The board's wise decision to wait for further legal counsel means it will miss the May 15 deadline for getting the program up and running this fall. The decision likely will be challenged by voucher supporters, but the board simply does not have the tools in HB174 that are needed to implement the law.

The foundation of the controversial voucher law is contained in House Bill 148, which the House passed by only one vote. Recognizing flaws in the original, legislators amended it with HB174, which contains some parts of HB148 but is missing many key elements.

HB148 was the target of a successful referendum petition drive. More than 124,000 signatures were validated on referendum petitions circulated statewide. Clearly, voters want a chance to decide whether tax money should go to private-school tuition vouchers, and the Utah Constitution gives them that right.

Using HB174 to get the program started would fly in the face of the Legislature's intent and the right of Utahns to repeal a law they don't support.

The best way for the Legislature to sort out the legal tangle created by HB174 would be to repeal it and let the referendum voters decide the issue of vouchers once and for all.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said HB174 could be used to start the program, but he also said doing so would put the state board on tenuous legal ground because of serious holes in the bill.

HB174 does not include a provision for $9.2 million to mitigate the impact of vouchers on public schools that was key to getting HB148 passed. It cuts in half the money allocated to administer the program. It leaves out key definitions and omits language limiting how private schools, including parochial schools, may be regulated by the state. Without those provisions, HB174's constitutionality is questionable.

We agree with board member Debra Roberts, who believes the Legislature should do the "honorable thing" and repeal HB174. Then let voters decide.