Joint Rules Resolution - Requests for Appropriation

13
JR3-2-101
JR3-2-402
JR3-2-701
JR3-2-702
0
Joint Rules Resolution - Requests for Appropriation
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Troy Shelley
Senate Sponsor:
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This resolution modifies rules related to requests for appropriation.
Highlighted Provisions:
This resolution:
directs the Executive Appropriations Committee to set aside a specified portion of
available revenue to fund district requests for appropriation;
allows each legislator a set amount of the available funding to fund, through a district
request for appropriation, a project or program within the legislator's district;
provides requirements for a district request for appropriation;
directs the assigned joint appropriations subcommittee to review each district request for
appropriation for compliance with the applicable requirements; and
requires the Executive Appropriations Committee to include in a final appropriations bill
each district request for appropriation approved by a joint appropriations subcommittee.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This resolution provides a special effective date.
Legislative Rules Affected:
AMENDS:
JR3-2-101
JR3-2-402
JR3-2-701
JR3-2-702
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1.
JR3-2-101
is amended to read:
JR3-2-101
. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Accountable process budget" means a budget that is created by starting from zero and
adding line items and programs recommended through an accountable budget process.
(2)
"Accountable budget process" means a review of a line item or program in a simple
base budget to determine whether or the extent to which to recommend the line item or
program be included in a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
(3)
"Base budget" means:
(a)
an accountable process budget; or
(b)
for a line item or program that was not the subject of an accountable process budget
analysis during the immediately preceding interim, a simple base budget.
(4)
"Chair" means:
(a)
the chair of an appropriations subcommittee or the Executive Appropriations
Committee; or
(b)
a member of a joint appropriations subcommittee or the Executive Appropriations
Committee member who is authorized to act as chair under
JR3-2-303
.
(5)
"Committee" means a joint appropriations subcommittee or the Executive
Appropriations Committee.
(6)
"District request for appropriation" means a request for appropriation that requests a
one-time appropriation of legislator district funds to support a project or program that is:
(a)
wholly or partially within the legislator's district; and
(b)
serves a statewide public purpose.
(6)
(7)
"Fee agency" means the same as that term is defined in Utah Code Section
63J-1-504
.
(7)
(8)
"Fee schedule" means the same as that term is defined in Utah Code Section
63J-1-504
.
(9)
"Individual allocation of legislator district funds" means:
(a)
for a senator, an amount equal to 50% of the legislator district funds, divided by 29;
or
(b)
for a representative, an amount equal to 50% of the legislator district funds, divided
by 75.
(10)
"Legislator district funds" means the funds set aside for district requests for
appropriation under
JR3-2-402
.
(8)
(11)
"Majority vote" means a majority of a quorum as provided in
JR3-2-404
.
(9)
(12)
"Original motion" means a non-privileged motion that is accepted by the chair
when no other motion is pending.
(10)
(13)
"Pending motion" refers to a motion starting when a chair accepts a motion and
ending when the motion is withdrawn or when the chair calls for a vote on the motion.
(11)
(14)
(a)
"Privileged motion" means a procedural motion to adjourn, set a time to
adjourn, recess, end debate, extend debate, or limit debate.
(b)
"Privileged motions" are not substitute motions.
(12)
(15)
(a)
"Proposed budget item" means any funding item under consideration for
inclusion in an appropriations bill.
(b)
"Proposed budget item" includes a request for appropriation.
(13)
(16)
"Request for appropriation" means a legislator request to:
(a)
obtain funding for a project or program that has not previously been funded;
(b)
significantly expand funding for an existing project or program; or
(c)
obtain separate funding for a project or program.
(14)
(17)
(a)
"Simple base budget" means amounts appropriated by the Legislature for
each line item for the current fiscal year that:
(i)
are not designated as one-time in an appropriation, regardless of whether the
appropriation is covered by ongoing or one-time revenue sources; and
(ii)
were not vetoed by the governor, unless the Legislature overrode the veto.
(b)
"Simple base budget" includes:
(i)
any changes to those amounts approved by the Executive Appropriations
Committee; and
(ii)
amounts appropriated for debt service.
(15)
(18)
"Substitute motion" means a non-privileged motion that is made when a
non-privileged motion is pending.
(16)
(19)
"Under consideration" means the time starting when a chair opens a discussion
on a subject or an appropriations request that is listed on a committee agenda and ending
when the committee disposes of the subject or request, moves on to another item on the
agenda, or adjourns.
