Senate approves bill to codify Legislative Management Committee practices

First substitute Senate Bill 143, a housekeeping measure to codify how the Legislature’s management committee handles shared policies, cleared the Utah Senate on a 24–0 vote with five members absent.

A sponsor described the bill as a “cleanup” intended to codify existing practice so that policies used in the House and the Senate — including harassment policies — are processed consistently through the Legislative Management Committee. The sponsor also said that while some had raised concerns the change could consolidate power in that committee, they did not share that concern.

The sponsor said the bill “codifies what we have been doing to legislative management” and that the measure mainly formalizes current practice. No substantive floor debate followed; the presiding officer called for the roll call and the first substitute passed.

Votes at a glance: first substitute Senate Bill 143 — 24 yay, 0 nay, 5 absent; the motion to read the bill a third time carried and the bill was ordered read a third time.

The measure does not amend or cite a specific code section in the floor discussion; the sponsor characterized it as aligning internal legislative policies and removing inconsistency between the two chambers. No further amendments or implementation details were discussed on the floor record provided.

Senate action on SB 143 moves the matter forward for any subsequent steps required by chamber rules or cross-chamber coordination.