The Office of Government Relations at Salt Lake Community College offered a one-hour learning session on Utah’s legislative process on Nov. 7, in an effort to help students, faculty and staff better understand how laws are made.
The event took place in the Oak Room, a conference room in the Student Center at Taylorsville Redwood Campus. More than 55 attendees ate salad and pizza and munched on sweets while Tim Sheehan and Scott E. Brown explained the process of how a bill becomes a law and the appropriations process.
“We figured everyone [here] had some type of government class, but Utah’s specific process is what we wanted to focus on,” Brown said of the purpose for the event.
Discussing the legislative process
Brown, the director of local government relations at SLCC, first discussed how a bill makes its way through the legislature, after starting as an idea from either a legislator, constituent, special interest, lobbyist or state government entity.
Sheehan, the vice president of government and community relations at SLCC, then explained the appropriations process. Appropriation is a legislative measure that permits the allocation of public funds for a particular purpose. To benefit from government funds, each institution of higher education in Utah begins setting their priorities in April.
Sheehan said the Utah Board of Higher Education, which receives its power to govern the Utah System of Higher Education from the legislature, votes on budget priorities to recommend to the legislature in the fall, after combining and evaluating the priorities provided to them by individual institutions.
The Partnership for Accessing College Education (PACE) scholarship program and the Veteran Business Resource Center, which is housed at Miller Campus, are two examples of appropriations initiatives, or priorities, that the Office of Government Relations was able to get approved for students at SLCC.
Tori Wilson, a sophomore at SLCC studying psychology, said she thought the workshop was helpful and informative. Wilson added that she appreciates how SLCC provides opportunities outside of class for civic learning.
“It was interesting … a little bit over my head, but not too much,” Wilson said. “I’m a psychology major, so I don’t need a lot of classes on this, but I want to be involved and up to date.”
Judina Korok, a sophomore at SLCC studying nursing, said she came to the event to learn more about how legislation works in Utah. Korok also said she appreciated how the workshop leaders provided extensive resources that she can use to learn more on her own.
“I came here to understand more about Utah’s government. It was informative and I liked the fact that they gave us their website on the screen. Now I can go check them out,” Korok said.
Future government workshops
The Office of Government Relations is planning at least two more educational discussions on legislation in Utah and is considering a third as well. The two workshops that are officially being put together will focus on the next legislative session, the 2025 General Session of the 66th Legislature, which runs from Jan. 21 to March 7.
“In January we will do a specific one for the upcoming legislative session. In March we will do a final review of [that] session,” Brown said.
According to Brown, the third workshop, if it happens, will focus on the federal legislative session in 2025.
Besides offering these workshops, the Office of Government Relations acts as the main point of contact to public officials and important agency decision-makers across all levels of government, facilitating connections between government representatives to the various services provided by SLCC.
