A legislative group wants to give the Utah Technology Industry Council a face lift to make it better able to address tech-sector issues.

The state Technology Industry Commission on Wednesday passed out draft legislation that would make sweeping changes to the council, a state entity since 2003 that has discussed industry matters and suggested legislation considered by the commission.

Rather than have a standing committee with periodic meetings, the draft calls for a UTIC chairman and vice chairman, appointed by the Senate president and House speaker, who would form ad-hoc committees. The committees would consist of current or former tech industry professionals and tech professionals from public and higher education.

To ensure the committees have the help they need, the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel would assist UTIC, and the Governor's Office of Economic Development would help the ad-hoc committees. The bill also would eliminate a requirement that the council have joint meetings with the technology commission.

"One of the key things here is my desire to help UTIC be quick and nimble, to be able to adapt and adjust rapidly to the issues that face the commission, to be able to report about various technology issues that are before the state," said Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, and co-chairman of the commission. He cited as an example a "tiger team" of experts that could study and report on telecommunications in rural Utah.

"What we see are the advantages of the restructuring are a more nimble and focused information-gathering arm, especially with these ad-hoc committees," said Greg Jones, the state science adviser and the person in charge of the state's industry clusters initiative.

"By using the Governor's Office of Economic Development clusters team to help staff the ad-hoc committees, what that does now is it allows the Legislature and the governor to eat from the same information. So it helps us align on issues by basically using the same team to gather our information and suggest initiatives and policy."

During recent council meetings, UTIC members have struggled with how to best work to improve the state's tech industry. They have acknowledged that attendance at meetings has been spotty, recognizing that chief executive officers of companies often are simply too busy to commit time to volunteer for monthly meetings. Jones said the ad-hoc committees would allow them to participate on specific matters in a concentrated time frame.

"So you get a commitment that's more focused and constrained for your volunteers, and overall what that does is it gives a better voice of industry into the legislative body," Jones said.

Martin Frey, managing director of Economic Development for the Governor's Office of Economic Development, said he wants UTIC to have a "go make it happen" approach rather than just being involved in research and analysis.

Commission co-chairwoman Sen. Beverly Evans, R-Altamont, emphasized the need for a group to look into technology issues that swiftly change, and she lauded the opportunity to combine activities of the Legislature and governor's office.

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