H.B. 558 Elections Amendments

What this bill does

This bill would require candidates in nonpartisan races to disclose any political party affiliation when they file to run. The disclosure would be published on a public notice website, candidates with no affiliation could say so, and judicial retention elections would be excluded.

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Every vote

• 10 yes, 0 no, 2 absentHouse Government Operations Committee: vote to change the bill · Feb 25, 2026Who voted how
• 7 yes, 3 no, 2 absentHouse Government Operations Committee: vote, which it did not pass · Feb 25, 2026Who voted how

Hearings and debates

• Feb 25, 2026 House Government Operations Committee▶ Watch
  Transcript (84 turns)

  1. Committee chair1:19:06

     for being here in front of the committee today. You're, uh, up next, uh, house Bill 5 58 election amendments, and we have a substitute one online. I see. So will you be speaking to that? Yeah, I'll, alright, thank you. Time's yours. Nope, my bad. I cannot believe I turned that off. Go ahead, sir.

  2. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:19:33

     Thank you. Oh, there we go. Thank you. Um, hospital 5 58 is an attempt to standardize transparency across our election filing. Uh, it just sounds, uh, fancier than it is. What it really is is disclosure. Um, at this point, this is not, uh, the bill that we originally had drafted by any means where, um, frankly it would've made, you know, all, all elections partisan elections. This is not that. Um, this is, in fact, there's a substitute that I'm, that I'm speaking to, of course, that removes the judicial retention elections from this, um, that was missed in the, in the reformatting of what we were looking to do. And so to be important that we adopt that. So I'll speak to that. Um, the bottom line is voters have a right to know who they're voting for. And unfortunately in our, in a lot of our less attentive elections, I'll say, our municipal elections oftentimes get overlooked by the public, as evidenced by the lack of people that participate on a consistent basis and off cycle, as well as, uh, sometimes our school boards and other things where we have not, um, moved that direction, they don't get the attention or scrutiny that they need. Um, people pay attention to just naturally, to the larger races that they see on the ballot. And yet impact on their lives is, is actually the reverse. Uh, usually it's usually not the, the presidential race that makes the most impact on their life. It's usually not the governor race even. It usually is the local city and the local school board. And, uh, this is part, part of an attempt to at least help to make that an, an honest conversation. Uh, just an open one with folks when they're considering who they might vote for. Um, what this again really is, is just to, um, identify when you file, um, if you have a party affiliation, what that is. Um, I've had some requests to make that longer or to make that, you know, uh, verifiable or, or something like that. And frankly, if, if somebody really wants to do go that far, then you know, voting records are generally, you can find out, you know, what somebody's registered as. We all have voter lists of Republicans and Democrats and all that. Um, but this is, uh, is something where someone would declare if they are, what they are, uh, more closely aligned with. And I think that helps people to understand who they're, who they're supporting. Um, it's a broad, uh, broad requirement, expands disclosure a little bit. Um, and it's, you know, it's unaffiliated. That's fine. If a candidate's unaffiliated, they can say that. Um, and it would be published at a public notice website. But I'm happy to answer any questions if there are any about the substitute or about why we're doing this. There's, I've had that question a few times. Um, people don't often pay attention to bills until their notice on an agenda, so I appreciate that happening today. But yeah, uh, there are a number of races and I know in my, in my area, um, where after the fact folks, uh, ask me how did that happen? And I'm like, it's 'cause not, not enough of us were paying attention, frankly. And in some cases we've had entire party apparatus that has gotten involved, uh, without folks knowing that that's what that was and have felt like they were and ing in my community, felt like they were, uh, it was not an honest campaign of sorts that that was hidden from 'em. And so this is just an attempt to make sure that that is upfront and transparent. Happy to answer any questions.

  3. Committee chair1:23:18

     Alright, we have a few. So, uh, we will, uh, go first to Representative Hayes. Your light was on first. Go ahead and then Representative Stoddard, and then we'll move across the room. So go ahead, Representative Hayes.

  4. Rep. Sahara Hayes1:23:29

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, thank you for being here today, representative. I, uh, I have some holdups with this bill, and I think the main thing for me is that, um, cities aren't inherently political. Um, and I say this, I I represent a very big, I I represent a very blue city. I live in a very blue city and I have a Republican mayor. And that's, that's perfectly okay with me because she's a fantastic mayor and she does a great job. And I don't want zoning requirements necessarily to be a Democrat or a Republican issue. And so I, I've, I think we live in a very politicized world at this point. And I guess my question for you is, do you see this as politicizing things potentially that aren't inherently politicized?

  5. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:24:19

     Thank you for the question. I, and it probably depends on your definition of politicized. If by disclosure we mean politicized, then I suppose so. Um, but I also, you know, we, at the county level, we file for, you know, partisan races. Everybody's well aware of what that is. I wouldn't argue that at the county level, um, that, that, or even for us, that that somehow hampers us or that's a bad thing that they know that we've affiliate with a given party. As we all are aware, there's many different flavors of, of Republican and Democrat and everything from, you know, full on libertarian on one side to, you know, hardcore democratic socialist on another. So I think what it does do is that it brings to just a, what's that person's basic philosophy, kind of where do they start off at. It doesn't mean that the parties are now involved in the races directly. Although one of my concerns is that that's actively happening only without the disclosure. So I don't think it means that you wouldn't vote for a good mayor regardless of who they are on the other party. I've supported plenty of Democrats that were, that I felt like were the best person. Um, yeah, DD Smith comes to mind Yep. In my county. But, um, you know, I, I think that hopefully that answers the question. I don't think it politicizes it any more than it already is.

  6. Rep. Sahara Hayes1:25:39

     Alright. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

  7. Committee chair1:25:40

     Alright. Thank you for the question, Representative Stoddard.

