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House keeps two monument resolutions on fast track after heated rules debate
Summary
The House rejected a substitute to refer HCR 11 and HCR 12 to Natural Resources and adopted a rules committee report lifting both concurrent resolutions (urging presidential action on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase) to the top of the third-reading calendar after extended floor debate about whether the Rules Committee properly acted as a standing committee.
The House debated whether two concurrent resolutions on federal national monuments should be routed to the Natural Resources Committee or moved immediately toward floor consideration.
Michael Noel, Rules Committee chair, presented the committee report to lift HCR 11 (urging the president to rescind the Bears Ears National Monument designation) and HCR 12 (urging federal action to reduce or modify Grama Staircase–Escalante National Monument) to the top of the third-reading calendar. Representative Briscoe offered a substitute motion to refer both resolutions to the House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee for further public hearings.
Several members argued the Rules Committee did not have proper standing-committee authority to hear and advance these substantive resolutions and that the public should have an opportunity to testify before a committee regularly charged with natural-resources policy. Representative 8 said there was concern the Rules Committee had acted as a standing committee “in an unauthorized fashion” and urged compliance with procedural requirements so the public could be heard.
Supporters of the rules report urged expedited consideration, noting the state’s congressional delegation requested swift action and that timely floor debate was needed. Representative 17, the rules chair, said the resolutions were time-sensitive and that brief, posted meetings had taken place to allow public input. Representative 22 told colleagues placing the measures on the board would let the full House debate them thoroughly the next day.
After extended procedural exchange about HR 3 (the House rules governing committee jurisdiction) and whether lifting the resolutions was consistent with those rules, the substitute motion to refer failed. The House then adopted the Rules Committee report, placing HCR 11 and HCR 12 at the top of the third-reading calendar.
Next steps: With the Rules Committee report adopted, the two resolutions were read for a second time and set for near-term floor consideration. The procedural debate highlighted divergent views about committee authority, public notice and how quickly the Legislature should act on federal public-land designations.
