities and Towns

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Utah League of Cities and Towns

 Special Session Bills- How it works, bills to watch

COVID-19

Special Session Begins Tomorrow- Information for Local Leaders

The Special Session of the Utah State Legislature is just hours away, but the League's work with legislators is well underway!  Prior to the most unusual session we've ever seen, we've been negotiating on several items that could potentially affect our cities and towns.  Here is a summary of the bills that have been assigned a number so far.   

Now, we want to share some important correspondence with several legislators regarding their priority issues. 

CARES Act funding- Appropriations for Local Governments

We sent letters to House Speaker Brad Wilson and Senate President Stuart Adams regarding the CARES Act funding and the legal guardrails around those funds. You can view the letter to the House Speaker HERE and the Senate President HERE. There has been a lot of confusion about the permissive uses of the federal funds, and ULCT is partnering with UAC in our efforts to work with the legislature to best allocate those stimulus funds. 

Local Government Emergency Response Legislation

ULCT is also requesting the legislature work closely with us on "Local Government Emergency Response" legislation. This would bring amendments to OPMA (Open and Public Meetings Act) and GRAMA (Government Records and Management Act). Here is the letter we sent to Representatives Hawkes and Anderegg earlier today. As a reminder, it is imperative that municipal leaders share data about necessary and unbudgeted expenses during the pandemic by taking the ULCT fiscal impact survey HERE.

Session Logistics

There will be some interesting logistics this session due to the need for social distancing.  This will impact the way legislators will hear public comment during the special session. There will be co committee hearings; instead the public will use a chat box to comment at the appropriate times.

The House and Senate will not meet concurrently due to the technical requirements in meeting virtually. Instead, the House will begin its session at 9:00 am tomorrow.  The Senate will begin at 2:00 pm tomorrow.  There's no telling whether legislators will address all bills in a day or spend the next 10 days in special session. Rest assured, we will be working non-stop for you during this special session.  We know that COPING with COVID will be a marathon, not a sprint! 

Remember, we're all in this together.

Team ULCT