Legislative Process

America submits many of its complex issues and problems to legislative process for resolution. Many of these problems exist because the entities involved are unable or unwilling to talk and negotiate. Legislative process affords entities that opportunity.

The Deseret News highlights a serious property rights controversy that exists in Utah regarding billboards. This controversy has been raging for some time. I’m happy to say that the parties brought the issue to the Legislature, and that we’ve been able to resolve it (or at least map out a strategy by which it can be resolved).

The Utah League of Cities and Towns and the billboard companies each had several items of legislation that they wanted run. Senator Jerry Stevenson, Representative Steve Clark and I were able to meet with the entities and craft a pathway forward. It’s not that we did anything great, we simply had the backing of the legislative process to invite (force?) the parties to talk. Once they sat in the same room and had a somewhat refereed conversation, they were able to find some solutions. Good for them.

The underlying balance-of-power issues still exist and must be examined, and maybe modified, by the Legislature, but that’s a good project for the interim.