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Utah House reconsiders HB 2,004 and strikes enacting clause, killing bill 48–25
Summary
The Utah House voted to reconsider House Bill 2,004 and then adopted a motion to strike the bill's enacting clause, 48–25, effectively killing the measure after debate about whether the bill would intrude on party nominating processes and about the proper forum for such changes.
The Utah House of Representatives on the floor reconsidered its prior action on House Bill 2,004 and then voted to strike the bill’s enacting clause, 48–25, a move the clerk said will result in the bill being filed and effectively killed.
Supporters of the change, including the bill’s sponsor, Representative Pace, said the amendment simply moves an administrative reporting date so parties would certify to the lieutenant governor that they want the state to run a primary only after their nominating conventions. "We're simply having them report to the Lieutenant Governor that they want the state to conduct a primary, after they've had the nominating convention and know for certain that they will have a primary," Pace said, arguing the proposal aligns the reporting deadline with other existing certification requirements.
Opponents disputed the bill’s purpose. Representative Wei characterized the measure as more than a technical tweak and said it amounted to an "end run" around party decision-making, arguing it was advanced to change the pool of delegates and to influence outcomes. "I believe this bill is an end run around what the party has decided," Wei said. Representative Swallow urged that controversial changes belong in a regular general session with committee review and public input and said she planned to vote against the bill.
A point of order invoked House Rule 27.04 during debate about the order of motions; the Speaker and floor recognized that the motion to strike the enacting clause is a higher-priority motion. Debate was cut off after the previous question was ordered. Representative Wade, who offered a summation, apologized to Representative Pace for earlier remarks and noted he had carried similar legislation in an earlier session, saying the strike was the legislative mechanism available to stop the measure in the special-session context.
By the clerk’s count, the motion to strike the enacting clause (deleting lines 8–11 as described on the floor) passed with 48 votes in favor and 25 opposed. The clerk said the bill will be filed. The House then approved a five-minute recess to await communications from the Senate.
The action ends consideration of HB 2,004 for now; members cited procedural limits of the special session and differing views over how much the legislature should regulate the timing of party actions as the central issues in the debate.
