Legislature. Committee to Study Operations of State Government

The function and mission of the committee evolved over time, but generally focused on studying the existing state government structure and then making recommendations for any improvements, especially in the interest of smaller budgets and becoming more efficient. Major areas of study included public utilities, natural resources, taxes and the public school system.

The committee, often called the Committee of Nine, was composed of the following members: three from the Senate, three from the House of Representatives and three appointed by the governor. Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen and Secretaries and other positions were voted for internally. In addition, heads of sub-committees when formed were chosen by nomination and voting as recorded in the meeting minutes.

In January 1933 a concurrent resolution created the joint legislative committee that met almost every day of the legislative session. Formal hearings were held between January 30 and February 4, 1933, the committee handed in a report of their findings on February 10. The minutes of the meetings throughout January make it clear, however, that a couple of weeks was not enough time to thoroughly study state government and give recommendations for improvement.

On March 9, 1933, House Bill 221 passed, creating a more permanent and extensive Committee to Study Operation of the Government (Laws of Utah 1933, ch. 86). Instead of being limited to the length of one legislative session, the committee now had until December 1, 1934 to turn in reports concerning their investigations and recommendations "as to changes necessary to expedite and effect more efficient and economical government throughout the state." The members took custody of the previous committee's records, however in the end discarded most of the data in favor of new research. Known by this point as the Investigating Committee of Utah Governmental Units, their one volume report was turned in by the appointed time.

In an amendment to the original statute, the legislature formed another committee in March 1935 (Laws of Utah 1935, ch. 135). This committee's duties were spelled out in more specific detail, beyond seeking for more economy and efficiency. These areas of investigation, including taxation, coal fields, home or homestead exemptions and consolidating school districts, dictated many of the sub-committees formed and the report each one produced near the end of 1936.