Senate approves most gubernatorial appointments; insurance commissioner nominee addresses members

The Utah State Senate approved a large slate of gubernatorial appointments on May 19, 2010, by a roll-call vote of 26 yeas, 0 nays and 3 absent, after first waiving a statutory 15-day notice requirement so members could act on nominations received May 5.

Senator Jenkins moved to waive the 15-day notice specified in Utah Code (as read on the floor), and the motion carried by voice vote. The Clerk then read a lengthy list of nominations from the Governor that included an insurance commissioner candidate, reappointments and replacements to boards and commissions such as the Board of Business and Economic Development, the Drinking Water Board, the Private Activity Bond Revenue Board, the Board of Juvenile Justice Services, the Health Data Committee, the Utah College of Applied Technology, the Real Estate Commission, the Water Quality Board, the Board of Pardons and Parole, and the Great Salt Lake Advisory Council.

Senator Romero sought and received a clarification on the floor about the listing for Jake Boyer, asking whether his nomination was for the Drinking Water Board or for the Board of Business and Economic Development.

After completing roll-call votes on the bulk of the slate, the Senate resolved into a Committee of the Whole to hear from the insurance commissioner nominee, identified on the floor as Commissioner Gooch. The nominee thanked the Senate and Governor for the appointment and pledged to preserve state-level regulation of insurance as the state confronts challenges from the Federal Health Care Reform Act. “I pledge to you that that confidence and trust will not be misplaced,” the nominee said, and asked only that the department be treated fairly in the budget process.

The Committee of the Whole was dissolved and the Senate adjourned after brief housekeeping and committee assignments for upcoming constitutional amendment work.