Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — With only 20 days to review bills that passed the legislative session, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's office has been swamped reviewing the nearly 600 bills before the clock runs out at midnight Thursday.
In Cox's mind, the record number of bills passed by lawmakers this year is too many, and he thinks many of the policies included in bills could be accomplished through communication rather than new legislation.
"My greatest concern with this legislative session is just the sheer number of bills," Cox said during his monthly PBS Utah news conference Thursday. "There are several bills that maybe started out as something substantive but they didn't have the support so they removed the substantive pieces. ... We often get bills that could have been a phone call."
The governor has already signed the majority of bills passed by lawmakers this year, and has until the end of the day Thursday to sign or veto any additional pieces of legislation.
Cox told reporters to expect some vetoes Thursday. Although he declined to hint at what those bills might be, he suggested he's eyeing some of those less substantial bills to block and said he expects "several" vetoes. He also said it's "very possible" the Utah Legislature convenes a special session to override some of those vetoes, as it did in 2022 after he vetoed a controversial bill barring transgender girls from competing in high school sports.
The governor said he doesn't plan to "flippantly" veto bills — partly for political reasons to preserve a working relationship with lawmakers — and prefers to work with lawmakers throughout the year to change legislation he doesn't like.
Still, he said he doesn't like some of the bills he has signed or plans to sign, but said, "I would never sign something that would do lasting harm" to the state.
He noted Congress passed only 27 bills last year and — while he described the federal legislative branch as "dysfunctional" — said he thinks the state would operate just fine with fewer bills from state lawmakers.
Cox has spoken with legislative leaders about reducing the number of bills proposed each session, but said even the most junior members of the House and Senate have the same ability to propose legislation, so there's not an easy way to reduce the number of bills passed in future sessions. When he was a lawmaker, Cox said legislators generally tried to keep the number of bills under 400, adding, there are some "cultural pieces of this that have changed" in the Legislature.
What Cox is expected to sign
The governor also previewed a handful of bills he plans to sign on Thursday, including a proposal to put the Delta power plant operated by the Intermountain Power Agency under tighter state control — which Cox said might need further tweaks in a special session later this year.
SB161 could prevent the coal-fired power units from being decommissioned at the plant, which critics have said runs against efforts to transition to cleaner energy.
"I will be signing the bill. We will however be working with the Legislature on some things that we think could maybe be done better," Cox said, when asked about several cities and the Intermountain Power Project requesting a veto of the bill. "Anytime we're looking to close down facilities, I think we should be cautious about that. If there are opportunities to keep those facilities running, we're going to want to exhaust every potential, every possibility out there. ... Nothing is set in stone, even with the bill."
Cox said there's a "crucial study" that should take place before the state moves forward, and that's among the possibilities leaders are considering before the bill takes effect.
A bill to give the state more oversight of the Salt Lake County district attorney is also set to be signed into law Thursday, according to the governor. SB273 requires District Attorney Sim Gill, a Democrat, to report billed hours in 15-minute increments to a legislative committee and gives the governor power to recommend that the Utah Supreme Court appoint a special prosecutor to oversee some criminal prosecutions in the state's largest county.
Republicans in the Legislature have criticized Gill's office for its handling of criminal prosecutions, and say the bill will ensure adequate prosecution.
That bill doesn't go into effect until July 1, 2025, which also gives lawmakers time to adjust the policy before it becomes effective.
"The concerns (that) have been brought up are around some of the policies that have been employed at the DA's office, and again what's happening with criminals being released very quickly, charges not being followed through. That's the concern that we were hearing from the Legislature," the governor said. "We've had communication with the (Salt Lake) County Council and some of the concerns that they have as well, to try to see if there's a better path forward. We don't want to put an unnecessary burden that doesn't actually help or solve the problem. So I think what you'll see over the course of the year is the Legislature working together with my office and the county as well to figure out what exactly is it that's a concern and how do we get the information to solve it."
You can watch the entire press conference below:
