Who's on Utah's coronavirus task force?
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — For the first time the public knows who makes up the COVID-19 Task Force, headed up by Lt. Governor Spencer Cox. It started as about a dozen people but has grown to hundreds.
These task force meetings are not open to the public, yet some of the biggest decisions, being made right now, are discussed in these meetings.
“The public deserves this, this is not something we should say thank you to because they gave it to us. This is something that's owed the public,” says state Representative Joel Briscoe.
The task force is a web of committees and sub committees.
“This list will help us determine whether or not we have all the right people on the team," Briscoe said.
A spokesperson with Lt. Governor Cox’s office says committee chairs can invite anyone they want into a meeting call and attendance can vary widely among committees.
A flow chart of the task force, provided to some lawmakers, shows the Government Office of Management and Budget, also known as GOMB, as part of the task force. GOMB is currently under legal review for its $800,000 purchase of hydroxychloroquine.
When the list of names was provided to 2News, Cox's office said GOMB is not part of the task force and reports to the governor, and they don't know why GOMB was included in the initial flow chart of the task force.
The following are the documents provided to 2News when we requested information about the task force:
1. Roster from the lieutenant governor's office:
2. Roster from the Department of Public Safety:
3. Roster from the Utah Division of Emergency Management:
