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The Utah House's GOP supermajority on Wednesday pushed through a bill to end decades-old requirements that had guaranteed at least some Democrats on two dozen different state boards and commissions — after softening the bill a bit.
They amended it to retain partisan requirements on five high-profile boards, and to ban asking about the political affiliation of those appointed to all the others.
"This is a bit better bill, but I still strongly oppose it," Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, said after the amendment.
Representatives passed HB11 on 51-21 vote, and sent it to the Senate for consideration. Only eight Republicans joined all 13 House Democrats to oppose the bill.
Rep. Jeremy Peterson, R-Ogden, offered the amendment to soften the bill after saying he could see how Democrats could view it as an attempt to neuter their influence.
"For the minority party, this looks like a free trip to the veterinarian," he said.
Democrats agreed.
Arent said it follows action by the GOP last year to end having equal numbers from the two parties on the Legislative Audit Subcommittee, which decides what agencies to investigate, and allowed Republicans to break ties on the Legislative Management Committee, which hires staff, sets schedules and allocates budgets.
She added that in 2014, Republicans put on the ballot a question seeking to eliminate the requirement limiting the number from one political party on the Utah State Tax Commission, but voters rejected it. She said that shows voters dislike efforts to cut out Democrats.
"There might only be a few of us [Democrats] here in the corner," House Democratic Whip Joel Briscoe, D-Salt Lake City, said. "But the fact we are here and that there are two of us on each one of the [House] committees I think sometimes makes for better legislation, makes for better discussion."
He said it was a mistake not to require partisan diversity on the state boards.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, said he pushed it because the governor's office says it has difficulty finding enough people to fill positions on hundreds of boards, and said eliminating the requirement to find required qualified Democrats on many could help.
Arent disagreed. She said she called some boards with vacancies, and found the vacancies were not because of partisan issues — but because they required a lot of work at no pay to handle controversial issues.
"Before we make sweeping changes in dozens of boards, we need more information," she said.
By amending the bill, the House retained requirements for at least some Democrats on the Air Quality Board, Water Quality Board, Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and the Commission on Service and Volunteerism.
Some of the 24 boards that no longer would require Democrats, if the bill passes, are the Quality Growth Commission, the Waste Management and Radiation Control Board; Board of Oil, Gas and Mining; and the Business and Economic Development board.
Briscoe complained that some do have partisan considerations. For example, he said the board controlling radioactive waste in the state is partially technical, but also should reflect difference in the parties about whether such dumping should be allowed
Thurston said eliminating partisan requirements on boards will allow better focusing on other types of diversity that may be more important, including on gender, geography and minorities.
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon last week issued a statement condemning the bill.
He said it would "extend the Republican Party's power in the state and give the governor authority to appoint entire boards and commissions who are members of one party. Such flagrant abuse of power will be tolerated no longer."
He added, "Our state needs more balance in positions of power, not the continued one-party rule which leads to corruption and a lack of transparency in government."