H.B. 147 Government Form Submission Amendments: transcript

uh, HB 1 47 for substitute from, uh, Representative Teuscher. Well, thank you, uh, Mr. Chair Committee. This is, uh, my very favorite, uh, committee to come and present in front of. And I, I don't tell that to every committee, so I just want you to know how much, uh, how welcome I feel in front of this committee. Um, this is a very simple bill. Bill, Are you speaking to? I will be speaking to the third sub. And, uh, Mr. Chair, if you don't mind, my intern has a, a great flyer that she's put together that will give a little bit of detail on the bill. Do you mind if she passes that out? That'd be fine. Thanks. Great. So, uh, as I was saying, this is a very simple, um, bill. Um, I actually had a constituent reach out, uh, over the summer and said that, um, they, uh, had to fill out, uh, required to, to submit a government form in order to, to get a record out. And when they talked to the, the government agency, they essentially said, all right, well if you want that record, you need to drive to our office downtown, um, fill out a paper, submit it, and then come back three days later and we'll give you the form. And, uh, they said in order to do that, they would have to take two days off of work, uh, in order to, to make that all work. 'cause they didn't have enough time during their lunch break to get all the way downtown and back. And it really was a, a huge inconvenience to them. And so I started looking into this to say, you know, it's, this is 2026, um, most government records, uh, the ability to, uh, uh, receive anything, fill out forms there, there are ways to do that online, or alternatively, there are easy ways to, to just use electronic mail to, to be able to do that, get that back and forth or fax or, or something else. Um, there's no need in, in almost 99% of the cases to show up in person to fill out a paper form using a paper and pen and, and submit it to a, a government agency. And so in working with, uh, a bunch of, um, different agencies to, to find the right policy. You see that in, uh, house Bill 1 47. And so it, like I said, it's very simple. It simply says that, um, if the, uh, if the state government, um, requires, uh, a person to submit a form, um, that they, uh, instead of requiring that person to appear in person or otherwise provide a physical copy of the form, they have to provide an electronic means for that person to submit the form record information. Um, and there's a lot of different ways that they can do that. So we've maintained kinda local control within the agency to figure out how the best way to do that. Some of them have websites that you can get the form and submit it online. Some of them, uh, you, you know, could call 'em up and they'll say, give me your email address and I'll email you the form, and then you can email it back. Some of them might require that, you know, you get the form and print it out and have to sign it and scan it back in and send it. It doesn't really matter as long as there's some electronic way to request the form and submit the form. And that is the bill.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. And, uh, thank you for this. I really love this bill that I have a question that I had maybe previewed with you before. There only appears to be a fiscal note on the second sub, and so, uh, I don't see one, at least for sub three on here. Um, There should be one for sub three. Is there? It's there. Let me refresh. I see it now. It's the same as sub two. Thank You. Oh, but it's the same. Okay. So on the level local government impact, it estimates that the cost per form will go up by possibly hundreds of dollars. Do you have any explanation why offering an electronic form would somehow cost our local governments hundreds of dollars per form? More,

Uh, is a great question. And, um, I'll tell you, this has, um, been a challenging, uh, fiscal bill to work through with our, our great analysts at the, um, legislative fiscal analyst office. Um, uh, I'll share though it's not public, the original, uh, version of this bill had a $1.7 million fiscal note. And, um, the way they were interpreting the bill was to say that there had, or, or some of our government agencies were interpreting the bill. I, I won't put it, uh, just on the LFA, but, um, was that they would have to create some sort of electronic submission process that was secure and they would have to hire a bunch of developers to do this and turn all of their paper forms, you know, into some electronic process that's, that's on their farm, that they could do that. And I said, that's, that's not a, the intent of the bill BI don't think that's the way the bill was drafted, but we made some changes in the bill just to make sure that that was crystal clear with any of these, um, institutions. And I've talked with, with most of them, uh, that had any concern where I said, you know, look, you almost everyone has a scanner at their office, or they've got a phone with a, a camera on it, um, in a, in a couple seconds, and really no cost. You can turn a paper form into a digital form and then you can use your email that you're already paying for to send it out to people. It doesn't cost you anything. And so I think what you're seeing here on the fiscal, no note, it depends on how they want to implement this. If they want to create some sort of electronic intake form, website, app, um, tablet, I mean, I don't know what they're gonna do with it, but, you know, they certainly could, um, sky's the limit and, and how they could implement this, but they have that control. Um, but to comply with the law, you could simply do that at, at really no cost.

