The Legislature will not call a session to override Gov. Gary Herbert’s veto of a bill that would establish a clear process for filling congressional vacancies — one that doesn’t allow for signature-gathering candidates.
Utah House members were polled to gauge their interest in toppling Herbert’s veto, but they didn’t express a sense of urgency about resolving the election issue before the next general session.
"It was like, let's have this discussion during session. We don't need to pull state resources together to have a special session to talk about this," Matt Lusty, spokesman for the Utah House, said Tuesday.
Overriding a veto requires the backing of two-thirds of the Legislature, and officials typically poll the House and Senate membership to make sure there’s enough support to make calling a special session worthwhile, Lusty said.
The bill sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay passed on the final day of the legislative session after a tug-of-war between the two chambers over the measure’s wording. Herbert gave SB123 a thumbs-down a couple weeks later, the only 2019 bill for which he exercised his power of veto.
Herbert explained that he shot down the bill because it would’ve limited choice and participation in these special congressional elections by closing off the signature route.
“Utah law provides multiple paths to the ballot for partisan elections: a political party convention and signature gathering being the most common. These options have been embraced by the majority of Utah voters as providing reasonable alternatives to access the ballot,” Herbert wrote in his veto letter to Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Brad Wilson.
Herbert had previously sparred with lawmakers on this topic in the lead-up to the special election to replace then-Rep. Jason Chaffetz after his resignation from Congress in 2017.
State law was silent on how to fill the vacancy, and Herbert opted to hold the special election under the guidelines of SB54, which allows candidates to qualify for the ballot at a party convention or by gathering signatures. That irked legislators who wanted a special session to adopt a specific special election process.
In a previous interview, Adams said lawmakers need to clarify the law on special elections, even if they don’t do it through SB123.
“My hope is we can continue to dialogue with the governor to find a process,” the Layton Republican said.
McCay, R-Riverton, did not respond to a request for comment on the news that there won’t be a veto override session.
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