  8. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:25:45

     Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, My concern with this, I I fully understand your intent and I think it's good to have informed voters. Uh, my concern is that by putting a letter designation next to their name, it's going to make voters less informed. And, and I see that looking at our body where on, you know, both Republican and Democrat, there is a wide range within that party philosophy. And, and I think echoing the comments of Representative Hayes that a lot of these issues that come up aren't on a municipal level, are not, uh, partisan issues. But I, I worry that it's going to, people are gonna see that and just, and not all people, so I'm, I'm not trying to make a paint with a broad brush here, but that people are gonna see it and just say, oh, Republican, I'm a Republican, vote for them and not really understand what this person is or what they're for. Um, do you share those? I don't know how to finish the new question. That's

  9. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:26:43

     Okay. I can answer it. Okay. So ho honestly, I don't, I don't think so. I think that what we've seen in, in large part, especially in our municipal races, are folks who are completely disengaged in those off cycles. We have a significant number of people who just do not, do not get involved at all. And so you end up having, especially with a coordinated effort, you can get the activist crew who are on the far extremes of either party mobilized and going, and because people just aren't paying that much attention and there is no disclosure, you knew no, far less. I'm hoping that this encourages folks to, to pay a little bit more attention. And regardless of how popular it is or not at the, you know, at the state school board, bottom line is a lot more people pay attention to those races now that we made 'em partisan. I just do,

  10. Rep. Andrew Stoddard1:27:34

      May I ask a follow up question? You May, Would you consider amending your bill to make the state school board and sheriff and DA races nonpartisan?

  11. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:27:45

      No. Worth a shot? That's it. Thank You. I mean, I love you, but No, No, and I, I appreciate the question actually.

  12. Committee chair1:27:55

      Very good. Thank you. Uh, we'll move over to, uh, and I may have gotten it wrong. I, I was gonna go with Mac. Was it Keller first? Okay. Mac, yeah, McPherson, go ahead. And then Keller.

  13. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:28:06

      Thank you Mr. Chair. I appreciate that. Uh, positional placement there, uh, Just to the right. Yeah, it is true. Uh, got a couple of questions, if that's all right. You may go ahead. Um, and some of these are, are kind of little softballs, but I really am looking for a couple of things, but can I ask first, what is your opinion? Why do you think that people affiliate with political parties?

  14. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:28:30

      Theoretically we do that. I think because we feel aligned to that philosophy. At least that's what I do. Right? I, I've gone back and forth on this. Am I from when I was a very young man? Am I a, am I a Democrat? Probably not. I really didn't feel good about what I heard from Bill Clinton, right? Or am I, am I a Republican? I was kind of uncomfortable with George Senior sometimes I didn't really like it when he lied to us, all of us about, about the tax increase that made me uncomfortable. Um, and then I started, am I a libertarian? What is that? What does that look like? At the end of the day, I'm a Republican for a reason. I felt most comfortable with that political ideology. And then therefore built my, and really kind of returned to my childhood watching President Reagan. My mom used to tell this story about how I would sit down in front of it. You know, he'd give his fireside chat from the Oval Office and I would sit down as a young man, as a little boy in front of it. Like it was the funnest thing I'd ever seen. None of my siblings would do that, right? But I knew that that resonated with me, uh, for whatever reason that that's what I came back to. So I'm, I'm intentionally Republican. I feel that, um, and I think that's what most people do. At some point or another, they feel aligned to those principles and ideals and it help, it's helpful. I would like to know, frankly, um, I have my own city council now, uh, where, you know, I'm, I kind of met some of 'em, you know, but I honestly have no idea, like, what's their basic thought process? How do they approach legislation? How do they approach that until after we just voted for another tax increase? Or very, very often we finally get motivated at the municipal level once something really goes wrong. When we, when we made a big mistake. And then, then we get motivated and then we kind of pay attention. But even then, it's not often that, and this, this is the most minimal of disclosure. This is not, you know, this is like generally how do you, how do you approach your political philosophy?

  15. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:30:31

      Thank you. Would this, and this doesn't preclude anyone from just not affiliating with a party,

  16. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:30:37

      Of course. Or Yeah, by all means, if you're not affiliated, just say that. That's fine. You'd probably be awesome. I don't know. Right. And every once in a while, depending on how far things gone, I'm probably voting for a full libertarian, like tear it down. But who knows? Right? But you get what I'm saying here, right? Like it's, it's helpful for me to at least have a starting point with that. I'm sorry guys. I'm a huge fan of Javier Malay, and sometimes I fantasize that that happens here.

  17. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:31:04

      One, one last question then. So I've gotten, I got a text, um, I got a text earlier or the end of last year. Um, I, I saved it on my phone. I thought it was interesting. I actually got a, a similar one from the Republican party. Um, but the one I, I have here, it was, uh, from the Utah Democratic Party and it said that we won big this year and they identified the number of mayoral and, uh, city council races that they had secured victory across, um, Salt Lake County and, um, outside of Salt Lake County as well. And I was just curious your thoughts on that. Do you, do you think then that these races are already essentially partisan and that by just having the disclosure out there that would change that? Or do you just trying to provide more clarity for voters as far as if that's already happening, that they are aware of it?

  18. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:31:58

      Yeah, I'm, I'm fully willing to go to partisan elections at this point. 'cause they're, in many cases they're partisan or non-partisan in name only. That's not what this bill does. This bill is literally just focusing on what disclosure looks like. Just saying upfront. Yeah, this is generally what I think. This is how I approach, you know, my political philosophy. Let's have the conversation. I remember my first race, and I'll, I'll answer it with this, in, uh, in 2008, um, it was a, it ended up being my opponent. We both ran against the same person. Um, and then once the primary was over, it was, he and I, we were in the same neighborhood and we'd hold our events together and we'd, you know, at the school we'd, you'd come and talk to both of us and we'd shake hands with people and they'd come talk to me and I'd introduce 'em to Rob and back and forth. And people would say, well, I like both of you. I don't know. I don't know what to do. I think you're both good guys. I'm like, okay, well I'm like, you more of a Republican or are you more of a Democrat? Like, do you usually agree with the Democrats and you should probably vote for Rob? And if you're you lean more Republican, you should probably vote for me. 'cause I'm gonna vote more that way. But yeah, Rob was awesome and he would've done a good job here and he would've focused on probably a few different things than I did. But that's kind of how I envisioned that it shouldn't be something I'm ashamed of or, or running away from. But it should be, hopefully we get a bunch of good candidates and that's what it turns into. Um, but to pretend right now, and that was an openly partisan race to pretend right now that we're not in that cycle already when yes, that exact same thing happened, they were very targeted. They, uh, the Democratic party in my county endorsed municipal races all over the place and, and, uh, you know, went full bore that's already here. We're just pretending like it's not. So I would, I think it would be better to have disclosure and be honest about it upfront. Okay. Thank you, chair.

