Utah House of Representatives
| Utah House of Representatives | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Type: | Lower house |
| Term limits: | None |
| 2013 session start: | January 28, 2013 |
| Website: | Official House Page |
| Leadership | |
| House Speaker: | Rebecca Lockhart, (R) |
| Majority Leader: | Brad Dee, (R) |
| Minority leader: | David Litvack, (D) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 75 |
| Democratic Party (14) Republican Party (61) | |
| Length of term: | 2 years |
| Authority: | Art VI, Utah Constitution |
| Salary: | $117/day + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last Election: | November 6, 2012 (75 seats) |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 (75 seats) |
| Redistricting: | Separate Redistricting Committee of the Utah Legislature handles redrawing boundaries |
Meeting place: | |
Contents |
As of May 2013, Utah is one of 24 Republican state government trifectas.
Sessions
Section 2 of Article VI of the Utah Constitution establishes that the Utah State Legislature, which the House is a part of, is to convene a new session every two years on the second Monday in January. This means that the "2010 session" was actually a continuation of a regular session that convened in 2009. Section 16 of Article VI limits these regular sessions to sixty legislative days, except in cases of impeachment.
2013
- See also: Dates of 2013 state legislative sessions
In 2013, the Legislature will be in session from January 28 through March 14.
Major issues
Ethics reform is expected to be a major issue in 2013 due to accusations and controversy surrounding newly elected Attorney General John Swallow (R). Adoption rights, alcohol laws and education funding are also expected to be addressed.[4][5]
2012
- See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions
In 2012, the House was in session from January 23 through March 8.
Major issues
Major topics included a projected $13 billion budget, improving technology for students, illegal immigration, and infrastructure improvements.[6]
2011
- See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions
In 2011, the House was in regular session from January 24 through March 10. [7] A single day special session was called by Governor Gary Herbert for July 27, to consider several issues, including adjustments to health insurance rates, liquor commission guidelines, judicial evaluations, and adopting another resolution supporting a federal balanced budget amendment.[8] Gov. Herbert has called for a second special session this year, set for the week of October 3. During that week, the legislature will cover redistricting issues.[9]
The 45 calendar days that the Utah Legislature was in regular session during 2011 was tied with Wyoming, New Mexico, and Arkansas for the shortest legislative session in the country.[10]
2010
- See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions
In 2010, the House was in session from January 25 to March 11.[11]
Elections
2012
Elections for the office of Utah House of Representatives will be held in Utah on November 6, 2012. All 75 seats were up for election.
The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 16, 2012.
The following table details the 10 districts with the smallest margin of victory in the November 6 general election.
| 2012 Margin of Victory, Utah House of Representatives | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Votes | Top Opponent |
| District 31 |  Larry Wiley |
1% | 7,667 | Fred Johnson |
| District 69 |  Jerry Anderson |
2.5% | 12,635 | Christine Watkins |
| District 37 | Carol Moss |
3.2% | 17,452 | Anne-Marie Lampropoulos |
| District 30 | Janice Fisher |
3.4% | 10,414 | Fred Cox |
| District 33 | Craig Hall |
5.6% | 8,016 | Liz Muniz |
| District 34 | Johnny Anderson |
6.7% | 11,719 | Celina Milner |
| District 10 | Dixon M Pitcher |
8.6% | 10,239 | Christopher Winn |
| District 46 | Marie Poulson |
9.3% | 18,061 | Wyatt Christensen |
| District 45 | Steven Eliason |
10.9% | 14,519 | Gary Forbush |
| District 44 | Tim Cosgrove |
12.8% | 13,436 | Christy Achziger |
2010
Utah House of Representatives elections were held in all 75 house districts on November 2, 2010.
The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 19, 2010 and the primary election day was June 22, 2010.
In 2010, the candidates for state house raised a total of $3,736,373 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were: [12]
| 2010 Donors, Utah House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| Donor | Amount |
| Utah Association of Realtors | $108,500 |
| Reagan Outdoor Advertising | $71,888 |
| Utah League of Credit Unions | $57,985 |
| Utah House Republican Elections Cmte | $57,205 |
| Utah Cmte for a Democratic Majority | $48,250 |
| Sorensen, Beverly T | $38,200 |
| Merit Medical Systems | $35,850 |
| Utah Education Association | $35,829 |
| Edwards, Becky | $35,500 |
| Utah Hospitals & Health Systems Association | $34,600 |
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the Utah House of Representatives, a candidate must be:[13]
- A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
- 25 years old at the filing deadline time
- A three-year resident of Utah at the filing deadline time
- A resident for 6 months of the senate district from which elected at the filing deadline time
- No person holding any public office of profit or trust under authority of the United States, or of this State, can be a member of the state senate, provided, that appointments in the State Militia, and the offices of notary public, justice of the peace, United States commissioner, and postmaster of the fourth class, shall not, within the meaning of this section, be considered offices of profit or trust.
