Governor, full Legislature to have final say on prison move


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SALT LAKE CITY — The Legislature's Prison Relocation Commission is no longer seeking the authority to make the final decision on where to move the Utah State Prison, now in Draper.

Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, co-chairman of the commission, said Saturday legislation is being drafted that is expected to spell out that the site for the $500 million to $600 million project will be chosen by the full Legislature and Gov. Gary Herbert.

"I believe that’s the direction we’re going," Stevenson said after meeting with Herbert Friday. "I spent some time with the governor yesterday and that seemed to have created some angst," he said Saturday.

The proposal to let the seven lawmakers serving on the commission pick the place for a new prison, announced in a GOP caucus last week, was pitched as a way to take politics out of the relocation process.

Stevenson said that's not what's happening now that prison relocation has been tied to a battle between Herbert and House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, over Medicaid expansion.

Herbert told reporters last week he would look at vetoing any legislation limiting his authority and also gave the prison a 50-50 chance of remaining in Draper. Hughes, whose district includes the Draper prison, has long pushed to move it to free up the property for development.

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Backing off the proposed legislation should help tone down talk of rebuilding the prison in Draper, Stevenson said. Lawmakers last year passed a resolution calling for the prison to be moved.

"I think that helps immensely," he said, as does the commission's decision on Friday to add two new sites, near Eagle Mountain and Grantsville, to the three already on the shortlist.

Those three sites, also near Eagle Mountain and Grantsville as well as in Salt Lake City, west of the Salt Lake City International Airport, have received significant community opposition.

Stevenson said keeping the prison in Draper was discussed during his meeting with the governor, "but he was more concerned about the process we were using and who would make the final decision. He felt, and I think he was right, that the executive branch should have a say where it lands."

Now, Stevenson said, the governor has indicated he will be willing to call lawmakers into special session to select the site once the commission is ready with a recommendation, likely in June.

"We'll take an afternoon, debate the issue and take an up or down vote," the senator said, probably on a legislative interim day so there is no additional cost to taxpayers for the special session.

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UtahPolitics
Lisa Riley Roche

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