26B-5-705. Legislative Policy Committee -- Creation -- Duties -- Staff.

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Effective 5/6/2026

(1)As used in this section, "committee" means the Legislative Policy Committee created in Subsection

(2).

(2)Under the commission, there is created the Legislative Policy Committee.

(a)The committee is composed of five legislators, appointed as follows:

(i)the speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member of the House of Representatives;

(ii)the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member of the House of Representatives;

(iii)the president of the Senate shall appoint one member of the Senate;

(iv)the minority leader of the Senate shall appoint one member of the Senate; and

(v)the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate shall jointly appoint one legislator.

(b)The speaker, president, and minority leaders:

(i)shall make the appointments described in Subsection (3)(a) after consulting with the chairs of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee and the chairs of the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee; and

(ii)are encouraged but not required to appoint to the committee legislators who are members of one or more of the following:

(A)the Health and Human Services Interim Committee; or

(B)the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee.

(4)The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate shall each designate one of their appointees as a co-chair of the committee.

(5)The individual who appoints a member of the committee may change the appointment at any time.

(6)The committee shall:

(a)assist the commission and any of the commission's other committees with developing policy and legislative recommendations; and

(b)review any legislative recommendation proposed by the commission before the legislative recommendation is provided to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee or the Legislature.

(a)As used in this Subsection

(7), "working group" means the working group the committee convenes as described in Subsection (7)(b) .

(b)The committee shall convene a working group to investigate, study, and make recommendations to the Legislature regarding the entity in the best position to serve as the central authority for coordinating behavioral health initiatives between state and local governments, health systems, and other interested persons to ensure that Utah's behavioral health systems are comprehensive, aligned, effective, and efficient.

(c)In carrying out the duties described in Subsection (7)(b) , the working group shall consider:

(i)an entity's ability to gather and analyze data; and

(ii)the most effective duties and governance structure for the central authority.

(d)The working group shall make the recommendations described in Subsection (7)(b) to the Health and Human Services Interim Committee on or before the date of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee's November 2026 interim meeting.

(8)The committee may:

(a)submit its own proposed legislation to the commission for consideration; and

(b)provide other services as requested by the commission.

(a)A majority of the members of the committee constitutes a quorum.

(b)The action of a majority of a quorum constitutes the action of the committee.

(10)The Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel shall provide staff support to the committee.

Amended by Chapter 396 , 2026 General Session