A bill to expand the state’s Federalism Commission and provide more provisions around federalism in the state advanced through House committee on Wednesday.
HB488 is sponsored by Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, who has also led other federalism bill this session.
This bill expands the commission and also coordinates collaborative efforts between the commission and Utah Valley University’s Center for Constitutional Studies and Herbert Institute.
Both the center and the institute would be given certain responsibilities through the the legislation.
What would the bill do?
Through this bill, the commission would be allowed to open more bill files each year, and would also change how the commission appoints its members.
HB488 also tasks the Federalism Commission with making recommendations to both the center and the institute while also reporting annually to the Legislative Management Committee.
Responsibilities given to the Center for Constitutional Studies would include developing an education and training program for state and local government employees regarding federalism issues.
“So that they can better navigate the ongoing challenges that arise from being an employee of or representative in a state that’s part of a federal system,” said Matthew Brogdon, the center’s senior director. “So that is fundamentally an educational role and one that is within the existing activity of the center.”
The center would also be required to hold an annual federalism conference and explore forming a national organization focused on federalism. Under HB488 the center would be able to establish informal working groups as needed.
UVU’s Herbert institute’s main responsibility with this bill is to act as a liaison between the Federalism Commission, the Center for Constitutional Studies and government entities on federalism matters. It’s efforts will be reported back to the commission.
The institute will also be asked to conduct outreach to support the efforts of the commission.
It also includes $910,000 from the income tax fund for the 2026 fiscal year being appropriated to support these initiatives. There are specific allocations for both the Center for Constitutional Studies and the Herbert Institute.
“There’s never been a time in American history when federalism wasn’t the hot topic,” Brogdon said. “Federalism is one way of dealing with deep political disagreement.”
What is the Center for Constitutional Studies?
The Center for Constitutional Studies at UVU is a nonpartisan academic institute that studies ideas and practices pertaining to perpetuating a constitutional government. It was founded in 2011 and has continued to grow under the same mission since its founding.
The center is multidisciplinary, crossing over between politics, history, economics and other studies. The insitute not only educates UVU students but also provides K-12 development throughout the state.
“We’re aimed at putting the Constitution at the center of civic education, because we believe it’s a civic common ground for Americans and a good place to start and again, working on our differences as a people,” said Brogdon.
Brogdon said that this bill would allow the center to be a “scholarly resource to give them nonpartisan, reliable information about how the federal system is working and how the relationship between the states and the federal government is being affected by various policies.”
He added that this bill adds new specific activities to the center, but the new endeavors require the scholarly expertise that is already housed there.
Other federalism bills this session
HB380 establishes a mechanism to deal with jurisdictional conflict between the state and federal governments. It establishes a clear understanding that the federal government has a limited jurisdiction while the state has general jurisdiction.
“It’s the burden of the federal government to prove that it has jurisdiction when it’s acting,” said Ivory, the bill’s sponsor. “It’s their obligation to prove where they have authority.”
The bill focuses on both the Ninth and 10th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
Another piece of legislation this session also emphasizes the rights delegated by the 10th Amendment. SJR6 would reaffirm Utah’s sovereignty under this amendment and includes the Legislature pledging to safeguard that sovereignty from unconstitutional federal overreach.