Senators press for fiscal notes and clearer committee scheduling after hearings canceled

Several Utah senators raised procedural concerns after committees were scheduled to hear bills that arrived without fiscal notes, leaving guests and committee members unprepared and prompting cancellations.

Senator McMoane said a room full of people had been invited to hearings that could not proceed because fiscal notes were not attached, calling the practice “unfair to the public” and asking for clarification on how the Senate will run committee business. Senator Petersen and rules committee members replied that, early in the session, committees were authorized to discuss bills without fiscal notes to familiarize members with issues, but that final committee action would not be taken until fiscal notes were appended.

Leadership told senators that bills with fiscal implications above $10,000 would be sent to committee and then returned to the rules committee and held until the fiscal notes were attached. Senators discussed timing for committee meetings (noting a 10:30 a.m. start for floor committee meetings, a suggested Rules Committee convening at 11:30 a.m., and a noon luncheon) and agreed to a brief recess at 11:55 a.m. to accommodate short rules work before returning to committee business.

The exchange underscores tension between the desire to begin substantive committee work early in the session and the need for fiscal information that could affect legislators’ votes or amendments. A number of second-reading and third-reading calendar motions were also handled on the floor, including lifting Senate Bill 5 and Senate Bill 15 from the table and placing them on the second-reading calendar.