A group of 38 lawmakers, state school board members and other state education leaders sued several state officials in May, saying they shouldn't be allowed to carry out parts of the omnibus bill, which they say is unconstitutional. The bill rolled more than a dozen measures into one, including some that failed individually on the House floor.

The suit named no lawmakers as defendants, but the legislative management committee, headed by the Senate president and House speaker, decided in July to ask legislative lawyers to intervene. The group that filed the original lawsuit now is asking the judge not to allow legislative lawyers to jump into the fray.

The legislative management committee's duties "do not include the power to decide for the entire Legislature when and how it shall go to court," according to a reply filed by the plaintiffs last week. The plaintiffs also argue that legislative lawyers cannot represent the views of the Legislature as a whole when not all lawmakers agree about the validity of the bill.

Legislative lawyers, however, say the Legislature has an interest in defending the constitutionality of the omnibus bill and process by which it passed into law.

"Requiring the Legislature to segregate a comprehensive reform bill into separate bills, each related to a narrowly defined subject, could destroy the consensus and defeat the effort to make substantial improvement and reform in the law," according to a court filing.

Robert Rees, assistant legislative general counsel, also said it does not create a conflict of interest for legislative lawyers to represent the body even though not all members of the Legislature agree.

"This office represents differing view points of legislators all the time," Rees said. "That's not unique."

David Irvine, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said it is a conflict of interest and the issue should be out of the Legislature's hands at this point.

"The Legislature is not some superlitigant that can ride around the state injecting itself in legal cases wherever it thinks it has some arguable interest," Irvine said.

The plaintiffs also say the law indicates it should be enough for the attorney general to represent the defendants. Legislative lawyers, however, have said they should be allowed to participate because the lawsuit essentially challenges the lawmaking process, not the defendants, who are simply tasked with carrying out the laws.

lschencker@sltrib.com