Governor calls for investment in Utah's next 'greatest generation'


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SALT LAKE CITY — Gov. Gary Herbert urged investment in what he called Utah's next "greatest generation" in his State of the State speech Wednesday night by addressing needs including education, transportation and health care for the poor.

Herbert's annual speech, delivered in the House to a joint session of the Legislature, also called for a new state inspector general's office that would act independently "to ensure the highest levels of ethics and official conduct in state government."

And the governor said the state must "stand up and speak out to ensure that our most precious religious liberties are protected," as anti-discrimination legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Utahns is advanced.

"I am confident that, as elected officials, we can work together with religious, business and civic leaders, as well as the LGBT community, to develop policies that treat all people with dignity and respect," he said.

The governor's support for protecting "the personally held values of people on all sides of this issue" comes one day after LDS Church leaders called for religious freedom to be coupled with protecting LGBT Utahns from discrimination.

The Republican governor's speech held no surprises for the GOP leaders of the House and Senate, who found little to criticize.

New House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, said he appreciated the governor offering a "shout out" to both he and Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, for their commitment to take action on Medicaid expansion.

"I think it was a conciliatory tone," Hughes said of Herbert's acknowledgement that there are differences of opinion among lawmakers over his Healthy Utah alternative to Medicaid, one of the most controversial topics this session.

Niederhauser said lawmakers were already "very familiar with Healthy Utah, as well as all the other options we've been discussing," including limiting coverage to only the medically frail rather than all Utahns earning below poverty limits.

A big chunk of the governor's speech was devoted to Healthy Utah, intended to help low-income Utahns obtain private health insurance using money available to the state under the Affordable Care Act.

The plan is already having a tough time with lawmakers, who have expressed concerns about the sustainability of relying on federal funds for the bulk of the money needed.


I am confident that, as elected officials, we can work together with religious, business and civic leaders, as well as the LGBT community, to develop policies that treat all people with dignity and respect.

–Gov. Gary Herbert


Herbert said there's a "stark" choice facing lawmakers given that Utahns pay almost $800 million annually in taxes associated with President Barack Obama's signature health care law.

"We can either watch our hard-earned tax dollars remain on the table in Washington, D.C., primarily benefiting other states, or we can bring back a significant amount of our own money to Utah to be spent on Utahns," he said.

After again making it clear he does not support the act known as Obamacare, the governor switched to a topic more popular with lawmakers — efforts to reclaim public lands from the federal government.

Just as he did in his proposed $14.3 billion budget that would provide $500 million in new money for education, Herbert spoke of the importance of letting local school officials determine the best way to use it, as long as there is proper accountability.

That could mean raising teacher salaries, hiring more teachers to reduce class sizes, investing in more technology, increasing the number of guidance counselors, or other high-priority needs, the governor said.

"As we continue to step up our investment in education, we must not sidestep our commitment to the principle of local control," Herbert said. He also referred to the controversial Common Core academic standards.

Next week, the governor said he and Attorney General Sean Reyes will deliver a report to the State School Board "reaffirming that our state is now, and always will be, in control of every aspect of our education system," not Washington, D.C.

Sydnee Dickson, deputy superintendent of the Utah State Office of Education, praised the governor for his belief that "local education boards and leaders know what is best for their schools and should be making programming decisions at their level."

Dickson said the governor's 10-year plan for education, announced last October and referred to again in his speech, "will propel us to the top-10 tier of education states in the country."

Governor Gary Herbert enters the House Chamber to applause before delivering the state of the state address at the state capitol building in Salt Lake City, Tuesday January 27, 2015. (Trent Nelson)
Governor Gary Herbert enters the House Chamber to applause before delivering the state of the state address at the state capitol building in Salt Lake City, Tuesday January 27, 2015. (Trent Nelson)

Senate Minority Leader Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City, said while he liked the governor's focus on education, he was disappointed there was no talk of the state's higher education system.

"He didn’t talk about colleges and universities keeping up and being able to move forward along with the challenge of getting our children into higher education," Davis said.

While the governor's budget did not include a gas tax increase, he did ask lawmakers to remove an earmark on sales tax revenues for roads to free up more money for schools.

That earmark, which Herbert unsuccessfully vetoed, was not mentioned in his speech, nor was a gas tax increase. All the governor said was that it's time to have "a meaningful discussion about long-term solutions to our transportation funding."

Still, Niederhauser said there was some "innuendo in his speech that we need to do what's right." The GOP House and Senate leaders are split over whether to raise the existing per-gallon tax on gas or turn it into a type of sales tax.

House Majority Leader Jim Dunnigan, R-Taylorsville, said the speech suggests the governor "is leaving that up to the Legislature to make some of those decisions on how additional revenue can be brought to bear."

Even Davis said he was surprised the governor said "they were going to find a solution in the Legislature without coming out and saying, ‘Yeah, they’re going to raise gasoline tax.’ But he did indicate that there’s going to be a big deficit there."

House Minority Leader Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, said because the state's "most pressing need right now is education," he would prefer to see a tax increase for schools rather than roads.

"But the response to that is, 'Well, if you increase the taxes for the gas tax, you’re going to have less of a demand on the general fund for transportation,' which could free the money up in the general fund for education," King said.

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Royce Van Tassell, executive director of the Utah Association of Public Charter Schools, said it’s too early to tell what the discussions over transportation funding will mean for education.

“We’re at the beginning of the session. It’s a long way from knowing what the shape of the budget is going to look like. Education will be a very high priority for the Legislature, just as it is the top priority for Gov. Herbert,” Van Tassell said.

Herbert said he supports the public lands initiative championed by Utah GOP Reps. Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz because Utahns "must have a strong voice and role in managing those lands."

He said Utah is significantly impacted by federal decisions about public lands.

"We value our partnership with the federal government in areas of shared responsibility, but we will never be content to be a silent or a junior partner," Herbert said.

The new initiative in the governor's speech, creating an office of inspector general, is still being put together, the attorney general said, and may not be ready for action this legislative session.

"We're looking at ways we can make sure that any citizens who have concerns about government have an independent body to look at them," Reyes said.

Creating an independent entity to investigate ethical allegations made against elected officials was an issue during last year's race for the remainder of former Attorney General John Swallow's term. Swallow faces criminal charges.

The governor began his half-hour address by recognizing the family of former House Speaker Becky Lockhart, who died recently at the age of 46 from a rare and fatal brain disorder.

Also acknowledged by the governor was Army Master Sgt. Casey Kunimura, of North Ogden, who served in the most decorated U.S. military unit in history, the Army's 442nd Regimental Combat Team, and Kunimura's wife, Dorothy.

"Our World War II generation met the challenges of their time," the governor said.

Herbert also introduced a group of students from Mountain View Elementary in Salt Lake City, saying they symbolized "the potential of youth all across Utah to become the greatest generation of the 21st century."

Mariyam Aliyera, a fifth-grader, was an eager member of that group.

“We all have dreams to become something, and he became the governor and he followed his dream,” she said, expressing gratitude that Herbert’s address “had a lot to do with education."

Contributing: Morgan Jacobsen, Katie McKeller, Andrew Adams

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