  19. Committee chair1:33:53

      Thank you. Um, Issa Malloy, did you turn off your light? Yeah. Alright, representative Keller, you're up next.

  20. Rep. Paul A. Cutler1:34:00

      Thank you. To quote a member of our committee, this isn't the worst idea I've heard, But I, but I don't think it's the best. And I wanted to walk through my concerns and, and ask you about. So I agree in some of our bigger cities, there may already be a lot of partisanship going on, especially in maybe our largest city and maybe a couple of our very large city. But my experience in 12 years in local government was very different than the experience up here in terms of a partisan nature. It was very much, we are trying to work together to solve, you know, to fill potholes, to find money for sidewalks to figure out, okay, do we put a crossing, you know, a school crossing here, or what do we charge for garbage rates? And I, uh, and the most important issues are land use issues. And my experience is land use issues are not partisan. They're often more neighbor, uh, uh, they, they can be influenced by your political philosophy, but, but generally that's not, uh, the driving force. So I think my concern is, and is that by focusing on or having a disclosure of, uh, Republican or Democrat or unaffiliated or libertarian or constitution party, that folks will not focus on the qualifications of the person to serve in local government, which I think are different than partisan office. Uh, sometimes people who are former developers or had experience in land use were the best people regardless of their, uh, affiliation because they understood the process. So I think my concern is that this would take away from people focusing on is this person qualified and do they have the knowledge to make good decisions? And it would be, okay, is this person on my team or a different team for, for national elections? Uh, so I think that would, um, hurt our, uh, the function of, of small local governments. Uh, but, uh, so I, I wondered how how you would react to that and what your, if, if you're concerned about the experience of the person or just their political philosophy, because I I, my experience was their, their knowledge and experience was more important than their political philosophy in most cases. Do you have an opinion on that? Yeah,

  21. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:36:21

      Yeah. As chair i, I, and you're a hundred percent right in that, in what the priority should be in a municipal election. Um, I guess suppose my argument in this case would be that simple disclosure at the time of filing, it doesn't put your party affiliation on the ballot at all. Right? It, and that doesn't put you into a caucus. It doesn't do any of those things, but it does, it does disclose your general political thought process, uh, for those who care about that. They, they able to would've looked that up. It does not put Republican or Democrat or constitutional, libertarian on the ballot doesn't do any of that stuff. And that absolutely should be, you know, the most important thing when you're going into, into that ballot box for that local election. Does this person now to say that they're devor divorced from that? I don't think I can say honestly either, right? Because I've watched, uh, private, like some of the most dangerous places to be are in a, in a given city. Once they decide that they can take your land for whatever reason, like, I would hope that at that point that that's suddenly very important to us. What does the Fifth Amendment say in the takings clause like I do? They know that I hope so a constitutionalist would make me more comfortable probably most of the time in that case. But, uh, the bottom line is yes, we should. I don't think it takes away from that representative. I think that opportunity is still there. And if we're doing our civic duty, you know, honestly, I'm, I'm hoping that this will get more people to pay attention a little bit to those and drive that up. And I've, this isn't that Bill, but I've wondered if we should just get rid of off-cycle elections so that that happens more organically. But I don't know what the answer is. But I do know that this is a real frustration that many people in my area felt, especially this last cycle, where they felt like they were kind of tricked. You know, they didn't know that there was like a partisan race going on and there was the whole time. And now, now they're living with, uh, with that happening. And, uh, that's, that's quite frustrating for them. It would've given 'em an opportunity to, to understand a little bit more. And I would hope that they would engage and qualify that person better.

  22. Rep. Paul A. Cutler1:38:20

      Yeah. Thank you Mr. Chair. I, I, uh, one, one quick follow up. I wonder if a constitutionalist candidate would support a, a rec baseball program, or if they might say that's not the role of, of local government.

  23. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:38:33

      Who knows? Who knows. They, they might. Um, but that's, that provides that opportunity. And that could be a flag for someone perhaps, right? Like if you knew that going ahead, like maybe that would be helpful to know. And you could ask that question like, Hey, you know, I'm, I kinda lean libertarian too, but I actually believe in the police force. So how do you feel about that? Right? But it should provide an, a starting place where we can begin to build dialogue.

  24. Committee chair1:39:00

      Alright, thank you Representative Keller. Um, let's see. Representative Welton, and then I'll come back. I think Doug, we turned you off. We'll come back to you. Go, go ahead. Representative Welton and then Representative Fiefia.

  25. Rep. Doug Welton1:39:13

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, like, uh, Representative Cutler, I'm not that too far removed from two, uh, public elections for local office, uh, nonpartisan local offices. And, uh, my experience, I'll just share that a little bit is, uh, well maybe I'll come back to that. Anyway, I've got, I've got two questions for you. Um, one of them is kind of a philosophical question. Um, the question is, this is like, if voters were engaged, wouldn't they are, how hard is it to look up the affiliation of a candidate right now? If they were engaged? How hard is it to find what a candidate is registered as in the current status quo?

  26. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:39:57

      Um, I don't, I think you should be able to find it if you really wanted to, but I also don't think that it's easy for people to find that out.

  27. Rep. Doug Welton1:40:04

      Right? Okay. Have To be that. The question is, is that like a hard thing to do or an

  28. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:40:07

      Easy do? You'd have to be kind of a nerd, like your average person, even your average like delegate or whatever that does, the things probably wouldn't be able to spit it out for you.

  29. Rep. Doug Welton1:40:16

      Okay. Might be because I'm a nerd, but I've looked this up before, political affiliation of, yeah. And it pops up like that. It's, it's not a, not a difficult thing. And so I, I just question whether like, did this really engages people any more or less than they would've in a meaningful manner? It just, uh, I, it signals one way or the other. And then I think it shuts down. My experience is when I ran for city council, let me go back to this. As you know, I had a few people say, Hey, what's your party? And I said, look, uh, nonpartisan, uh, it's easy to find out. Lemme talk about the city, the issues with the city. And I want to be very clear on what I'm going to do and what I'm not going to do. And that's the most important issue for, for a city. A new municipality is like, do the toilets flush or the roads work? Do you have police force? All of those things like that. I, I, in a neighboring city, I saw a really good local candidate, uh, that, uh, somebody looked up their political affiliation 'cause it wasn't very hard and she went down in flames. And so, uh, because she lived in a very conservative area and she was registered as something different. Um, but it became more about like, not her ideas for the city, but, um, her political affiliation and the vetting of the candidates stopped at that. And maybe that's good. Maybe that's bad. I don't know. The other one is more of a philosophical question. Are people interested in party politics because we have a two party system that forces you. Is that why people register so they can participate in the game because the game is a two party game? Or, you know, like what percentage of of either party do you think are there? Because that's the way the game's played. 'cause uh, to your point, you were, you said that you have voted for, uh, probably Democrats before the local level, right? That would indicate that at some level, uh, you are not all in it for the party, right? But you, you're part of the party because that's where the game is played. So when, when people affiliate it, is it because it's the game that is played in America and that's how you get elected? Or is it because they truly are all in cup red or cup blue?