- A qualified voter. A qualified voter is someone who is:
- * A U.S. citizen
- * A resident of Utah for at least 30 days prior to the next election
- * At least 18 years old by the next election
- * His or her principal place of residence is in a specific voting precinct in Utah.
Vacancies
| How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures |
 |
If there is a vacancy in the House, the Governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. A liaison for the political party that last held the seat must recommend a successor to the Governor. The vacancy must be filled immediately. The person who is selected to the vacant seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term[14].
If the vacancy happens after the nominating deadline in an election year, a new candidate must file papers in order to be on the ballot. This is only if the vacancy happens after September 1st and the unfilled term is set to expire at the end of the election. Nominating papers must be filed within 21 days after the vacancy happened[15].
Redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in Utah
The Legislature handles legislative redistricting, with the Governor holding veto power.
2010 census
Utah received its local census data on February 24, 2011. The state showed a 23.8 percent growth rate, with no county losing population. The largest cities showed mixed growth: Salt Lake City grew by 2.6 percent, West Valley City grew by 18.9 percent, Provo grew by 7.0 percent, West Jordan grew by 51.8 percent, and Orem grew by 4.7 percent. The counties were more impressive: Salt Lake grew by 14.6 percent, Utah grew 40.2 percent, Davis grew by 28.2 percent, Weber grew by 17.7 percent, and Washington grew by 52.9 percent.[16]
Utah's 2011 redistricting process went relatively smoothly, with the Republican controlled Legislature overwhelmingly passing new maps on October 4. Governor Gary Herbert (R) signed the maps on October 19. However, the Legislature approved, and the Governor signed into law, revisions to the maps in late January 2012 after errors were discovered.
Representatives
Partisan composition
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
| Party | As of May 2013 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 14 | |
| Republican Party | 61 | |
| Total | 75 | |
The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Utah State House from 1992-2013.
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
As of 2013, members of the Utah Legislature are paid $117/day. Legislators receive $96/day for lodging each calendar day, tied to the federal rate. They also receive $61/day for meals.[17]
When sworn in
Utah legislators assume office the first or second day of session (January).
Leadership
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body. Duties of the Speaker include preserving order and decorum and appointing all committee members.[18][19]
Current leadership
Current members
Standing committees
The Utah House of Representatives has 15 standing committees:
- Business and Labor
- Economic Development and Workforce Services
- Education
- Ethics
- Government Operations
- Health and Human Services
- Judiciary
- Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
- Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment
- Political Subdivisions
- Public Utilities and Technology
- Retirement and Independent Entities
- Revenue and Taxation
- Rules
- Transportation
History
Partisan balance 1992-2013
In May 2013 Ballotpedia conducted a study of the partisan control of state government from 1992-2013. During all 22 years, the Republican Party was the majority in the Utah State House of Representatives. The Utah House of Representatives is one of nine state Houses that was Republican for more than 80 percent of the years between 1992-2013. Utah was under Republican trifectas for all 22 years.
Across the country, there were 579 Democratic and 482 Republican State Houses of Representatives from 1992-2013.
Over the course of the 22-year study, state governments became increasingly more partisan. At the outset of the study period (1992), 18 of the 49 states with partisan legislatures had single-party trifectas and 31 states had divided governments. In 2013, only 13 states have divided governments, while single-party trifectas held sway in 36 states, the most in the 22 years studied.
The chart below shows the partisan composition of the Office of the Governor of Utah, the Utah State Senate and the Utah House of Representatives from 1992-2013.
.PNG)
External links
- Official website of the Utah House of Representatives
- Official list of the current members of the Utah House of Representatives
- Utah House of Representatives on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ Population in 2010 of the American states
- ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
- ↑ "Utah House of Representatives" About the House, March 13, 2009
- ↑ FOX 13, "Adoption and alcohol likely topics for Utah legislative session," January 21, 2013
- ↑ Salt Lake Tribune, "Call them the Swallow Reforms," January 24, 2013
- ↑ Salt Lake Tribune, "Top issues to watch in the upcoming Utah Legislature," January 21, 2012
- ↑ 2011 Legislative Sessions Calendar, NCSL
- ↑ StateScape, Session Updates, July 22, 2011
- ↑ ABC4.com, Governor calls Redistricting Special Session, Aug. 31, 2011
- ↑ South Carolina Policy Council "50 State Legislative Session Interactive Map," February 2011
- ↑ 2010 session dates for Utah Legislature
- ↑ Follow the Money: "Utah House 2010 Campaign Contributions"
- ↑ Qualifications for running for Utah Senate
- ↑ Utah Legislature "Utah Code"(Referenced Statutes 20A-1-503 (3) (a)-(b))
- ↑ Utah Legislature "Utah Code"(Referenced Statutes 20A-1-503 (4)(a))
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau, "U.S. Census Bureau Delivers Utah's 2010 Census Population Totals, Including First Look at Race and Hispanic Origin Data for Legislative Redistricting," February 24, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
- ↑ NCSL.org, "2012 State Legislator Compensation and Per Diem Table," accessed March 18, 2013
- ↑ Organization of the Utah Legislature
- ↑ Utah House Leadership
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