SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert is calling lawmakers into special session Wednesday, Aug. 19, to vote on moving the Utah State Prison in Draper to a site west of the Salt Lake City International Airport.

The governor's decision to set a special session on the same day the Legislature holds its monthly interim meetings was expected after the Prison Relocation Commission recommended the Salt Lake site on Tuesday.

The site was chosen over locations in Eagle Mountain and Fairfield in Utah County, and in Grantsville in Tooele County for the $550 million, 4,000-bed project that will replace the aging Point of the Mountain facility.

Lawmakers will be asked to vote on a resolution approving the pick, which is opposed by Salt Lake City officials who are considering action to keep the prison from coming to the capital city, including a lawsuit or referendum.

And some GOP lawmakers, including Rep. Fred Cox, R-West Valley City, want to see the prison rebuilt at the Draper site rather than making the nearly 700 acres located along the "Silicon Slopes" high technology corridor available for developers.

"There'll be debate," Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said Friday. "There will be people who want to argue that it should stay there, argue that it shouldn't be in Salt Lake City."

Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, a co-chairman of the commission, has said he believes the votes are "pretty firm" in favor of the Salt Lake site. Lawmakers have already voted to relocate the prison.

Other issues on the agenda include making corrections and clarifications to existing laws as well as changing the statute of limitations on refunding corporate tax overpayments and the qualifications for the state's Medicaid inspector general.

But Medicaid expansion won't be considered in the special session. Herbert is expected to call lawmakers into another special session once he and legislative leaders agree on a plan.

Related:

Panel votes to move prison to Salt Lake City

The Utah State Prison in Draper should be moved to Salt Lake City, members of the Legislature's Prison Relocation Commission decided in a unanimous vote Tuesday. (Photo: Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)

They continue to work privately on coming up with a plan for using the federal funds available under President Barack Obama's health care law to provide coverage to low-income Utahns, including those in the so-called coverage gap.

That could be coming sooner rather than later after the governor and legislative leaders met with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell in Salt Lake City on Thursday.

"She appreciated hearing from the group about their ideas for state solutions," Burwell's spokesman, Ben Wakana, said, and looks forward to "ongoing conversations" with Utah officials.

He said the federal agency "remains committed to supporting state flexibility and working with states on innovative solutions that provide affordable, accessible care and benefit the economy of Utah and health of low income residents."

Niederhauser said the group detailed their proposal to assess hospitals, doctors and drug companies a "large majority" of the state's share of the program, which has been estimated at about $50 million.

"We had a really good discussion about some of the things we're working on," he said. "They haven't closed the door to any idea yet."

The Senate leader said the hope is the state will have assurances the federal government will approve the plan before it goes to a special session. Niederhauser said the discussions with the agency are continuing.

Burwell also hosted a roundtable discussion with health care stakeholders during her visit to Utah. She is holding similar sessions around the country about the nation's health care system.

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