The Utah House Government Operations Committee on Thursday approved HB158 in the interest of state sovereignty from international bodies like the World Health Organization and the United Nations, but not without a healthy debate.
The bill would officially prevent state leaders, including state agency directors and Gov. Spencer Cox, from implementing international directives or emergency declarations.
Proponents of the bill cited the COVID-19 pandemic and opined that international organizations stepped on the rights of Utah citizens.
State sovereignty versus quick emergency action
Rep. Lisa Shepherd, R-Provo, sponsored the bill and introduced it to the House.
“All directives and mandates must originate from Utah’s elected leaders, not from unelected international organizations,” she told the committee. “Emergency decisions are made by Utahns, for Utahns.”
Her framing of HB158 in terms of state sovereignty from international rulings drew debate from committee members Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Sandy, and House Minority Whip Sahara Hayes, D-Salt Lake City.
“I don’t think this is necessary. Legally at least, these organizations have no sovereignty here. ... And I do think (this bill) would hamstring the governor under certain circumstances,” Stoddard said in committee.
“We’re simply saying in this bill that the state is sovereign and that no foreign entity can dictate policy in the state,” said committee chair Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, who, prior to his time in the Utah House of Representatives, served as executive director of the Utah State Department of Health.
Members of the public who spoke at the hearing included Kael Weston, a Salt Lake City native who served with the U.S. State Department for over a decade. Weston spoke to the committee about the effectiveness of WHO’s response to Ebola in Africa and the SARS outbreak in Asia.
He predicted that the U.S. leaving the WHO would have a negative impact on American emergency response.
“It’s always good to have allies when the challenges are enormous,” he told the committee.
On the other side, Greg Duerden, state chair of the Independent American Party of Utah, advocated in favor of the bill.
“We can make better decisions here locally with the boots on the ground than someone who’s a country away or more,” he testified. “We know what we need here better than others internationally or even at the national level.”
What future emergency responses could look like
When asked how HB158 could affect emergency response time in Utah, House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said he didn’t see how disentanglement from the WHO and the United Nations could slow response down.
“It ought to be the citizens and elected officials inside this, the state of Utah, making (emergency) decisions, not outside organizations. ... We need to be listening to the people,” he told the Deseret News.
Shepherd said that she believes the bill would allow state leaders to make decisions that align with international recommendations, but that those decisions would “be their own,” not that of international organizations.
“The people of Utah have placed their trust in their elected officials,” said Shepherd. “(This bill) will empower our elected officials.”
The bill passed with unanimous approval from Republicans and was opposed unanimously by Democrats, including Stoddard, Hayes and House Minority Leader Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City.