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House amends and passes bill to reorganize Utah Energy Office, adds legislative oversight requirement
Summary
After debate, the House approved a reorganization of the Utah Energy Office that redistributes programs to state agencies and accepted an amendment requiring the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee to monitor implementation and report to Legislative Management.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah House on Feb. 28 approved a measure to reorganize the Utah Energy Office and attached statutory oversight after several members raised concerns about the transition and loss of a stand‑alone energy office.
Representative Sperry introduced second substitute Senate Bill 199, explaining the reorganization would relocate functions of the Utah Energy Office to agencies that use them: the State Energy Program and renewable energy tax provisions would move to the Utah Geological Survey, the clean fuels program to the Department of Environmental Quality, the state energy buildings and efficiency program to the Division of Construction and Management, and the energy policy and planning function to the governor’s office to help promote energy and economic development.
Representative Allen moved Amendment No. 1 to require a legislative audit and to statutorily direct the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee to monitor and study the implementation and consequences of eliminating the Energy Office and moving duties into the governor’s office. Allen said the amendment was intended to "put in statute" a requirement for oversight so the Legislature could ensure the transferred duties — including participation in regulatory proceedings and policy recommendations — continue to be performed. "I would just like statutory language put in place that allows the interim committee to work with the governor's office to monitor some of these changes," Allen said.
Members of the Public Utilities and Technology Committee supported the amendment. Representative Becker said the handout explaining the transfers helped but he had "a hard time tracking that in the legislation itself" and asked where the transfer would be shown; Representative Ferry (the bill sponsor) responded that fiscal transfers would be handled in the bill of bills while statutory code changes appear in the bill text. Representative Buxton and Representative Tilton urged support for the amendment, saying oversight and accountability were needed because the policy function had been inconsistently located and the bill as drafted did not fully address some questions committee members had raised.
Representative Ferry called Allen’s amendment "a friendly amendment" and welcomed statutory oversight during the transition. After debate, the House adopted Amendment No. 1, and the amended SB199 passed on final passage as announced on the floor.
The transcript records the clerk's roll‑call announcements as the official floor tally; the House record shows the bill as amended passed and will be referred for further Senate action.
Next steps: the amended bill will be processed according to normal legislative enrollment/referal procedures and the Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee will be enabled by the amendment to monitor implementation as required by statute.
