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SALT LAKE CITY — Though the Utah Legislature has yet to adjourn its first virtual special session that kicked off last week, Gov. Gary Herbert has called another session for Thursday afternoon — to start just after lawmakers conclude theirs.
The session called by Herbert will deal with appropriating federal funds accepted by the Legislature in SJR301 last week. Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, said there are limitations on what lawmakers can do financially when they call themselves into session. The governor’s move was coordinated with lawmakers.
Legislators will also consider changes to two bills vetoed by Herbert — legislation that would create a new charter scholarship program for families with children who have special needs and one that would lift a sales tax exemption on railroad fuel and shift the revenue to improve railroad crossing safety.
One bill, HB3009, which seeks to give elected officials rather than local health department leaders the power to issue emergency orders, will not be taken up Thursday, according to the bill’s Senate sponsor.
Sen. Jake Anderegg, R-Lehi, told KSL on Tuesday the bill is now “on pause” after a wave of opposition spread like wildfire on social media pages based on what he said was a misunderstanding of the bill.
Anderegg said he’s received hundreds of emails from people believing the bill sought to grant government more power to issue emergency orders. The intent, he said, is to bring “checks and balances” between local leaders’ power already available under current state code and who issues those orders.
“There has been fervor and outcry that we’re going to be like China,” Anderegg said, from people who don’t understand local health officials already have the power under Utah law.
What HB3009 seeks to do is give local chief executives — such as mayors, commissioners, city managers — the final say on whether health orders like stay-at-home directives are issued, not local health department directors.
The aim, Anderegg said, is to give that ultimate power to elected leaders who are responsible to their constituencies, rather than “bureaucrats” who may be more focused on public health without giving as much weight to economic damage.
Related:
Special legislative session coming to avoid state budget deficit in Utah
Extended deadline for filing income taxes means money has to be shifted, lawmakers note.“We didn’t want to remove the local health department’s ability to make orders out of public health concern, but we wanted to have the local elected official who has direct responsibility to constituents to ultimately have the deciding vote,” he said.
Anderegg said there were aspects of Salt Lake County and Summit County’s stay-at-home orders, specifically related to what was defined as essential or nonessential business, that were “out of an abundance of caution to save lives, which we totally get and support” but that could have been defined differently to avoid businesses from shutting down or being “forced into bankruptcy.”
That bill, after going through several revisions, had gained support from both the Utah Association of Counties and the Utah League of Cities and Towns. But Anderegg said lawmakers will likely wait to consider that bill in another special session, perhaps in May.
Vickers said the Legislature will conclude its work Thursday morning then go on to the governor’s special session.
Senate Budget Chairman Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said the Legislature is facing a deficit when the budget year ends June 30 because of the decision to move the income tax returns deadline from April to July in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The appropriations bill will help balance the budget, Stevenson said. It will also appropriate the federal relief funds received through Congress.
“The emphasis of it is to (address) the budget imbalance and take into account all of that federal money that we got,” he said.
Last week, lawmakers soared through a number of bills responding to the global coronavirus pandemic. Vickers said they are still working with the governor’s office to find agreeable language on HB3005, which would require the governor to provide notice and consult with legislative leaders before issuing a declaration of a state of emergency or making executive orders pertaining to an epidemic.
Also on the agenda for the governor’s special session is HB332, which created a refundable tax credit for individuals and corporations to fund the Special Needs Opportunity Scholarship program for families that want to seek services at private schools.
Herbert vetoed the bill after educators pushed concerns that the program would place significant oversight burdens on the State School Board. Others criticized the bill as unnecessary as a similar tuition assistance program already exists.
The bill’s sponsor, House Majority Whip Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said a compromise was reached with the governor’s office and that he expects the revised legislation will pass Thursday.
Lawmakers will also consider extending the payment deadline for a bar license. Stevenson said licenses cost about $2,000 a year and that because bars have been closed to coronavirus, the legislation would push collection back a couple of months.
“We’re really not interested in putting people out of business,” he said.
