Utah adopts ALEC model legislation requiring legislative approval for "major" agency rules

Utah Representative Ryan Wilcox and Senator Daniel McCay championed HB 474, legislation requiring legislative approval for “major” agency rules with significant economic impact, modeled directly on ALEC’s Targeted Legislative Review Act. The law created a Legislative Economic Analysis Unit to provide independent economic analysis of proposed rules, effectively transferring regulatory authority from executive agencies to industry-friendly legislators. ALEC recognized Wilcox and McCay as “Policy Champions” for advancing “accountable governance” and “reining in agency overreach.” Utah legislators’ ALEC membership is concentrated in Republican leadership, with six of ten state senate leadership positions held by ALEC members. The American Legislative Exchange Council receives 98% of its funding from corporations and corporate foundations, functioning as a “corporate bill mill” where lobbyists draft model legislation for state lawmakers to introduce nationwide. ALEC-affiliated academics including Koch-funded Utah State University professor Randy Simmons provide studies supporting deregulation while State Policy Network lobbyists work to increase co-sponsors and provide testimony. This pattern exemplifies institutional capture whereby corporate-funded organizations draft legislation, coordinate academic cover, and deploy lobbyists to systematically transfer regulatory authority from agencies with technical expertise and public accountability to legislative bodies more susceptible to industry influence and campaign contributions.