This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
HB34 • The Legislature gave final approval Thursday to a bill that would prevent the Utah Department of Transportation from making any more big, secretive settlements.
That comes after UDOT paid $13 million last year to quiet a bidder that alleged UDOT tweaked bid scoring to rob it by one point of a $1.1 billion contract to rebuild Interstate 15 in Utah County. The contract instead went to a company that had just donated $85,000 to Gov. Gary Herbert's re-election campaign.
The Senate voted 27-0 to pass HB34 and sent it to Herbert. Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, sponsor of the bill, said it would provide more accountability and visibility on how settlements are reached.
The bill would force UDOT to obtain permission of the Transportation Commission for any settlements of more than $100,000; permission of the commission and the governor for any above $500,000; and from those two plus legislative leaders for any more than $1 million.
Other state agencies already must inform the Legislature and governor of settlements that top $500,000, but UDOT had, for unknown reasons, been exempted from that law, passed in 1995.