Section 2.
JR3-2-402
is amended to read:
JR3-2-402
. Executive appropriations -- Duties -- Base budgets.
(1)
(a)
The Executive Appropriations Committee shall meet no later than the third
Wednesday in December to:
(i)
direct staff as to what revenue estimate to use in preparing budget
recommendations, to include a forecast for federal fund receipts;
(ii)
consider treating above-trend revenue growth as one-time revenue for major tax
types and for federal funds;
(iii)
hear a report on the historical, current, and anticipated status of the following:
(A)
debt;
(B)
long term liabilities;
(C)
contingent liabilities;
(D)
General Fund borrowing;
(E)
reserves;
(F)
fund balances;
(G)
nonlapsing appropriation balances;
(H)
cash funded infrastructure investment; and
(I)
changes in federal funds paid to the state;
(iv)
hear a report on:
(A)
the next fiscal year base budget appropriation for Medicaid accountable care
organizations according to Utah Code Section
26B-3-203
;
(B)
an explanation of program funding needs;
(C)
estimates of overall medical inflation in the state; and
(D)
mandated program changes and their estimated cost impact on Medicaid
accountable care organizations;
(v)
decide whether to set aside special allocations for the end of the session, including
allocations:
(A)
to address any anticipated reduction in the amount of federal funds paid to the
state; and
(B)
of one-time revenue to pay down debt and other liabilities;
(vi)
(A)
hear a report on construction inflation and the ongoing operation and
maintenance costs of any capital development project requested by an
institution under Utah Code Section
53B-2a-117
or
53B-22-204
; and
(B)
in response to the report described in Subsection
(1)(a)(vi)(A)
, decide whether
to adjust the next fiscal year base budget or set aside special allocations for the
end of the session;
(vii)
decide whether to set aside special allocations for legislation that will reduce
taxes, including legislation that will reduce one or more tax rates;
(viii)
subject to Subsection
(1)(c)
, unless waived by majority vote, if the amortization
rate as defined in Utah Code Section
49-11-102
for the new fiscal year is less than
the amortization rate for the preceding fiscal year, set aside an amount equal to the
value of the reduction in the amortization rate;
(ix)
approve the appropriate amount for each subcommittee to use in preparing its
budget;
(x)
subject to Subsection
(1)(d)
, set aside for district requests for appropriation, an
amount equal to the lesser of:
(A)
1% of the difference between the ongoing General Fund and Income Tax
Fund revenue estimate adopted in accordance with Subsection
(1)(a)(i)
and the
ongoing General Fund and Income Tax Fund amount adopted as part of the
base budget described in Subsection
(1)(a)(xii)
; and
(B)
$10,000,000;
(x)
(xi)
set a budget figure; and
(xi)
(xii)
adopt a base budget in accordance with Subsection
(1)(b)
and direct the
legislative fiscal analyst to prepare one or more appropriations acts appropriating
one or more base budgets for the next fiscal year.
(b)
In a base budget adopted under Subsection
(1)(a)
, the Executive Appropriations
Committee shall set appropriations from the General Fund, the Income Tax Fund,
and the Uniform School Fund as follows:
(i)
if the next fiscal year ongoing revenue estimates set under Subsection
(1)(a)(i)
are
equal to or greater than the current fiscal year ongoing appropriations, the new
fiscal year base budget is not changed;
(ii)
if the next fiscal year ongoing revenue estimates set under Subsection
(1)(a)(i)
are
less than the current fiscal year ongoing appropriations, the new fiscal year base
budget is reduced by the same percentage that projected next fiscal year ongoing
revenue estimates are lower than the total of current fiscal year ongoing
appropriations;
(iii)
in making a reduction under Subsection
(1)(b)(ii)
, appropriated debt service shall
not be reduced, and other ongoing appropriations shall be reduced, in an amount
sufficient to make the total ongoing appropriations, including the unadjusted debt
service, equal to the percentage calculated under Subsection
(1)(b)(ii)
; and
(iv)
the new fiscal year base budget shall include an appropriation to the Department
of Health and Human Services for Medicaid accountable care organizations in the
amount required by Utah Code Section
26B-3-203
.
