This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Posted: 12:28 PM- The power play between the Legislature and the Utah State Board of Education will continue today as the Legislature's Education Interim Committee inserts itself into the debate regarding which attorneys may represent the state school board.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff insists his office is the board's sole legal counsel, but many board members say they aren't required to follow the AG's advice. Legislators have inserted themselves into the debate by inviting Deputy Attorney General Ray Hintze to speak to the committee about "the duty and authority of the attorney general to be the legal advisor to state offices and agencies, including the State Board of Education."

No representative from the state school board was listed in the agenda though they were invited to comment on the matter, said Connie Steffen, a policy analyst for the committee. State schools superintendent Patti Harrington was intendeding to attend the meeting to answer questions until Board Chairman Kim Burningham asked her not to.

"I respectfully decline to send a representative to that gathering," he wrote in a letter to committee co-chairman Howard Stephenson.

"It is unclear what role the committee has in relation to what essentially is business to be conducted confidentially, if at all, between the Attorney General and the state board," the letter continued. "It is clear, however, that any further politicization of the relationship between the Attorney General and the state board is unwelcome to the board, if not to Mr. Shurtleff, and would be ill-advised in any event."

Tensions between the two bodies escalated amidst Utah's school voucher referendum. The AG's office advised the state school board to offer private school vouchers based on a dubious part of Utah code, which arose when legislators attempted to amend a new school voucher law before it had taken effect. When that law was shelved by a successful referendum petition, attorneys disagreed about whether the second law could stand on its own.

The AG's office opined that it could, but noted a court might rule otherwise. He urged the board to offer vouchers but the board ultimately rejected his advice and opted to hold off until a court decided. The Utah Supreme Court validated that decision this month by ruling that the second law couldn't stand alone.

After that decision, the education interim committee changed its agenda for today's meeting. The committee had originally planned to discuss the board's decision no to offer vouchers. But a revised agenda released Monday had replaced that item with a discussion of the AG's duties.

The committee meeting will be from 9 a.m. to noon and can be heard online at http://le.utah.gov" Target="_BLANK">http://le.utah.gov/.