Utah Senate Bill SB202

The central components to Utah Bill SB202 put forward by Chief Sponsor Howard A Stephenson:

The General Description: This bill addresses issues related to the 17^th Amendment to the United States Constitition and permits the Legislature to give direction to certain United States Senators and to receive certain reports from them.

Highlighted Provisions:

This bill:

• allows the Legislature to give formal direction to a United States Senator elected from Utah:
• allows the Legislature to direct a United States Senator elected from Utah to report to the Legislature on certain issues determined by the Legislature:
• provides that any direction or reporting requirements be made by:
• a joint resolution of the Legislature; or
• a written statement, called “The Sense of the Legislature,” that contains the signatures of a majority of members of the House and a majority of members of the Senate; and
• directs the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel to maintain a record of all resolutions, statements, and responses issued under this section.

Comment: It’s fairly obvious that the U.S. Senate has become a media circus where individual Senators do more to profile themselves rather than represent their states. This bill would hold the Senators “feet to the fire” and make each accountable to the needs of the state. Hopefully, the citizenry would have a clear record to each senator’s performance. I wish Senator Stephenson and the other co-sponsors the best of luck and I hope this is enacted in Utah. The next step would be the repeal of the 17^th Amendment.

Related links:

Utah Bill SB202

Stephenson calls for yoke on U.S. senators, Salt lake Tribune

Howard A. Stephenson’s Biography