Opinion: 5 things Utah lawmakers have done well through the years

January 16, 2022 (Deseret News)

… Legislative appropriations — Congress and most states have appropriations committees that make spending decisions. A few people work out the details of the budgets and decide which programs get funded. Spending plans are finalized with only a few details debated; there’s just not enough time to go through them line-by-line.

In Utah, though, every member of the House and the Senate sits on one of seven joint appropriations subcommittees. Each of them is given an allocation of funds from the Executive Appropriations Committee, made up of party leadership. As the sessions begin, each of those subcommittees goes through a list of spending priorities for state government.

The system was put in place in the 1960’s, when Haven J. Barlow was president of the Utah Senate. A few years ago, I spoke with him for a Utah Foundation podcast.

“Under this system,” Barlow said, “the very first year that you are elected a senator or representative, you will have a slot on the appropriations committee and you will have a major role in determining the appropriation for a certain segment of the state budget.”

Barlow continued, “After the very first year … that legislator becomes an expert on some segment of our state government.”

Barlow turned 100 years old a few days ago. This system is remembered as the signature accomplishment of his 42 years of legislative service. …

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