Utah House elects Rob W. Bishop speaker, appoints acting clerk and rules committee

Representative Rob W. Bishop was elected Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives by acclamation at the opening organizational session, the presiding officer announced during the house convening on Martin Luther King Human Rights Day in January 1993. Bishop was presented for the oath and accepted brief remarks after the ceremony.

The presiding officer announced that Carol Peterson, named chief clerk, was unable to attend because of illness and appointed Paula Parker as acting chief clerk. The House recorded several leadership selections made in party caucuses for majority and minority leadership positions; those selections were moved to be spread upon the journal and approved by voice vote.

The House authorized the Speaker to appoint a committee to draft House rules and a joint committee to draft joint rules. The Speaker announced the membership of the House Rules Committee and the Joint Rules Committee and said the chamber will operate under Mason’s Manual of Legislative Procedure until formal rules are adopted.

Motions to appoint Representative Evan L. Olson as Speaker pro tempore and to name a House parliamentarian were moved and approved by voice. The Speaker also named committees to wait upon the Senate to inform that body the House was organized and to wait upon the Governor to receive communications.

All organizational motions reported in the session—election of the Speaker, appointments, committee authorizations, and journal entries—were approved by voice or acclamation as recorded in the proceedings. The House recessed for lunch and planned to reconvene later in the afternoon to continue organizational business and adopt formal rules.