  30. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:42:19

      Um, as you know, uh, representative, there's, you know, a variety of reasons why people, you know, affiliated at a given time. And to be super frank, even the last decade, uh, the Republican party has changed philosophies at different points, different things are highlighted under different leaders, all of that. Um, at its core, we have a platform with each of them. And if there's something that, you know, I'm really uncomfortable with in a platform, I don't think I could affiliate with that, right? Like that was a deal breaker. Now, I am also a super fan of, of, uh, well both, uh, Reagan and Lincoln, right? Like, you agree with you 80% of the time, you're not a 20% enemy, right? Yeah. You're my friend. And I think there's a lot to, to come along with there. Um, I think, you know, Lincoln's team of rivals is something that I've read four or five times and, and there's a reason for that. I think we get to see things, there's value in that. Um, um, I think we do a disservice when we, and it's even our own voters, guys, like we're, we're all here in partisan races, right? I think we do a disservice when we uh, say out of one side to them that they don't think beyond the R or the DI think that's not necessarily fair to them to categorize it like that. Or also to hold it up as an, an immutable good that it's somehow holier. If it's nonpartisan that is also not accurate or that they're, you know, somehow better at this because they're non-partisan. I think the, the best thing that I can offer in this representative is the transparency argument. I'm not trying to hide anything from, yes, I feel like this. If you want to know why, I'll tell you about how I used to watch Reagan as a kid and my mom telling me how weird it was, but she thought it was cute, right? And she wasn't too surprised when I got older and was very interested in this stuff because of that. You know, I believe the heart of of Republicanism is libertarianism, um, which is a quote that I got from Ronald Reagan in the eighties, right? Like, so you can see kind of where this stuff comes from. So all of the reasons I don't, I'm not just here 'cause it's part of a game or 'cause I wanna get elected. I didn't wanna get elected the first time. That was torturous, right? Um, but, uh, we all have paths that brought us here and opportunities to serve. And that's how I feel. And as long as I disclose that, and this, you know, now I've been here long enough, people watch me vote, whatever they can decide based on that. But what we're largely talking about are people often very small panels, 3, 4, 5 people that control major parts of your life. And this is not a difficult thing, but it, and it's not even a, we don't even make it a partisan race, it's just, just a disclosure for them that you can help to, to guide that conversation.

  31. Committee chair1:45:16

      Thank you. Alright. Oh, sorry, go ahead.

  32. Rep. Doug Welton1:45:19

      I, I too a proud, uh, Republican that was ushered in on Reagan and so I, I appreciate what you're saying there. Uh, last comment. It used to be that all politics were local and now we're making all politics national. And I don't think that's healthy.

  33. Committee chair1:45:33

      Okay. Thanks for the, uh, questions in the statement. Um, I'm going to hand the gavel off to, uh, Representative Peterson. I've gotta go to another committee. And so Mike Peterson, you are the gavel pounder. Thanks everybody. Um, you've got, there you go. Good luck. Thanks. Thanks.

  34. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:45:56

      Alright. Looks like, uh, Representative Fiefia is

  35. Rep. Doug Fiefia1:46:01

      Next. Thank you Mr. Vice Chair. Um, my question is, is there any data or states that have moved to this model or a similar, similar model making these elections partisan or addressing party affiliation that shows or proves engagement increase in engagement?

  36. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:46:24

      Yeah, that's a good question. Um, I don't, I don't know of other states that have done that. I know in many other states these are already partisan races. Like that's the norm in, in some of our municipal Australia big municipals. Um, there are, I I suppose my, my own experience here with the state school board is different. That's probably the most recent watching it here. Um, and I don't have, I didn't do a study, I'm just telling you even from past school board members that I literally never heard from, even while I was in elected office, to my experience under, since this changed with Joe Carey representing my area, I heard from Joe within a month of his election. Like it was shocked me, kind of. And he wanted to meet me with the sheriff 'cause he had a concern about something. Okay, yeah, I'll meet you with the sheriff. Um, I met him through that caucus process and we, we walked it through. Um, and I know that that experience has been pretty similar with other people in my area, whereas nobody could even tell me who their person was before that and in over a, over a decade. I never heard from the guy.

  37. Rep. Doug Fiefia1:47:37

      I, I just one more follow up question. I, I think this is maybe probably philosophical, but I, I guess the question I try to ask myself is if roles were to switch, if I were in the minority part party in the state, if I would still vote on this, the principle of this bill. And so I guess I, that, that's my question to you is, yeah, if roles were reversed and maybe you're in a city in the minority party, do you feel like this, the principle behind this bill still stands and and you still support this

  38. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox1:48:08

      Idea? If it doesn't, then I shouldn't be here representative. If I'm, if I'm wanting to hide something about how I feel about who I am and, and not, not disclose like the most basic of what I think and how I approach political philosophy or how I approach governing, then I shouldn't be here. And if my, I, if my move would change just because I needed to be in power or something like that, then I shouldn't be the candidate. That can't be the reason. So yeah, I, I'm not, I'm not running away from that at all. And, and I'm sure that it, you know, I've been, I lived in California for a while, so I know it feels like a little bit to be a minority and as a Republican and you know, I, I wouldn't shy away from that.

  39. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:48:49

      Thank you. Alright, thank you representative. Uh, no more questions from our committee. We'll turn to the time now to public comment. There is anyone in the audience who would like to speak to this? We have three in audience. Alright. If you wanna, um, there's, looks like there's three of you. We'll give you each, uh, uh, 90 seconds. If you want to come and sit next to Representative Wilcox, make sure you sign in, tell us who you're and who you represent.

