Rep. Blake Moore, a Utah congressman, said the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the University of Utah Research Park Act that he is leading to preserve the University of Utah’s use of federal land in Research Park. "It's called the University of Utah Research Park Act," Moore said.

Moore said the university has used the land under an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management for more than 50 years and that the federal government is now challenging enhancements that would allow the university to make improvements there. "We got a hearing today," he said, thanking "chairman Westerman, and chairman Tiffany for for for putting it out."

The hearing, Moore said, included testimony on the legislation from the University of Utah’s president, Taylor R. Randall. Moore described the bill as intended to provide the university with continued autonomy over improvements in Research Park and said his office will work to move the bill through the committee and legislative process.

The meeting transcript does not record a committee vote or formal action beyond holding the hearing. The discussion as described by Moore concerned the status of the long-standing BLM agreement, the university’s ability to make enhancements on the site, and the next steps in the committee process. No timeline or vote outcome was specified in the remarks he made.

The hearing represents an early procedural step; Moore said he hopes the committee and the House will advance the legislation but gave no firm schedule for further action.