I I did say fax and the only reason it came up in my mind is, uh, um, I called the doctor's office today and, uh, needed a form and they said, well, can you fax it over to me? I'm like, I'm not sure I've heard that in like 10 years, but, um, let me, you know, dust off my fax machine and see what I can do. Um, so, so to be, to be fair, um, in the, in the, um, bill, it says, um, electronic means, and, um, I believe a a electronically by email or other electronic means, I think of fax would still qualify.

Um, it would include any, uh, any type of form that you would have that, uh, wasn't otherwise, uh, required under federal law, state law, or court rule that it had to be done in person or had to be done with a notary. So when you file for candidacy, it has to be done with a notary. So you'd have to still do that in person.

Well, I mean, we do give a list, um, in lines 43 through 49 of, of ways that they might be able to do this. Um, so if you read that there, it's at the discretion of the local government, but it could be electronically completing, electronically, signing it, downloading it, completing physically or electronically signing the form and then submitting that, entering the information online, uploading the completed and signed form, uh, sending the information by email. So, so we do try to share that. We also put in a delayed implementation date, so this is, doesn't go into effect until July 1st, 2027. So they have almost a year and a half to make sure that they're compliant with this.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. And has the third sub been adopted yet? It has not. Nope. I'll move the third substitute.

Um, yeah, I'd, uh, make a motion that we favorably recommend HB 1 47 with a third substitute, um, to the floor.

It's a great bill. I'm still shocked at the fiscal note, but otherwise, good job.

Um, like I said, I think this is a very cons, it's a consensus bill. I haven't heard any opposition to it. I've worked closely with, um, all the different departments to make sure if there was anywhere that they felt like they couldn't implement this, that we've had those carve outs there, you know, for like incarcerated individuals, we talked about the notary. Um, if you're required to submit a fingerprint, those types of things that you do need to do in person, that totally makes sense. But, but quite honestly, I'm surprised that this is not already the case. I know we have a, a lot of great actors, uh, across government that have been trying to get there. I think this just helps give a little bit of nudge to those who have not, uh, caught up with 2026. Thanks. I'll waive for now. Okay,

Put this on consent with the permission of the, uh, sponsor.

I, I would appreciate that. Yeah.

I think this is a very clear, simple bill and there's a lot of consensus behind this. There's no opposition. There's a long implementation date. It's a very simple bill. I think it should be put on consent. It has no fiscal note.

Uh, well, do you wanna wrap up? Nope, That's my motion.

Thank you. Um, so, uh, this is a little, uh, less, uh, somber of a bill in, in a way, but one that is good for government efficiency. Um, I had a, uh, a constituent reach out over the interim that, uh, complained to me about having to, um, need to getting a, a government document. And he reached out to the department and the response was, okay, you need to fill out this form. And, uh, to get the form, we had to drive down to Salt Lake City, stand in line, fill out the form and paper, come back another day to actually receive the, the document. He said, I'm, I'm having to take off two days of work just to get this form. It's 2026. Why isn't there a way for me to electronically complete this document? And so started working with, uh, our different departments across the state to, to see how we could solve this problem. And that's what you see here in house Bill 1 47. Um, essentially what this does is it, uh, requires, uh, state government and local governments to provide an electronic means for a person to submit a form, a record or information, rather than requiring them to appear in person or to provide a physical copy of the form. Uh, now how they do that is completely left up to the department or the local government to figure that out. It could be as simple as emailing them a PDF of the form. They fill it in, take a picture of it, send it back to them. They could have an online form, they could have a portal where they submit whatever they want to do, but they can't require a, uh, paper copy form unless there's a good reason. And we have a number of exceptions that are in the bill. Those include, um, if it's required under federal law, state law or court rule that they appear in person, then, then they would have to do that. Uh, if they're required to submit a fingerprint as part of the documents, then they'd have to come, uh, in person if they're an incarcerated individual. And that's a, a case that came up. They can still require that to be a paper form or if the form is required to be notarized. But otherwise, uh, this bill then streamlines the submission of forms and information by allowing this electronic option and bringing us into really the 21st century. So with that, happy to answer any questions.