  40. Robert Axson, Chair, Utah Republican Party1:49:22

      Thank you. Committee. Uh, my name is Robert Axon. I am the chairman of the Utah Republican Party. So clearly I have a, an opinion on and a preference as to which political party I affiliate with. Uh, but, uh, come here in support of Representative Wilcox's efforts here. I do think that transparency and disclosure and respecting the voters is important. I traditionally and throughout most of my life, have lived in parts of our state where I am the minority, uh, in my neighborhood. I am represented by, uh, two members of our legislature who I have great relationships with, even though they're not of the same political party that I am. And I think that dialogue in that respect that comes from knowing where somebody is, it allows the conversation to begin. Oftentimes when you don't know something about somebody, that's when you just avoid the conversations or you speak past one another. And I believe that the spirit of the intent here on this bill is to allow for those conversations to begin. I do like what Representative Welton, uh, talked about of the importance of keeping this local. I wholeheartedly agree. And I think more conversations are better, more trust is better, more respect to one another is better. Even when it means that we're coming from a different starting point. The dialogue that we can have, even though that starting point is different, is where we'll find the creative answers that serve our state.

  41. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:50:39

      Alright, thank you so much. Uh, we have somebody else who wanted to speak a couple more. Mm-hmm. Representative Wilcox. I wonder if you'd step aside for a second. Let sure let that seat get taken up. Did we do that? You can take both the seats that are open there. Go ahead. Thank you.

  42. Lori Cartwright, Mormon Women for Ethical Government1:51:06

      Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. My name is Lori Cartwright. I live in Stansberry Park and I'm representing Mormon Women for Ethical Government, or MWE for short. MWE is a true cross partisan coalition with our membership split on almost evenly between republicans, Democrats, and third party or unaffiliated. Our advocacy is based on our principles of e ethical government, which are not aligned with the specific party. Instead, we work to collaborate with people across party lines and to find areas where we agree. We believe that many of Utah's local governments, school boards, and state courts are excellent examples of cross partisan collaborative work. HB 5 58 would unnecessarily highlight party affiliation in non-partisan elections in local elections, voters are able to get to know candidates personally and learn about them in their position on issues important to their area. Attaching party affiliation to these candidates through official channels discourages such interactions among voters and candidates. Interactions that we should value and encourage party affiliation may indicate to voters how the candidate will approach only a handful of relevant issues. But the work of many elected officials doesn't fit neatly into the two ideological camps of Republican and Democrat. We should trust voters to assess candidates on their own merits. And we ask you to oppose HB 5 58. Thank you. Thank

  43. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:52:41

      You. Would, would you stay for just one second? Did you have a question for her? We have a question for you, if that's all right? Yeah, go ahead. Representative MacPherson.

  44. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:52:47

      Thank you. Just a quick question. So are, based on what you were, you were stating, so it sounds like you're saying that if a voter is aware of a party affiliation, that, um, that you believe that that would cause them to have, uh, less, um, uh, um, agreement or, or, or opportunity to work together that the, if, if a party affiliation was disclosed than if they weren't disclosed. Is that, am I understanding that right? You said trust the voters to, to, to get to know the candidates, but if they disclose the party affiliation, then the voters will, will make a, uh, an assumption, I guess, is that what you're saying? Yeah.

  45. Lori Cartwright, Mormon Women for Ethical Government1:53:32

      It could create a bias in some instances, yes.

  46. Rep. Matt MacPherson1:53:35

      Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

  47. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:53:40

      Alright, come on up, sir. Yeah,

  48. Troy Walker, Mayor of Draper City, Utah League of Cities and Towns1:53:46

      Thank you. Um, Troy Walker, uh, mayor of Draper City. I'm here on behalf of the League of Cities and Towns. I'm the past president of the league, so I'm here to say that the league, our membership is opposed to this bill. Um, I'm in my 18th year of elected service. I spent six years as a council member. Some of you have done that. I'm in my 12th and year and two months of being a mayor. I've been called a lot of things in my political career. Republican's not the worst. Um, or, or maybe even I've been called a Democrat. I don't know. Um, one thing I do know though is, is I've worked with various different people across the spectrum of my political time. I've worked with Democrats, independents, Republicans. The thing that I like about the non-partisan this of our municipal elections is when we get in the room, we don't, we don't sit there and silo each other into what party we're in. And frankly, I don't know anymore if the parties, I think it's such a spectrum. I, I, I'm confused most days if what I am, I, I I, I feel like I know what I am, but, uh, political spectrum is so broad. I don't know. That's valuable. Quite frankly, what's valuable is getting in the room together and saying that potholes not a Democrat or a Republican, but we gotta fill it. I gotta make sure you have the right paramedic, the right cop, the right park, mountain bike trails, of course. And Draper. That's non-partisan for sure. Um, but we, we work together as, as, as folks. And it's good not to have to have that tag 'cause we get in there and solve problems. And that's what we do. And hopefully you live in cities and that's what happens in your cities. And I think we work just fine how we are. I don't see any reason to change it. Thank you.

  49. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:55:15

      Thank you, sir. And online we have two, we, we'll start with Maryanne Christensen Marann, if you'd, uh, well, you know the drill.

  50. Maryann Christensen, Utah Legislative Watch1:55:44

      Okay. I think I'm ready to go. All right. Go ahead. Maryanne Christensen, executive director of Utah Legislative Watch. I'm one of those political nerds that can look that up, and I love rubbing shoulders with all you other nerds up here on the Capitol Hill. So, um, I just wanted to, to tell you a story that I hope will, will make you feel glad that you can vote for this bill. I ran for Utah House in 2020, and, um, of course I didn't win, or I might be your colleague right now, but when I was going door to door knocking on doors, I was, I can't even believe to express, I can't even express to you how shocked I was at the lack of knowledge people had about candidates. And because they didn't know anything about candidates, they, for the most part decided they weren't even gonna vote. Some people that don't know anything about the candidates will call somebody up and basically give them an extra vote by saying, Hey, just tell me who to vote for. I'll vote for whoever you say. Um, I, myself get some of those calls. But I think this is very helpful because like Representative Wilcox said, it does give us a baseline, a place to start off with. And, um, I am a Republican. I'm a Republican because I read the Republican platform and I agree with it wholeheartedly. And, um, and so when I see an R behind someone's name, I start out assuming that they agree with at least most of those principles. And I know that I can support them, and every voter can do the same thing. And so I think this is a really great bill. And, um, and it is being honest with the voters, we have done a lot things trying.

