The Utah Legislature, not content with passing laws, goes beyond the power granted it in the Utah Constitution by invading executive branch functions.
Utah Constitution, Art. V, Sec. 1 states, “The powers of the government of the State of Utah shall be divided into three distinct departments, the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial; and no person charged with the exercise of powers properly belonging to one of these departments, shall exercise any functions appertaining to either of the others …”
In 1970 the Utah Supreme Court in Rampton v Barlow said the legislative role is to make law, the judicial to interpret the law and “all other power must of necessity be vested in the executive branch, which is charged with the enforcement of the law, the protection of the state’s property, and the looking after the health, welfare, and peace of the people.”
The legislative encroachment into governing rather than passing laws was evident in 2018 in the creation of the Inland Port Authority Board and the Point of the Mountain Development Commission. The Legislature has two members on the former and four on the latter. The purpose of these entities is governing the development of those sites, not passing laws. And so it continues, as evidenced by the appointment of two legislative members to the Utah Lake Authority Board, if HB232 passes.
The latest example of legislative overreach is its repeal of mask mandates enacted by local government and the dizzying hoops school districts must navigate if virtual learning is needed. Obtaining the approval of legislative leaders to hold virtual classes screams at exercising a function belonging exclusively to the governor.
The Legislature should stick to its own lane and butt out of executive branch functions.
Denise Chancellor, Salt Lake City
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