Although Utah’s Legislature is part-time, lawmakers conduct public legislative work during monthly interim meetings at the Capitol. This is an important time for policy development and advocacy.
During interim, legislative committees study key issues facing the state to prepare for the 45-day general session. The committee chairs prioritize what should be studied over the interim period based on items not addressed during the general session, with input gathered from committee members and the public. These identified items are put on a master study list carefully selected by the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representative and committee chairs. The Legislative Management Committee then votes to adopt interim study items and the schedule for the upcoming year.
From there, interim committees listen to expert and public testimony to determine whether or not to recommend legislation, and vote to prioritize particular bills for the upcoming general session and occasionally for future special sessions.
Interim committees are made up of both senators and representatives. This is different from the general session when the Senate and House each have standing committees composed of only their own members.
These meetings are held throughout the year, generally on the third Wednesday of each month. They are open to the public and can be streamed live or listened to at a later date on le.utah.gov.
The list of committees can be found here.