  51. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:57:34

      Thank, thank you so much. Oh, I Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. I can't hear the bills here, so, okay. Thank you. You're good. Thank you. Helen Moser. And then, uh, Helen Moser. Helen, you also know the drill, so if you wanna, if you also want to, uh, get ready to speak for a second, we'll give you 90 seconds.

  52. Helen Moser, League of Women Voters1:57:55

      My, my apologies. I'm, I'm having some problems with wifi. Can you hear me now? Yeah, we can hear you. Uhhuh. Go ahead. Okay, Great. Thank you. Um, Helen Moer with the League of Women Voters. Uh, the league supports transparency in elections and appreciates the intent of HB 5 58 to ensure voters have access to timely candidate information. However, we strongly discourage disclosure of party affiliation in our non-partisan races. Utah has deliberately structured certain offices as non-partisan. That structure reflects a policy choice to encourage voters to evaluate candidates based on qualifications, experience, and performance, not party label by requiring party live affiliation to be posted even in nonpartisan races. This bill risk undermining that framework. And we're deeply concerned, uh, about particularly the school board municipal offices having worked, uh, on the league's voter guide for a number of years. I often hear from municipal candidates as we seek their responses to questions that touch on the issues important to the community, their constituents, uh, that they seek to represent, um, and are germane to their position. And it allows them, our voter guide allows 'em to speak. And the fact that it's a non-partisan race, they can speak, um, and, and appreciate the ability to analyze, uh, information and respond in a way that is nonpartisan, not towing a party line. And voters whom I speak with frequently appreciate the ability to analyze responses in a more nuance.

  53. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:59:31

      Ma'am, I need you to wrap up.

  54. Helen Moser, League of Women Voters1:59:32

      Oh, thank you. And, and for this reason, I am opposed. And, and the league firmly, um, would, uh, want you to vote in opposition.

  55. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)1:59:42

      Thank you to The Thank you. Thank you. Oh, for her. Uh, Helen. Helen, are you still there? Could you still stay? I am for just a second. We have a question from Representative Maloy.

  56. Rep. A. Cory Maloy1:59:55

      Uh, okay. Sure. Helen, uh, thank you. Yes. Did you, did you say that you work with the League of Cities? I,

  57. Helen Moser, League of Women Voters2:00:02

      I, I, no, no, no. I'm sorry. The League of Women Voters? Yes. Uh, Representative Maloy. Yes. So as, as a part of my role, I will frequently engage with candidates and voters on a voter's guide. And I can tell you with certainty it is so much easier in nonpartisan races. And I firmly, uh, believe

  58. Rep. A. Cory Maloy2:00:24

      That I, I I just thought, I just misheard, so I was getting the two leagues mixed up, so, okay. Thank you.

  59. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:00:32

      Thank you. Alright. Thank you very much, Alan. Much appreciate your, your time with us. Sure. Alright. Do you mind just close public comment? We're gonna, we're gonna close public comment and bring it back to the committee for any, we need to adopt the first Oh, we do need to, but for, for for action and clarifying questions, we do need to adopt a first sub. Is that right? Representative? Uh, yes, please. Representative Stoddard.

  60. Rep. Andrew Stoddard2:01:05

      Go ahead. I move that we adopt first substitute.

  61. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:01:11

      Thank you. Would you like to speak to that? Waive? All right. And we'll go to, uh, Representative Wilcox.

  62. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox2:01:19

      Yeah. Please adopt the substitute. I think that's, uh, correct in oversight. Yep.

  63. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:01:25

      Alright. We will, uh, take a voice vote. Uh, the motion before us is to adopt a motion to adopt. Oh, you wanted, I'm sorry. I didn't see any, I didn't see any light bulbs going on, so I thought, but we'll go on this for, this Is for the sub. This is for the sub, yeah. Alright, so the, so the motion be forced is to adopt first substitute HP 5 58 elections amendments. All in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. So we have a, before the first substitute Representative Stoddard,

  64. Rep. Andrew Stoddard2:02:02

      I would like to make a motion to hold HP 5 58 for substitute. If I could speak to that. Alright, Go ahead. Um, I think this is an interesting issue on how we increase voter turnout in our municipal elections. And with this motion, I think it's important that we recommend it as an interim study item because we do want our elections to be voted in by the most amount of people possible. Um, but I don't think this is the answer. Um, naturally we as a people tend to follow our schemas and that we're going to divide people based on what our perceived trait of them is. And in our country, Republican and Democrat is how we've divided it. And I think it's stupid, but it is what it is. Um, I ran for city council initially and came in fourth out of four, which is how you suckers ended up with me here. 'cause I ran for State House after that. Um, but the day I filed to run was the day I filed as a Democrat. And honestly, it was not something I was really interested in, in registering for a political party because I support candidates of both types. And, uh, I have someone in my own party who recruited an opponent to me in this election because I campaigned for and supported a mayor who I know is a registered Republican, but who is the most qualified person. And I think the party politics on a municipal level are stupid. And that's in parties saying, we're gonna get these candidates for run for this, and I think they should just stay out of it. We want our neighbors there, we want people we know who care about the city. We want people we know can sit down and solve problems independent of everything that's going on. And, and on some level, I wish we had that more up here too, where it was more focused on let's just get these issues fixed and we can come at 'em from different policy perspectives. But I, I find it especially dangerous on a city level when then we just get people who can't work together because they feel they have to uphold whatever party platform it is that they've associated their name with. So I, I fully appreciate the intent of wanting more informed voters and more participation. Um, but I'm, I'm not sold that this is the answer.

  65. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:04:16

      Alright. Thank you, uh, Representative MacPherson on the motion to hold.

