Utah lawmakers will not override any of Gov. Spencer Cox’s vetoes, legislative leaders said.
Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz announced the decision late last week. Cox vetoed six bills following the annual legislative session earlier this year — all of which will now officially stand.
“Even when our perspectives differ, we appreciate the governor’s willingness to find common ground as we build an even brighter future for our great state,” Adams and Schultz said Monday in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune. “After careful consideration, the Legislature has decided not to convene a veto override session.”
Instead, the pair added, lawmakers intend to “focus on constructive dialogue and thoughtful policymaking during the interim to find the best path forward that benefits all Utahns.”
Despite the decision not to hold a veto override session, lawmakers are still likely to meet in the coming weeks, as Cox indicated he hopes the Legislature will amend some bills he signed into law — including a bill that will ban pride flags in schools and on government property and new legislation that would reallocate funds originally set aside for the Sundance film festival — during a special session.
The next interim legislative session is currently scheduled for the week of May 19.
Among the major bills the governor did veto this year was a controversial piece of legislation that would have routed property taxes for schools into the state’s general fund in a move that that one state school board member described as “money laundering” and a bill that would have allowed the governor to appoint, and Utah Senate confirm, the chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court every four years. His decision to veto that bill drew particular ire from lawmakers and seemed likely to be overridden.
“SB296 was modeled after practices already established in nine other states and reflects the approach used by the U.S. Supreme Court,” sponsor Sen. Chris Wilson said in a statement to The Tribune Monday. “While we may not always agree, I believe that collaboration and careful consideration lead to better outcomes.”
The Logan Republican added that he is “committed to continuing the conversation through the interim to help find a balanced path forward.”
When Cox first vetoed the bill, Adams and Schultz said the decision “undermines that good-faith compromise” which the legislature and judiciary had come to following a session in which lawmakers had tried — and largely failed — to assert some measure of control over the courts.
“I admit it is very tempting to sign this bill and assure that the chief justice would need to stay in my good graces to retain his or her position,” Cox wrote in a four-page letter to lawmakers explaining his choice. “And while I appreciate your faith and trust in extending me this new authority, I must respectfully decline.”
Cox also vetoed legislation that would have created a Utah-Ireland trade commission, a bill that would have phased out the state’s Circuit Breaker property tax relief program, and one that would have allowed Utahns to pay their taxes in gold that the governor described as “impracticable.”
Another bill vetoed by Cox this year would have allowed for the breaking of ties in some municipal elections via a “game of chance.” The Utah Constitution, however, prohibits the Legislature from authorizing any “game of chance.”
The bill‘s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Andrew Stoddard, said he was disappointed to have the bill vetoed, but that he understood Cox’s decision and plans to propose another version of the bill that does not include the phrase “game of chance.”
“I mean, look, I like the bill. I worked my butt off for it,” he said in an interview. But, he added, “It’s not an urgent policy.”
Stoddard, a lawyer, added that he was glad to see Cox veto the bill that would have allowed the governor to pick the chief justice every four years.
“The judiciary is under attack by people who don’t like its rulings,” the Sandy representative said. “We need to have more respect for the law and quit trying to change the rules to benefit us.”
None of the sponsors of the other bills Cox chose to veto responded to requests from The Salt Lake Tribune for an interview or comment regarding the Legislature’s decision not to convene for an override session.