(c)
(i)
The Executive Appropriations Committee shall:
(A)
comply with the set aside requirement described in Subsection
(1)(a)(vii)

using money from the General Fund, Income Tax Fund, and Uniform School
Fund;
(B)
accumulate money set aside under Subsection
(1)(a)(vii)
across fiscal years;
and
(C)
when the total amount set aside under Subsection
(1)(a)(vii)
, including any
amount to be set aside in the new fiscal year, equals or exceeds the cost of a
0.50% increase in benefited state employee salaries for the new fiscal year,
include in the base budget an increase in benefited state employee salaries
equal to the total set aside amount.
(ii)
The Executive Appropriations Committee may waive or modify a requirement
described in Subsection
(1)(c)(i)
by majority vote.
(d)
After receiving an updated revenue estimate, the Executive Appropriations
Committee shall use the updated revenue estimate to recalculate and adjust the
amount set aside under Subsection
(1)(a)(x)
for district requests for appropriation.
(d)
(e)
The chairs of each joint appropriations subcommittee are invited to attend the
meeting described in this Subsection
(1)
.
(2)
All proposed budget items shall be submitted to one of the subcommittees named in
JR3-2-302
for consideration and recommendation.
(3)
(a)
After receiving and reviewing subcommittee reports, the Executive
Appropriations Committee may refer the report back to a joint appropriations
subcommittee with any guidelines the Executive Appropriations Committee
considers necessary to assist the subcommittee in producing a balanced budget.
(b)
The subcommittee shall meet to review the new guidelines and report the
adjustments to the chairs of the Executive Appropriations Committee as soon as
possible.
(4)
(a)
After receiving the reports, the Executive Appropriations Committee chairs will
report them to the Executive Appropriations Committee.
(b)
The Executive Appropriations Committee shall:
(i)
include all approved district requests for appropriation in one or more
appropriations bills;
(i)
(ii)
make any further adjustments necessary to balance the budget; and
(ii)
(iii)
complete all decisions necessary to draft the final appropriations bills no
later than the last Friday before the 45th day of the annual general session.
(5)
No later than December 1 of each calendar year, the Executive Appropriations
Committee shall:
(a)
review the budget for the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst, the Office of
Legislative Research and General Counsel, the Office of the Legislative Auditor
General, and the Office of Legislative Services; and
(b)
certify the Legislature's budget to the governor in accordance with Utah Code
Section
63J-1-201
.
Section 3.
JR3-2-701
is amended to read:
JR3-2-701
. Request for appropriation -- Contents -- Timing.
(1)
(a)
A legislator intending to file a request for appropriation shall file the request for
appropriation with the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst in accordance with
this rule.
(b)
Except for an amendment to a proposed budget item described in
JR3-2-703
, a
committee may not adopt, recommend, or prioritize a request for appropriation that is
not filed or generated in accordance with this rule.
(c)
A legislator may not file a request for appropriation if the request is intended to fund
the fiscal impact of legislation.
(d)
The Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst shall automatically generate a request
for appropriation to fund the fiscal impact of legislation if:
(i)
the legislation has an expenditure impact of $1,000,000 or more from the General
Fund or the Income Tax Fund; and
(ii)
the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst knows the fiscal impact of the
legislation before the deadline described in Subsection
(3)(a)
.
(2)
(a)
A legislator may file a request for appropriation beginning 60 days after the day
on which the Legislature adjourns its annual general session sine die.
(b)
A legislator-elect may file a request for appropriation beginning on:
(i)
the day after the day on which the election canvass is complete; or
(ii)
if the legislator-elect's election results have not been finalized as of the canvass
date, the day after the day on which the election results for the legislator-elect's
race are final.
(c)
(i)
An incumbent legislator may not file a request for appropriation as of the date
that the legislator:
(A)
fails to file to run for reelection;
(B)
is ineligible to be included on the ballot for the election in which the legislator
would have sought an additional term; or
(C)
fails to win reelection and the legislator's opponent is eligible to file a request
for appropriation under Subsection
(2)(b)
.
(ii)
Subsection
(2)(c)(i)
does not apply to a request for appropriation for a general
session that occurs while the legislator is in office.
(3)
(a)
Except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, a legislator may not file a request for
appropriation with the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst after noon on the 11th
day of the annual general session.