Quick clarifying question. So it is basically any form other than the ones that are listed in the exceptions, then?

Exactly. Okay. All right.

Thank Mr. Chair. I would make a motion that we favorably recommend first, third substitute house Bill 1 47 Discussion.

I waive Senator Vickers, I'll waive as well. Okay.

consideration. Madam Meeting Clerk Third substitute House Bill 1 47 Government forms submission amendments by Representative Toucher. This bill was heard in government operations with the vote 9 0 3

Thank you Mr. Piute pro tem, um, colleagues, I had a constituent reach out over the interim and, uh, mentioned to me that he needed to fill out a government form in order to get a document, and, uh, found that this department required him to go fill out this form in person. It required him to take a day off of work to go travel halfway across the county to turn in a form and asked why in 2026 is there not some way that we can submit these forms digitally? And that's what you see here in HP 1 47. Um, this bill, uh, ensures that we don't have those unnecessary trips to a government office to handle paperwork that could easily be handled more efficiently in a digital way. It brings us into the 21st century in 2026 here and simply, uh, requires some process for government entities to, um, receive, be able to receive forms digitally and to provide forms digitally. This may be just as simple as accepting them as an email or having a copy on their website or emailing it out to someone, but it is just a process to ensure that there's a digital way to be able to submit these forms and receive these forms. There are a couple carve outs, uh, that I've received from different organizations to make sure that, uh, if, if for example, there's, there's a notary requirement or there's a fingerprint requirement, or if the form is, uh, by an incarcerated individual, um, or if there's some other law that requires it to be filled out in person, then those are covered as exceptions, but otherwise we should be able to receive and submit forms electronically. Thank you.

to appear in person to submit a form in paper, you know, a record or information. Uh, oftentimes it will force unnecessary trips to a government office HP 1 47. It requires, uh, state government and local governments to provide an electronic means for persons to submit a form. Now, there are certain times that there are exceptions and there are certain times that there actually is a good reason to have someone come in for a, an in-person visit. And that that's, you know, maybe from federal state or court rule. If a law a person is required to submit a fingerprint, if the person submitting the form is incarcerated in, in as an incarcerated individual, it has to be notarized. Or if the individual's to be present to fill out a marriage license, for example, some there, I think we have one county that allows that online, but the rest are in person. We're going to move the effective day to July 1st, 2027. And it provides a later date of January 1st, 2030 for local government or special district with less than $1 million in revenue or expenditures in a, in a fiscal year. Bottom line, we're just trying to streamline things, make it a little more convenient for our public and, and, uh, move in a direction where, you know, online app applications and things when it's appropriate, can be done. With that, I'm open for any questions.

Thank you. Let me double check one thing, if you don't mind. Oh, excuse me. Make sure I don't have a sub. A sub online.

Um, that's actually in the representative's name. So let me put a motion. Motion to circle.

Let me look at that one more time before I accept that motion. Or call the motion. Oh, it is in my name. Still a motion to circle. I'll double check. Motion to Circle. All in favor say

Thank you Mr. President.

do need to make a motion to substitute, uh, delete and title and body. Third substitute House bill 1 47. Replace with four substitute house Bill 1 47. My presentation, I mentioned that there's a delayed implementation date for some of the smaller districts. Uh, less than a million dollars in revenue. The substitute actually brings that in.

Now further explanation on the bill. I think I've pretty well explained it and it's, it's been recent enough that I would be open for any questions.

Thank you. I waive submission under suspensions of rules. Move that four. Substitute house bill 1 47 pass. Thank

Mr. President, the house refused to concur with the Senate amendments to fifth substitute House Bill 1 36 unlicensed driver amendments by Representative MacPherson and requests the Senate recede from its amendments. Respectfully signed, Edward Mueller, chief Clerk

Thank you Mr. President. Uh, make a motion that the Senate refuse to recede from its amendments

Thank you Mr. Speaker. I move to Concur with the Senate amendments.

I would. Um, this is a small change that, uh, I actually asked the Senate to make. After working with the special service districts, they found that there are a few small special service districts with less than a million dollars in revenue and they just needed a little more time to be able to make sure all their forms can be, um, received and sent electronically. So we just granted them, uh, um, an extra year to be able to come compliant with the law and that is the change.