Utah Legislature: GOP lawmakers want power to rate U.S. senators

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Senate passed legislation Monday that would provide a system for political parties and legislators to evaluate the state's two U.S. senators.

SB250 takes aim at the 17th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which allowed senators to be popularly elected rather than appointed by state legislatures.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, said the measure is designed to "enhance the attention our senators give to the state Legislature."

Under the proposal, political parties could partner with state legislators to evaluate senators on their support for states' rights, federalism and federal lands, he said.

Stephenson said the measure is needed because senators no longer consider it their responsibility to represent state governments.

Salt Lake Democratic Sen. Ben McAdams argued that the bill would simply align senators more with political parties than with the state Legislature, but in the end, the bill passed with a party-line vote of 20-8. It now goes to the House for consideration.

— Josh Smith