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Committee endorses cleanup bill moving broadband and innovation programs to other agencies
Summary
The committee unanimously approved first substitute HB 542, which dissolves the Unified Economic Opportunity Commission, moves the Utah Broadband Center to UDOT, and transfers the Utah Innovation Center to the Utah System of Higher Education, while retaining GOEO's core economic development functions.
The House Economic Development and Workforce Services Standing Committee on Wednesday gave a unanimous favorable recommendation to first substitute HB 542, an economic development cleanup bill that redistributes several programs and clarifies the governor—s office—s core responsibilities.
Sponsor Representative Hawkins described the bill as a "clean up" measure to refocus the Governor—s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) on its core mission of identifying target industries and coordinating statewide economic development strategy, including planning aligned with water policy and tailoring strategies for rural areas.
The bill would dissolve the Unified Economic Opportunity Commission (UEOC), transfer the Talent, Education, and Industry Alignment subcommittee to the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE), and discontinue the Women in the Economy subcommittee while encouraging partner organizations to carry on related work. The bill also moves the Utah Innovation Center to USHE so that innovation and commercialization supports align with higher-education research and the innovation lab infrastructure.
A major operational change in the bill is the planned move of the Utah Broadband Center from GOEO to the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT). Committee witnesses said the broadband center helped the state secure federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment) funding and currently administers access grants; one witness described the center as an eight-person unit with a director, three program managers, two program specialists, a financial analyst and a support specialist.
GOEO Executive Director Ryan Starks told the committee the UEOC was intended as a time-limited coordinating body and that shifting programs to existing agencies is meant to consolidate expertise and avoid duplicative structures. UDOT Executive Director Carlos Becerra told the committee UDOT has extensive engineering and conduit-sharing experience across jurisdictions and intends to carry forward the broadband center—s staff and work while preserving the unit—s "entrepreneurial spirit."
Committee members asked whether moving the broadband unit to UDOT could reduce the frequency of stakeholder reporting; sponsors said statute would require at least annual reporting, but stakeholders can always request more frequent updates and the statutory change would not eliminate broader stakeholder engagement.
Representative Jack moved adoption of the first substitute and later moved that the committee recommend HB 542 with a favorable recommendation; both motions passed unanimously.
The committee recorded differing figures during discussion about BEAD funding: a GOEO witness described grant deployment as about $316 million (witness statement) while a committee member later referenced $36,016,000,000 in BEAD funding for the state. The transcript contains both figures; the committee should verify the correct federal award and allocation details before publication or policymaking.
