March 10, 2021 •
Utah Legislative Session Adjourns Sine Die, Procurement Code Amendments Pass
The 2021 session of the Utah Legislature adjourned sine die on March 5 after being in session since January 19.
During the session, lawmakers introduced legislation relating to PAC reporting requirements and amending provisions of the state procurement code.
Utah House Bill 310 relating to PACs establishes that a PAC must report each contribution and expenditure to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office within 31 days after the contribution is received or the expenditure is made.
Under the bill, if the exact amount of an expenditure cannot be determined before the deadline to report the expenditure, the PAC must report a reasonable estimate of the amount of the expenditure before the deadline and report the exact amount of the expenditure.
House Bill 310 was introduced February 4 but did not pass during the session.
In relation to procurement code amendments, Utah Senate Bill 188 defines the term contract price as the price under an existing contract between a procurement unit and a contractor and specifies that it does not include a proposed price or cost contained in a solicitation response or any other bid, proposal, or offer submitted by a person other than the contractor under the existing contract.
Under Senate Bill 188, a contractor under a multiple award contract resulting from a bidding process may not lower the contract price unless the contractor’s solicitation response led to the award was the lowest price solicitation response.
Senate Bill 188 is currently being drafted for the enrolling process to be sent to Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk. Gov. Cox has until March 25 to sign or veto legislation, or it will become law without signature.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.