Panel moves draft recodification of higher‑education code to committee with unanimous recommendation

Representative Val Peterson presented draft legislation that recodifies the Utah higher education code into a new Title 53H. The draft condenses current law covering higher education from 41 chapters to 16 and creates institution‑specific parts for public institutions, aiming to improve clarity and usability for legislators, institutions and the public.

Representative Peterson told the committee the effort addressed inconsistent language, duplicate definitions and scattered provisions across the existing code. "If you need to look something up, you can actually look up that institution," she said, describing staff work to consolidate related material and renumber sections to reduce the need for coordinating clauses in the next legislative session.

Stakeholder response: Dr. Cameron Martin, president and CEO of Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions, and Steve Sandberg, general counsel at Brigham Young University, told the committee they supported the recodification, saying it clarifies governance and helps policymakers and institutions understand differences among public and private institutions.

Committee action: Representative Wilson moved a favorable recommendation for the draft recodification; committee members voted unanimously to recommend the draft bill for inclusion in the special session where members said it would simplify future drafting and references to higher‑education law.

ENDING Sponsor Representative Peterson and staff said policy changes were intentionally omitted from this recodification and any substantive policy proposals will be run as separate bills in the upcoming session.