The House Economic Development Workforce Services Committee unanimously approved first substitute HB 321, the Utah Olympic amendments, after sponsor remarks that the bill mainly updates reporting and replacement procedures for the Legislature.

The bill replaces references to the now-dissolved Olympic bid committee with the new host committee formed in December and requires that replacement members from Utah on the host committee be approved by the governor, the House speaker and the Senate president, the sponsor told the committee. "It just updates the bid committee to the host committee and then provides a procedure where the legislature still has oversight of who who, gets, put on that committee," the sponsor said.

Why it matters: The change preserves a role for the Legislature in vetting who represents Utah on the Olympic host committee after the Paris bid committee dissolved. Committee members emphasized financial accountability for the host committee and expressed interest in protecting state funds that may flow to tourism in connection with the Games.

Sponsor presentation and committee discussion focused on process and membership. The sponsor explained the coordinating committee created in 2023—three House members and three senators—will continue as the legislative conduit to the host committee, noting one member change after Representative Birkland’s resignation. Representative Shelley raised a concern about protecting state resources from expected tourism-related revenues; the sponsor replied that one responsibility of the legislative coordinating committee is "to have financial accountability for the host committee" and said the committee would "follow the money."

No members of the public spoke on the bill during the committee's public-comment period. Committee members moved and voted to adopt the first substitute and then to send HB 321, as substituted, with a favorable recommendation to the full House. Both motions passed unanimously.

The committee recorded no formal amendments beyond adoption of the first substitute. The bill now moves forward with the committee’s favorable recommendation and the updated statutory language that ties replacement appointments for Utah delegation seats on the host committee to the governor, speaker and senate president.