  66. Rep. Matt MacPherson2:04:24

      Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to make a substitute motion. Alright. Would you like to, To pass out favorably HP 5 81 or 5 58 first substitute? And I'd like to speak to that. Okay, go ahead. Look, I understand that this is a, uh, there's some concerns over this. Um, this is a disclosure. I think we all talk about more information to voters is a good thing. If you look at the participation rates at statewide and, and, and in our federal elections here in Utah, they're pretty high. Uh, and if you look at historically our municipal election, uh, turnout rates, they're extremely low. Even after mail-in voting has come in, they're extremely low. If you talk to the average voter and municipal races, they don't know their candidates. They should, but they don't. Um, a lot of them will do some searching. They'll look online, they'll ask friends and neighbors. Um, but generally speaking, if you're not gonna disclose some of this information that serves as a way of chilling these elections, we're, we're just talking about a disclosure. We're talking about more information. We're not hiding information. We're adding information that's already theirs to decide if they want to choose to affiliate with a party or not. Um, party affiliation serves as a very simple sort of, uh, uh, option for some voters. Sure, maybe it's not the best option, but it, it is an option. They exist for a reason in some cases that some people just wanna say, look, I just wanna vote for the Democrat. Look, I just wanna vote for the, uh, independent, that's not affiliated with either party. Um, they should have that ability to do that. And it is difficult for a lot of people to actually find party affiliation. And when you look at candidates and municipal races, at least a lot of the ones in my area, candidates tend to be very vague in their websites when it comes to their positions on things. Always trying to avoid party affiliation or any sort of information that might tend to out them in a particular party on both sides or really on all sides. And I don't think that's fair for voters. And I think the turnout numbers show that I think this is a good discussion to continue to the floor. Maybe this is something that, uh, that, uh, the body would like to see move forward, maybe not. But I think that it's, uh, worth discussing it. I don't think removing that option from voters having that information, uh, that, that information that you as the candidate yourself control. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. So I would support it. Okay.

  67. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:07:10

      So the, the, if you, if you're lit up right now, it is to speak to the motion to pass out favorably the bill. And I see, uh, Representative Fiefia.

  68. Rep. Doug Fiefia2:07:24

      Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Look, I, I appreciate this bill and having any ideas around driving more participation in elections because we need that. I, I think the idea of being more transparent, I appreciate, um, I've gotten a lot of concerns on both sides, um, saying people love this, people hate this. But what I go back to is a most recent experience in my district where mayor, oral candidates parties became public and where you would see a very conservative district vote in maybe the le the lesser conservative person. I think what we saw happen in that race was it was a conversation starter and we had to dive deeper. And I, I think that is proof that this is maybe a good idea to have a larger discussion on the floor. And so, um, although I don't know that this is the perfect idea, I I think it's worth a larger discussion with the full house and I'll be supportive of it.

  69. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:08:27

      Alright. Thank you representative. Uh, do you want to, okay, go

  70. Rep. Angela Romero2:08:39speaker not certain

      Ahead. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I, I do think this is an interesting discussion, but, um, I share boundaries with, uh, another representative on this, um, on this di on this DAAs and the people in that area, when I'm door knocking, 'cause some of it's my old district, the reason why they don't vote is because they're tired of Democrats and Republicans fighting. And so for, for me, the experiences I had on the door were very, very different. They wanted to talk to me as a person, not about my party affiliation. And when you're thinking about people participating at a municipal level in some parts of these district, people aren't participating even in party politics. We have low voter turnout in these districts because they're just tired of the politicking of it. And so municipal government should stay municipal government, and I don't really believe it should be a partisan.

  71. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:09:31

      Okay. Thank you. Representative Welton. Go ahead.

  72. Rep. Doug Welton2:09:39

      Yes. Uh, it will no surprise any, anybody that I would, uh, vote against, uh, this bill or would vote to hold it. And I'd like to speak to that if I may. Um, George Washington, uh, warned us against political parties. And I think he was a little naive, but I think there was a lot of wisdom that was there. The reality is, is that political parties are going to exist. People have a tendency to, to rally together. And, and I think there's a place for that. And I'm very proud to participate in that at this level. I think this is the, the right place and the right, uh, purpose. And I, and I, and I've been a proud registered Republican all my life. Um, but I think we have purposely structured our government in this manner to have, uh, partisan races and nonpartisan races. That is something that is not a defect, but it is something that was intentionally planned by the voters of the state. Uh, I would disagree on this argument that, uh, being partisan drives, uh, participation. I think it'll do the exact opposite, particularly if you're in a hyper red or a hyper blue area that is going to decrease participation. And we see that all across the state when you feel like there is no voice but one voice that decreases participation. Uh, studies also show that the public is tired of hyper-partisanship. They're tired of it. The vast majority of Americans continually say they are tired of hyper-partisanship. And now when we talked about all politics are, are local, used to be local, now they're national. You're pushing hyper-partisanship down into your communities. It's not been good for our country. I think, uh, issues whether the toilet flushes, whether the roads work, whether the police work, those are important. And, and if those issues of like, are you gonna increase my taxes? I ask them. I don't go up and say, oh, he says he is an R or he's says he's a D that means he's this or that. That doesn't, that gives me an idea where they're going, but better than having an R or d or a Constitution or whatever it is next to you, it's to say, Hey Mr. Chair, I see that you're running for this county race. Tell me what your tax policy is. Tell me what your garbage policy is. Tell me what your policy is on dog parks. I mean, city cities, if you've in a municipal area, like dog parks are way bigger than your national politics. Like that's what they fight over. Right? And last time I've checked, that's not a platform issue for Republicans or Democrats. So, uh, I, I think, uh, there is a place for partisan politics. And I think we've got that balance right. And I think this is not the place for partisan politics.

  73. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:12:14

      Alright. Thank, thank you. And, uh, if your, if your light is on it to speak to the motion to recommend favorably, uh, Representative Maloy.