(b)
After the date established by this Subsection
(3)
, a legislator may file a request for
appropriation if:
(i)
for a request by a House member, the representative makes a motion to file a
request for appropriation and that motion is approved by a constitutional majority
of the House;
(ii)
for a request by a senator, the senator makes a motion to file a request for
appropriation and that motion is approved by a constitutional majority vote of the
Senate; or
(iii)
a member of the Executive Appropriations Committee has presented the request
at a public meeting of the Executive Appropriations Committee.
(4)
A legislator who files a request for appropriation:
(a)
is the chief sponsor;
and
(b)
shall indicate whether the request for appropriation is a district request for
appropriation; and
(b)
(c)
shall provide the following information related to the project or program that is
the subject of the request for appropriation:
(i)
the name and a description of the project or program;
(ii)
the statewide purpose of the project or program;
(iii)
if applicable, the legislator's designee who is knowledgeable about and
responsible for providing pertinent information while the Office of the Legislative
Fiscal Analyst processes the request;
(iv)
the state funding source from which the legislator proposes to fund the project
or program;
(v)
(iv)
the amount of the request
and whether the amount is to be appropriated
one-time, ongoing, or a combination of one-time and ongoing
;
(vi)
(v)
an itemized budget for the project or program;
(vii)
(vi)
the state agency that has jurisdiction over the project or program;
(viii)
(vii)
if the request is for pass through funding that a state agency will
distribute, the type of entity or organization the legislator intends to receive the
funding;
(ix)
(viii)
the scalability of the project or program;
and
(x)
(ix)
one or more outcomes the legislator expects the project or program to
achieve
.
; and
(x)
if the request for appropriation is not a district request for appropriation:
(A)
the state funding source from which the legislator proposes to fund the project
or program; and
(B)
whether the amount is to be appropriated one-time, ongoing, or a combination
of one-time and ongoing.
(5)
(a)
For a fiscal year for which legislator district funds are available, each legislator
may submit one or more district requests for appropriation.
(b)
Subject to Subsection
(5)(c)
, the total amount of a legislator's district requests for
appropriation may not exceed the legislator's individual allocation of legislator
district funds for the fiscal year.
(c)
Two or more legislators may jointly submit a district request for appropriation if:
(i)
each legislator's district shares at least one district boundary line with the district
of at least one other legislator who jointly submits the district request for
appropriation;
(ii)
the legislators wish to combine some or all of the legislators' individual
allocations of legislator district funds to fund the same project or program; and
(iii)
the project or program is wholly or partially within each of the legislators'
districts.
Section 4.
JR3-2-702
is amended to read:
JR3-2-702
. Review and referral of requests for appropriation.
(1)
(a)
The legislative fiscal analyst shall review each request for appropriation.
(b)
If the request for appropriation requires that a statute be enacted, amended, or
repealed, the legislative fiscal analyst shall immediately transfer the request to the
Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel as a request for legislation.
(c)
If the request for appropriation contains each item described in
JR3-2-701(4)
and
does not require that a statute be enacted, amended, or repealed, the legislative fiscal
analyst shall number, title, and refer the request for appropriation to:
(i)
the House chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee, if the sponsor is a
House member; or
(ii)
the Senate chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee, if the sponsor is a
Senate member.
(2)
The House or Senate chair of the Executive Appropriations Committee shall refer the
request for appropriation to the joint appropriations subcommittee with oversight
responsibility or to the Executive Appropriations Committee.
(3)
Each joint appropriations subcommittee that receives a request for appropriation shall:
(a)
allow the sponsor to present and discuss the request for appropriation with the
subcommittee;
(b)
discuss the request for appropriation; and
(c)
(i)
do one of the following
if the request for appropriation is not a district request
for appropriation
:
(i)
(A)
include all or part of the request for appropriation in the budget
recommendation made by the subcommittee or the Executive Appropriations
Committee;
(ii)
(B)
reject the request for appropriation; or
(iii)
(C)
recommend to the Executive Appropriations Committee that all or part
of the requested appropriation be placed on a funding prioritization list
.
; or
(ii)
if the request for appropriation is a district request for appropriation:
(A)
determine whether the district request for appropriation satisfies the
requirements of
JR3-2-701
; and
(B)
if the joint appropriations subcommittee determines that the district request for
appropriation satisfies the requirements of
JR3-2-701
, notify the Executive
Appropriations Committee that the district request for appropriation is
approved.
Section 5.
Effective Date.
This resolution takes effect on
July 1, 2026
.
1-19-26 3:49 PM