Merrill Nelson
Member of the Utah House of Representatives
from the 68th district
In office
January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2022
Preceded byBill Wright
Succeeded byScott Chew
Personal details
Born (1955-07-16) July 16, 1955
Tooele, Utah
NationalityAmerican
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKaren Nelson[1]
Children5[1]
ResidenceGrantsville, Utah
Alma materBrigham Young University
J. Reuben Clark Law School
ProfessionLawyer
Websitemerrillnelson.com

Merrill F. Nelson[2] (born July 16, 1955 in Tooele, Utah) is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Utah House of Representatives representing District 68.[3] Merrill announced he was not seeking re-election in 2022.

Early life and career

Nelson was born in Grantsville, UT. He was the fourth child of eight children of Ruth Nelson (née Francom) and Russell A Nelson. His mother was born in Payson, UT; his father in Tooele, UT. When Merrill was born, his father was a farmer.[4][5]

Nelson earned his BS in agricultural economics from Brigham Young University and his JD from J. Reuben Clark Law School. He has worked as a Supreme Court Law Clerk from 1982–83 and on the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Appellate Procedure from 1986-87. Nelson is a member of the Utah State Bar. Nelson chairs the Guardian ad Litem Oversight Committee, and has also worked on the Fair Boundaries Coalition since 2011. He also serves as chair of the Grantsville Old Folks Sociable.[6][7]

Political career and elections

During the 2022 legislative session, Nelson served on the Infrastructure and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, House Health and Human Services Committee, and House Transportation Committee.[8]

  • In 2020, Nelson won 75.3% of the vote and won election once again to the Utah of House of Representatives.[9]
  • In 2018, Nelson defeated Merle Wall, Kirk Pearson, Denyse Housley Cox, and Warren Rogers with 71.4% of the vote in the general election for Utah House of Representatives District 68 on November 6.[9]
  • In 2016, Nelson won 70.81% of the vote in the Utah House of Representatives District 68 general election.[9]
  • In 2014, Nelson was unopposed for the Republican convention and won the November 4, 2014 general election due to being unopposed because Independent candidate Rett Rowley was disqualified before the election.[10]
  • 2012 Nelson was selected from four candidates by the Republican convention to challenge District 68 incumbent Republican Representative Bill Wright in the June 26, 2012 Republican primary, winning with 1,910 votes (52.3%)[11] and won the three-way November 6, 2012 General election with 9,831 votes (73.8%) against Democratic nominee Thomas Nedreberg and Constitution candidate Paul McCollaum, Jr.[12]
  • 1998 To challenge Senate District 13 incumbent Democratic Representative George Mantes, Nelson won the 1998 Republican primary, but lost the November 3, 1998 General election by 45 votes to Democratic nominee Ron Allen[13] who had won the Democratic Primary against Senator Mantes. Allen served in the seat from 1999 until 2006.

Notable legislation

  • 2022- Representative Nelson ran HB 143 which increases the penalty for a second driving under the influence conviction to a class a misdemeanor under certain circumstances.[14]
  • 2022- Representative Nelson ran HB 344 which, among other things, creates a medical candor process where a health care provider may investigate an injury, or suspected injury, associated with a health care process and may communicate information about the investigation to the patient and any representative of the patient.[15]

2022 sponsored legislation

Bill NumberBill NameBill Status
HB 87Procurement Code RevisionsHouse/ filed - 3/4/22
HB 143DUI Penalty Amendments House/ filed - 3/4/22
HB 205 County Officer Fees Amendments Governor signed - 3/24/22
HB 219 Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act Governor signed - 3/24/22
HB 344 Utah Medical Candor Act Governor signed - 3/24/22
HJR 13 Joint Resolution Amending Court Rules of Procedure and Evidence to Address the Medical Candor Process House/ enrolled bill to Printing - 3/14/22
HR 1 House Rules Resolution - Reconsideration of Action House/ filed - 3/4/22

[16]

Arizona Child Abuse Controversy

Nelson worked for law firm Kirton McConkie[17] which represents the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints[18] based out of Salt Lake City, Utah. In this capacity, one of his duties was receiving phone calls from ecclesiastical leaders through a helpline to give legal advice regarding sensitive situations. Many of these phone calls to the helpline[19][20] are made by Bishops of the LDS faith looking for legal advice around domestic violence and abuse reported to them through confessions of members in their Ward or local community. Nelson was named in a lawsuit brought against the church, alleging that he gave legal advice to two Bishops not to report a case of sexual abuse of children to law enforcement or child protective services.[21] Section 13-3620 of the Arizona Code allows clergy members (like Bishops) to choose whether reporting abuse disclosed in a confession is in the best interests of the parties involved.[22][23] The church asserts that, as required by Arizona law, the Bishop sought permission from the perpetrator of the abuse to report his confession to the authorities.[23] When the perpetrator declined to grant permission, the Bishop asked both the perpetrator and his wife to report the abuse themselves, but both again refused.[23] In April 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that Arizona's clergy-privilege law properly applies to LDS Bishops.[24]

References

  1. 1 2 "Aaron Merrill Nelson".
  2. ↑ "Merrill F. Nelson (R)". Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah State Legislature. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Merrill Nelson's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  4. ↑ "RUSSELL NELSON Obituary (2009) Deseret News". Legacy.com.
  5. ↑ "RUTH FRANCOM NELSON Obituary (2010) the Salt Lake Tribune". Legacy.com.
  6. ↑ "www.MerrillNelson.com". Retrieved 9 September 2022. Served three years on the Guardian ad litem Oversight Committee appointed by Utah Judicial Council; acting chairman. Served on Utah Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Appellate Procedure. Author and presenter on constitutional issues; chapter author, "Confronting Pornography." Clerked on Utah Supreme Court. Editor of BYU Law Review.
  7. ↑ "Representative Nelson". house.utleg.gov. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  8. ↑ "Merrill Nelson". Salt Lake City, Utah: Utah House of Representatives. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 "Merrill Nelson". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on March 23, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ "2014 Election results". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  11. ↑ "2012 Primary Canvass Reports". Salt Lake City, Utah: Lieutenant Governor of Utah. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "2012 General Canvass Report". Salt Lake City, Utah: Lieutenant Governor of Utah. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  13. ↑ "1998 General Election Results" (PDF). Salt Lake City, Utah: Lieutenant Governor of Utah. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ Dave (2022-03-03). "H.B. 143 DUI Penalty Amendments". Utah State Legislature. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  15. ↑ "H.B. 344 Utah Medical Candor Act". Utah State Legislature. 2022-03-03. Archived from the original on 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-14.
  16. ↑ "2016 Legislation". Salt Lake City, Utah. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Archived copy". LawyerDB.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ↑ Pitzel, Mary Jo. "Lawsuit: LDS Church officials, teacher knew of abuse but kept silent". AZ Central. Archived from the original on September 9, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  19. ↑ REZENDES, Michael (August 4, 2022). "Seven years of sex abuse: How Mormon officials let it happen". AP News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Mormon abuse cases - Wikipedia". Archived from the original on 2022-08-15. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
  21. ↑ Rezendes, Michael. "Docs show Rep. Merrill Nelson advised a church bishop not to report abuse". Associated Press. KUER Radio. Archived from the original on 2022-09-09. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  22. ↑ "View Document".
  23. 1 2 3 "Arizona Supreme Court upholds Latter-day Saint priest-penitent privilege in sex abuse case".
  24. ↑ "Arizona court upholds clergy privilege in child abuse case - AZPM".
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