  74. Rep. A. Cory Maloy2:12:25

      Thank you, Mr. Vice Chair. Um, uh, I feel like I'm in a, an odd situation for me. Usually these kind of bills are very clear where I want to go, but I don't feel that way right now and I'm probably gonna vote no on the substitute. And, um, uh, I'd like to just explain a little bit why. And, uh, the, in, in our recent municipal election, uh, it was really interesting 'cause we have three new school districts. So the three new school boards were being elected in addition to our municipal elections. And, um, there was, uh, several, uh, one including a good friend of mine who, uh, several people who came from education and they, uh, are educators. And the one, the one that's a friend of mine was kindergarten teacher for 30 years, very, very qualified to become a member of this new school board. And, um, uh, very, very republican, uh, very conservative values, but none of that was important to her. What was important to her was this, the kids that are gonna be in this new school district, getting a new school district up and running. And that's what was important to her. Uh, the flip side of it is I saw, uh, other candidates and, and I, I don't wanna come across disparaging anybody because I think everybody that ran were wonderful people, qualified people, good people. And the people who have become our new municipal leaders in in my town, uh, are all great. And, uh, the, uh, and I'm looking forward to working with them and seeing how well we can keep our city running. But, um, we had, uh, party endorsements of municipal candidates who have very rarely, if ever participated in party politics or participated in the party. Then we've had other people who are very, very Republican and conservative, which is important to me. But, but, uh, the, uh, who, uh, didn't even seek after an endorsement, they were focused on what they would do in that new position if they could get elected. So I respect the, I respect the views on, on all of that. So I'm not here to talk about my feelings towards nonpartisanship or partisanship in these kind of elections, but I do think at some point it has to get down to the quality of the people. And so I am going to vote no. Uh, and the final clincher for me is Mayor Walker, who's the mayor of Draper City. Um, he's, he's, he's not in my district, unfortunately. I kind of wish he was, but he's not. Um, but he runs, he runs right up to the border of my district. And, uh, uh, so he, he has, he, what his view means a lot to me. My city leaders, which shocked me, sent me a text saying that, uh, we should vote no on this bill. And I thought that would be the exact opposite. And then another city did the same thing. So I am gonna go with, uh, the local cities and I'm gonna be, be a no vote on, on the, on this and the bill. Alright.

  75. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:15:52

      So, thank you representative. We'll go to the, uh, bill sponsor on the motion to pass favorably fast, not favorably, but going around for a bit. So, yeah, go ahead.

  76. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox2:16:06

      Thank you. Um, bottom line is voters have a right to know what they're voting for. We've heard a lot of, um, I mean this has been kind of funny honestly, guys. Like we're talking about a disclosure and at the same time some of the hyperbolic arguments that I've heard, um, about how this would destroy this or that. I, I just don't see it. I don't, I've, I've seen some testimony today from some of the most hyper-partisan organizations I've ever come across arguing against simple disclosure. I, I don't know how to deal with that one that appropriates my religion as an argument for doing that, as if that's somehow a, a moral good or an ethical position to take when you claim my religion in order to take a political position. I would argue rather that let's just be honest about how we feel, about how we approach life, about how we approach political philosophy, how we have that conversation about potholes, right? That should be what we're talking about. But nothing in disclosing what party we might affiliate with, prevents us from having that conversation when we're talking about, you know, solving problems. It's that crucial conversation around the table. We heard testimony from the league that everything's hunky dory and that works fine all the time when I know for a fact it does not, because we also watch our cities, we represent them, we know the ones that are functional and the ones that aren't. And the ones that are caught up in hyper, hyper-partisan activity. That is not what this is. This is simple disclosure for people so they know what that looks like. So we're not, I'm, I'm honestly fine with whatever we decide to do here, but at the very least, let's not try to pretend like there's some, you know, something holy about non-disclosure. 'cause that's not accurate either. We can still behave appropriately and solve problems with full disclosure. And if we can't do that, 'cause frankly, I'm looking across at my friends here on the, you're literally sitting on the left side here, but I work with all three of you all the time in half, three years. And, you know, I'm a Republican and I know you're a Democrat, and it doesn't have to be a binary in any of that scenario. There's multiple options. We can do that even if we disclose. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

  77. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:18:34

      Thank you. And we'll go to, uh, the maker of the motion.

  78. Rep. Matt MacPherson2:18:38

      Uh, thanks. You know, I, uh, am smart enough to read the room. Yeah. I'm gonna withdraw my motion. And, uh, and I'll just, if I can speak to that just briefly too, just, um, look, I don't, I don't think there's any problem with disclosures. I think when we look at municipal turnout rates, um, uh, versus, uh, our traditional partisan election races, there's something to be said here. People participating in elections is more important, participating at all in any way. It's something that typically both sides of a of the aisle typically try to beat the drum on. We want more people participating in elections, not less. Um, currently very few people participate in municipal elections. I think this would improve it. So in that regard, I would prefer to pass this out, but I still withdraw my motion.

  79. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:19:36

      Thank you, Representative MacPherson. So we're back to the underlying motion that we hold the bill. Uh, do we have any, anyone need to make a comment about holding the bill? What's that? You can, yeah. Did, would you like to respond?

  80. Rep. Ryan D. Wilcox2:20:01

      Representative Wilcox? I think we're good. Thank you, Mr.

  81. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:20:04speaker not certain

      Chair. And to the maker of the motion, I support the motion. Okay.

  82. Rep. Andrew Stoddard2:20:09

      Thank you. Um, this has been a really good and interesting discussion. And, uh, I think we should be encouraging more discussion with candidates. And I feel like by signaling party affiliation, we're not doing that. And I want to encourage people to talk because as I mentioned before, there's a wide spectrum. Um, look at some of our voting records. I mean, we're all over the place, which is, I think is how it should be policy based and not party based. And I think if we keep this muni municipal elections nonpartisan without the disclosure, then we're encouraging people to get out to know the candidates. I, I do think it's an issue. I would like, it is an issue I would like to keep studying because, you know, whether that's moving municipal elections to a general election, whatever it is to increase turnout, we need to do it. I think that's a huge problem. We need to do it, but I still think we should hold this bill.

  83. Rep. Michael J. Petersen (Vice Chair, presiding)2:21:05

      Alright, thank you. So the motion to be forced is that we hold HB uh, 5 58 for substitute. We'll do a, a voice vote. Oh, let's do, actually we we're gonna do a roll call. Yeah. Oh, goodness. So Corinne, Representative Welton? Yes. Representative Stoddard. Yes. Representative Romero. Representative Maloy. Representative MacPherson, no Representative Loubet, are you still online? Yes. Representative Hayes. Yes. Representative Fiefia? No. Representative Cutler? Yes. Representative Chair Burton. I mean, chair Peterson, No. Three with it passes seven to WAS first. So the motion to hold passes with a vote of seven to three. Peterson, Peterson, uh, FIA Andon Amendment and McPherson opposing. And, uh,

  84. Rep. A. Cory Maloy (presiding)2:22:53

      Okay, now we're in trouble. Just kidding. Lisa, Representative