A Taylorsville Republican filed a rules resolution on Thursday to limit media access to lawmakers on the House floor — a similar measure approved by Utah Senate Republicans last week.
The measure, HR2, sponsored by state Rep. James Dunnigan, would require credentialed reporters to get the permission of the House of Representatives speaker or the speaker’s “designee” to “conduct and record” interviews with lawmakers in the House chamber, gallery, lounge, halls and committee rooms.
HR2 would also prevent journalists from standing behind a committee room dais without the approval of a committee chair. Photographers and videographers have often stood behind the dais during committee hearings to capture the face of an individual who is testifying for or against a bill.
Additionally, the proposed rules resolution says journalists would need to get approval from the House speaker to enter House committee rooms, according to the measure’s text. Alexa Roberts, a spokesperson for the Utah House, clarified that media access to House committee rooms would not change as “committee rooms are public spaces.”
“Of course committee hearings are open to the public, we stream them for the public to participate in,” House Speaker Brad Wilson told reporters on Friday. “There has been some question around where we’re putting cameras and the disruption that occurs sometimes in committee hearings. So that’s one of the things we’ve been trying to work through.”
If passed, the effort would change the way reporters have communicated with lawmakers at Utah’s Capitol.
Dunnigan did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday evening.
“When conducting an interview in the House chamber, the news media may enter the chamber for the purpose of conducting a specific interview and shall exit the chamber promptly after completing the interview,” according to the proposed rule change.
The measure is nearly identical to a rules resolution approved by Utah Senate Republicans last week. State Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, who sponsored that legislation, previously said the measure would establish clear rules over media access and address security concerns in the Senate.
HR2 is set to be presented on Monday during a House Rules Committee meeting.
Because it is a rules resolution, the measure would only require a two-thirds vote from the House of Representatives to pass.
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