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Legislative Policy Committee
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Legislative Policy Committee
The Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) provides the general legislative policy guidance to league staff. Every city and town can elect three voting members from their mayor, council members, or senior staff (or four, if that city is also represented on the ULCT board). All are welcome to participate in our meetings.
The LPC meets weekly during the legislative session on Capitol Hill to evaluate bills and work with the League’s Board of Directors and staff to determine official ULCT positions on legislation. The LPC takes positions on legislation by a 60% consensus vote.
Upcoming LPC Meetings:
November 18, 2024
- 12:15 pm – 1:45 pm
- Utah Local Governments Trust and Zoom Webinar
Past LPC Meetings:
Updating LPC Voting Members
If you would like to update your municipality’s LPC roster, please contact Cassidy Hansen.
Committee Member Expectations
Attendance
Participation and Attendance in meetings is crucial to the committee’s success. Committee members must be ready, willing and able to attend weekly meetings during the Legislative Session and monthly meetings during the Interim. Although there is no minimum attendance requirement, attendance is taken at meetings and is a factor in reappointments. Perhaps more importantly, committee members frequently vote on various issues of concern. Because proxies cannot vote for members, those who do not attend meetings will not have an opportunity to vote on issues.
Be Involved & Supportive of All Municipal Issues
We recognize that not all issues discussed by the Policy Committee will have an impact on your municipality; however, it is important to be supportive of those with a vested interest in the issues and assist in dealing with them. Much of the League’s success in dealing with the myriad of municipal issues can be attributed to the willingness of Policy Committee members to work together – even if some issues did not affect your city or town right now. After all, as future issues arise, they may affect your community and not others.
Meet with Legislators on a Regular Basis
The ULCT Legislative Policy Committee exists in large part to foster good working relationships with legislators by keeping them informed of municipal issues. For this reason, those seeking appointment to the committee must be willing to attend meetings and communicate information to their legislators on a regular basis. Please plan on meeting with and/or talking to your legislators not only during the session, but also during the Interim. Communication with legislators can be accomplished through a variety of means, such as phone calls, personal meetings or invitations for legislators to meet with members’ city councils.
Study Issues
While we don’t expect committee members to know everything about every single legislative and League issue, we do ask that they do their homework on discussion issues. Information is frequently distributed with meeting agendas (especially during the session). Committee members are expected to study the information prior to the meeting, if possible. This helps the committee to make informed decisions. In addition, members should – when necessary – collect data on issues from their individual cities and discuss that information with the committee.
Communicate
Legislative Policy Committee members are an important link in the League’s legislative process. Members must be willing to contact other members, municipal officials, state and local agency representatives and, most of all, legislators.
Participate & Speak Up
We admit that at times, it is easier to sit back, enjoy lunch, listen to the discussion (or nap) and then head back to the office after the meeting. However, we ask that committee members join in the discussion – especially when the issue affects their community – and share any information that will help the committee make informed decisions.
Committee Bylaws
The following list is a summary of bylaw provisions. The complete LPC bylaws can be viewed here. Please contact League staff if you need additional information regarding the committee.
1. Membership
- the Legislative Policy Committee shall consist of no fewer than 50 members including:
- The ULCT Board of Directors
- ULCT Past Presidents still holding office as municipal elected officials
- Up to three voting members appointed by each member city and town
- Member cities may nominate one alternative voting member who may replace one of the their three appointees.
- The ULCT Board of Directors confirms the membership of the LPC.
- A majority of the committee shall be from the Wasatch Front cities and towns.
- A majority of the committee shall be made up of elected officials.
- A member city or town must appoint at least 1 elected official to the LPC and may not appoint non-elected officials to a majority of their LPC delegation.
2. Procedures
- The ULCT First Vice President shall serve as the Policy Committee Chair and shall preside over all meetings.
- LPC meetings will be held at least once every other month outside of the legislative session and most weeks during the legislative session. A meeting of the Resolutions Committee may double as an LPC meeting for the purposes of this provision.
- The LPC has the authority to determine ULCT positions on legislation so long as those positions are not inconsistent with stated positions of the ULCT Board of Directors or endorsed resolutions. The LPC may establish subcommittees and task forces to study issues and report back to the LPC.
3. Quorum requirements, bill consideration, and voting
- There must be at least 30 voting members present either in person or remotely. Additionally, there must be at least one voting member from a city of the first or second class present.
- The LPC may support, oppose, or be neutral on a bill by a consensus vote (>60% of voting members who are present).
- If there is not consensus on a given position (support, oppose, or neutral) for a bill, ULCT will have “no position” on it.
- The LPC does not take formal positions on concepts that are not in a bill.
- All LPC votes are weighted equally. Delegates from a given city may vote differently on an issue.
- A voting member may recommend a bill for consideration on the LPC agenda to the LPC chairperson or ULCT staff more any time prior to 24 hours before the start of an LPC meeting (except in exigent circumstances).
- The LPC ratifies or modifies staff recommended positions on bills. Any voting LPC member may make ratify recommended positions or modify positions during LPC.
- Any LPC voting member may make a motion to consider a bill that does not yet have a staff recommendation or is not listed on the ULCT bill tracker.
4. Remote voting provisions
- LPC voting members participating remotely must publicly identify themselves at the beginning of the meeting.
- ULCT Staff will announce the number of LPC voting members and cities participating remotely
- LPC voting members must publicly identify themselves when they vote.
