Utah State Sen. Wayne Harper on Bipartisan Cooperation in State Legislatures

The National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonprofit organization that performs policy research and technical assistance for state lawmakers and staff members, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The organization, which has a staff of nearly 200 people in Denver and Washington, D.C., is designed as a bipartisan support network for state legislatures. It is led in alternating years by Republican and Democratic elected officials.

This year the organization is led by Wayne Harper, the Utah Senate president pro tempore.

Harper has served in the Utah Legislature since 1997. He was first a member of the state House and later was elected to the state Senate in 2013. A real estate and development consultant, Harper says he prides himself on constituent services. He also leads the Utah Senate committees on transportation and retirement. He is one of 23 Republicans in the 29-member state Senate.

An edited transcript of Governing’s conversation with Harper is below.

Can you give me an example of a constituent service type of bill that you have helped to pass? 

There are times when somebody will come and say I’m working with X agency, the Labor Commission, or the Department of Commerce on my business, so I’ll sit down with the director and a couple staff members and say, "This is what my constituent is saying. This is what the code says. What’s the gap here? What am I missing?" And generally they’ll say, “Your constituent is right. We’d like to do that but code prevents us from doing that.” So we’ll go through and run a bill that says we’re going to modify the code for the Department of Transportation, Department of Commerce, Labor Commission or Child and Family Services in order to meet the needs of the different constituents that I have.

You’ve been in the Legislature since the late 1990s. How have the politics of the Legislature changed in that time? 

You have different personalities. Who the speaker is, who the president is, who the governor is dictates some of the direction and the priorities. If you take a look at the politics, I have found that Utah, and I’m proud of this fact, has been one of the most if not the most open, inclusive, and dialogue-intensive legislatures that I’ve been able to find. We pride ourselves that we keep the minority party at the table all through the legislative process and all through the budgetary process. We make sure that people have the opportunity, no matter how normal their ideas or how polarizing they might be, to express their ideas and get a bill drafted. Whether the bill passes or not is a different issue. But they have the same right, regardless of who they are, to get a bill drafted and get a proposal out there for the body to consider.

What do you think distinguishes the Utah Legislature and that dynamic from some of the really rancorous politics in other state legislatures?

We recognize that we all have constituencies that elect us. They’re different. But every person who is elected has a couple key principles. No. 1, we’re Utahns. No. 2, we’re Americans. And No. 3, you may not agree with my idea or I may not agree with your idea, but let’s sit down and talk about those. I think it’s the open dialogue that is the hallmark of the state of Utah.

Looking at states, most bills that pass in state legislatures, generally around 80 percent, are nearly unanimous. Roads, transit, parks, education — they don’t have a political label on them. Other things do. My philosophy is, let’s go through and get the stuff through that we agree on and then let’s sit around the table and discuss the things [we don’t], in a mature way, and work on those other 20 percent of things. And let’s attack the issue and not each other.

How does that play into your role with the National Conference of State Legislatures? What is the value of that organization and what does it mean to you to serve as president? 

There are different organizations and different groups that work with state legislatures, but the National Conference of State Legislatures is the hallmark institution in the nation. It’s the forum for legislators to share ideas and dialogue, a place where you can learn, debate, exchange and respect each other. It is where federalism happens. Under the Constitution, powers not specifically delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states and the people. We have to remind our federal partners of that. D.C. should be handling national tax policy, international relations, things like that. The states, the cities and counties, we’re the ones that deal with the day-to-day activities. As we express that and work with the federal government, that enhances the ability of people to live the life that they choose.

Is there something specific you can share about what a legislator or staff member has told you about why NCSL is important? 

We have, with NCSL, quite a number of employees who are dedicated to answering questions of legislators. They do a lot of research. So for example, we’re taking a look right now at, what are the current policies of different states dealing with AI, dealing with cybersecurity, dealing with the changing fuel types — how are we going to fund our roads and our highways going forward as we go to alternate-fuel vehicles? Somebody in the state might have a really good idea on that and NCSL goes through and keeps a great big resource database of what every state, every legislature’s proposals are. So when you call up and say, “What’s happening around the country?” they will go through and do queries and get that information back so we have better data to make more informed decisions.

There are other organizations focused on state legislation that come from the right or the left. What is it like to try to run this bipartisan organization where the leadership changes between Republicans and Democrats? Is it tough to do that? What’s the value of doing that? 

That’s one of the things that I love most about NCSL. It’s not a pay to play. It’s not just, we’re going to advocate for this progressive or this ultra-right policy. It’s where you get around the table and you exchange ideas. I spend a lot of time with Republican and Democrat legislators, speakers, presidents, with the intent of saying NCSL is that safe space where you can go through and have a respectful dialogue and debate the issues. We may not end up agreeing. But we do respect each other and we’re not attacking each other. It’s a great opportunity to sit around and talk about things, how to make America better and address housing and drugs and the other big issues that we have out there in a respectful format.

In the legislative work you do, is it tougher to have bipartisan conversations now than it used to be? 

It is becoming a little bit more challenging. I have noticed that over the years. I’m not sure that everybody has the same sense as people after World War I, World War II — there was a unanimity that came through as to what we were going to do. We had things like the Korean War, the Afghan War, Vietnam, all these things that have created a slightly different mindset and a perception of what this country is, what the Constitution is. So yes, it is more challenging. But that makes it even more important for organizations like NCSL and speakers and senate presidents around the country to get people together and say, OK, what is it that we want to do? What are these top 10 or 20 issues that we’re going to address going forward? You have people that want to go out and deal with more of their single or small group of issues, rather than looking at the big picture, and it’s more challenging. But that’s why I and so many others are working with NCSL and other groups to say, we’re Americans, let’s work on things together.

Who do you find it hardest to find common cause with? 

To me the greatest challenge is people who are not willing to sit around the table and talk. They put their stake in the sand and that’s where they’re going to be. You have some of those in some groups, but I’ve found most people willing to sit down and just chat and grab a soda and just say, “OK, where are you, what are your values, what can we work on together?” There are very few people who will reject that and say, “No, I’m just going to do my own thing.” Fortunately I see in America the value that most people have is, we can work on things together.

We’re likely to have some kind of divided government in Washington. What do states need from the federal government and is it tougher to get those things when there’s gridlock? 

Unfortunately you’ve hit on something that I think is a challenge for this country and has been through the years. We’ve seen different presidents and different Congresses that don’t work together as they should. But we as local legislators continue to reach out to our members of Congress, reach out to the White House. That is helpful.

The gridlock that you see right now in D.C. is increasing the national debt. Congress is not being responsive as it should be to natural disasters and international issues that are going on. I don’t know how we get by that in D.C. where people are entrenching. But if we can get them talking, then I think we’ll be in much better shape, because I’m concerned with the national debt, and there are too many international wars going on that are harbingers of troubling times.

Do you have any practical advice for legislators who might want to have those conversations and are working through awkwardness and conflict? Do you have any tips for how to do that? 

You need to reach out. Most of all, get to know your fellow colleagues in not just a legislative way, but get to know them and their families, so you understand the commonalities that already exist. And then build on that. Build your trust, your relationships and your dialogues. It’s as simple as being a friend and being open.