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House approves bill to strengthen state risk-manager review of contracts and legislation
Summary
House Bill 4 passed after an amendment clarifying contract-certification language and preserving enforceability if insurance provisions are omitted; the bill requires the state risk manager to assess potential liabilities in legislation and contracts and to make rules, and it passed the House 65-0.
Salt Lake City — The Utah House adopted House Bill 4 on Feb. 22, a measure that expands duties for the state's risk manager to review proposed legislation and contracts for potential liabilities and to require agencies to obtain risk-manager approval when appropriate.
Sponsor testimony explained the bill authorizes the risk manager to assess latent risks and to make rules for management of those risks. During floor debate the sponsor offered an amendment to address concerns raised by contract partners — notably the Union Pacific Railroad — about how contract language prescribed by the risk manager would be certified and how omission of insurance provisions would affect enforceability. The amendment added a contractual certification mechanism and clarified that failure to include specified insurance language would not, by itself, render the contract unenforceable by the state.
Floor members said the amendment responded to legitimate concerns from parties that routinely contract with the state and that the added language preserved the state's ability to enforce its contracts while giving the risk manager a clearer role. The amendment carried and House Bill 4 passed by recorded vote; the clerk noted 65 affirmative votes and no negatives. The bill will be transmitted to the Senate.
Next steps: The bill's implementation will require the risk manager and the attorney general to coordinate rules and guidance for agencies on contracting practices.
