No veto override, but Utah lawmakers, governor may compromise on filling congressional vacancies

No veto override, but Utah lawmakers, governor may compromise on filling congressional vacancies

(Silas Walker, KSL, File)


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SALT LAKE CITY — There won't be a veto override session to reverse Gov. Gary Herbert's rejection of legislation abbreviating the special election process to fill an unexpected congressional vacancy.

"In the Senate, we don't have the votes, but the hope is that we still find a path forward. We're still talking to the governor and trying to find a better way," Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said Tuesday.

Lawmakers had until May 13 to hold an override session to overturn the governor's veto of SB123, sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, but needed a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate.

House spokesman Matt Lusty said representatives "currently don't plan to have an override session." He said if legislators feel like the veto needs to be addressed, it "will be discussed during the next legislative session."

McCay suggested it could take even longer.

"We know the special election process will require a legislative fix. It looks like we didn't find the right solution this time," he said. "We will continue to work to find a solution that will get the needed support. Who knows, maybe 2021 is the year."

Adams, however, said there's a possibility the issue could be tackled in a special session this year, although talks with House Speaker Brad Wilson, R-Kaysville, and the governor to come up with a compromise are still in the preliminary stages.

Herbert's deputy chief of staff, Paul Edwards, said in a statement that the governor "appreciates his strong working relationship with the Legislature."

Edwards said "it is remarkable to consider that in a session where the governor signed 539 pieces of legislation into law that there was disagreement over one bill, or less than 0.2 percent of the legislation passed."

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The governor's decision to set up a special election process himself in 2017 when former Rep. Jason Chaffetz announced he was resigning his 3rd Congressional District seat sparked a rift with the Legislature.

Lawmakers, who wanted Herbert to let them determine the process in a special session, successfully pushed a change to the Utah Constitution that allows them to call themselves into a special session in addition to passing SB123.

The governor's special congressional election process allowed candidates to gather voter signatures for a place on the primary ballot, an alternative to a political party's traditional caucus and convention system for choosing nominees.

That option, part of the controversial law still known as SB54 that was the subject of a failed lawsuit by the Utah GOP, is not in the vetoed bill. Instead, party delegates would have advanced two candidates to the ballot to speed up the process.

Adams said a compromise between legislative leaders and the governor may result in the special election process being determined by how much time remains in a congressional term.

"If it's a shorter period, there's a bigger need for an expedited process. If there is more time, perhaps the elongated process fits. That's at least part of the discussion right now," he said.

That could mean, for example, the abbreviated process would be used if a member of Congress resigns with a year or less remaining in his or her term. Chaffetz left six months into his two-year term and became a Fox News contributor.

The Senate president said a special session could also include legislation ensuring elections are won with a majority of the vote, not just a plurality, a situation made more likely by the dual path to the primary ballot.

If lawmakers want to consider creating a runoff election when no candidates receives a majority of the vote in a primary, Adams said that can't wait until the 2020 Legislature begins meeting in late January.

"We have to do it before the first of the year because it may affect filing dates and primary dates," he said, adding that he believes it makes sense to consider that issue at the same time as a new process for congressional special elections.

The governor has said he will call a special session as soon as the end of summer to consider tax reform. A legislative task force to come up with a solution to lagging sales tax collections is expected to be named by mid-May.

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