• S.B. 36 — Professional Licensing Amendments (Passed) This opened the door a little wider for those with international licenses to pursue reciprocity in certain circumstances and with DOPL approval. • S.B. 168 — State Agency Capital Development Fund (Passed) The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: $2.4 billion in funding for 46 new state projects and over $200 million in capital improvement funds In addition to and in concert with our lobbying efforts, the GAC sponsored “Legislative Day” on the hill during the session. With the help of our lobbyists, there was a tremendous turnout from both the professional and lawmaker perspectives. As a community of sorts, we were able to discuss the concerns and opportunities our industry faces with (a little local namedropping) Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, Senate President Stuart Adams, Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, DOPL Executive Director Mark Steinagel, Representative Jennifer Dailey-Provost, and Representative Tom Peterson (former Chair of Utah Code Commission and current state code official). In the end, the legislature passed 575 bills and resolutions. While only a few of these may have a direct effect on the built environment, they all impact us as citizens of this state in one way or another — but I suppose “sausage” can have that effect. Special thanks to all our GAC members/volunteers and our fantastic lobbyists for all their efforts! If you’re interested in perusing the bills that did pass, scan the QR code. https://le.utah.gov/asp/passedbills/passedbills.asp This year, for instance, the GAC had several key pieces of legislation for which they were able to focus and affect change. Here are just a few: • H.B. 118 — Education False Claims Amendments (Not Passed) The unintended consequence of creating civil right of action against design professionals and contractors for “fraudulent” billing where, perhaps, only invoicing mistakes were made. • H.B. 409 — State Construction and Fire Code Amendments (Passed) Updated specific code sections in anticipation of the 2021 code adoption via H.B. 532 • H.B. 532 — Building Code Revisions (Passed) With a lot of behind-the-scenes work, the industry largely came together to encourage and help pass the late adoption of the 2021 ICC commercial and residential codes (with the exception of the residential portions of the IECC — which continues to be a hot topic for future legislation). Concerns for the future on every front make their way through committee after committee, draft after draft, substitution after substitution. 11
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