Commission reviews new federal guidance-tracking spreadsheet and asks Sutherland Institute for jurisdictional analysis
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Summary
Staff showed a living spreadsheet compiling federal guidance letters sent to state agencies; the commission asked for more Utah-specific analysis and will use the file as an attachment to an annual report to legislative leadership.
Members of the Utah Federalism Commission on Oct. 1 were shown a working spreadsheet that compiles federal guidance letters received by state agencies and asked outside counsel to help assess whether letters create fiscal impacts or infringe on state jurisdiction.
Nathan Brady, policy analyst with the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel, told commissioners the spreadsheet includes links to each letter, a short summary, and columns that flag whether a guidance is new, rescinds, or modifies prior guidance; possible impacts on citizens and state agencies; and whether the letter appears to impinge on state authority. Brady said the document is a “changing document,” with new letters added as received and planned to be attached to the commission’s annual report to the Legislative Management Committee in December.
The commission invited the Sutherland Institute to comment on jurisdictional questions. Bill Duncan, the institute’s constitutional law fellow, joined virtually and said the institute’s review is designed to note whether guidance requires actions states would not otherwise take and whether compliance could impose fiscal burdens.
Commissioners asked about the geographic and partisan framing of the Sutherland analysis. Senator Jenny Kwan (commission member) asked whether the institute was judging infringement from a Utah-specific view or a general state-jurisdiction perspective; Duncan said the analysis was intended to apply to states generally but includes some Utah-specific notes where relevant. Kwan and others asked that the spreadsheet call out incidents that would affect citizens’ well-being and civil-rights concerns, citing Executive Order 14160 on citizenship as an example that could have wide citizen impact and is currently enjoined in court.
Commission members also asked staff to track letters that implement or follow from executive orders, and to add historical guidance so the commission can assess trends. Sutherland said it will share its federalism audit and can answer questions about specific entries.
The commission did not take formal action on policy at the meeting; members instead asked staff and Sutherland to refine the spreadsheet and to present a fuller analysis at the commission’s November meeting in advance of the December LMC report.
