GOP Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday that he would veto any attempt by upset Republican legislators to repeal SB54 – the 2014 compromise law with Count My Vote over how political parties pick their candidates.
It is the first time that the governor, who signed SB54 into law three years ago, has made such a direct threat against dissatisfied GOP House and Senate members who want the law gone – in a major part because of anger by the party’s right wing and its state delegates.
Herbert also said the GOP’s State Central Committee should end it’s SB54 appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, although he added since the appeal is set for oral arguments this month he didn’t see much harm in letting that process continue.
Herbert, in his monthly KUED Channel 7 press conference, said that his upcoming Governor’s Gala fund raising event this weekend would provide monies Herbert will use to pay down the state Republican Party’s $450,000 debt.
But, again showing his displeasure with the party’s ongoing lawsuit against SB54, Herbert said some of the Gala monies he will give to the state party would be used only for “operational” costs. That specifically keeps any Herbert money going to pay down SB54’s $300,000 legal fees the party is still struggling with.
In his sharpest criticism yet to how the state party has been run in recent years, Herbert said Republicans running up such a debt (and not paying its bills along the way) is not what the state party should be showing Utahns as proper conservative budgeting.
The GOP majority in the Utah House has come close to voting a direct repeal of SB54. But the sentiment – as new Republicans come into the body – is clearly against the compromise bill, which allows a candidate to gather signatures from registered party members to make their primary ballot, or take the traditional caucus/delegate/convention route, or both at the same time.
Herbert took both routes in his successful 2016 re-election bid.
UtahPolicy has reported that CMV will soon announce a renewed citizen initiative petition effort, aimed at making the 2018 ballot. The new petition would do away with the caucus/delegate/convention route completely, only allowing the voter signature route – or what’s called a direct primary. It would also make other changes to Utah election law, like having a primary run-off election if no candidate got at least 35 percent of the primary vote.
Herbert’s promise Thursday to veto any SB54 repeal means the GOP legislative majority can’t change the rules before Herbert retires from office in 2020 – giving at least two election cycles for CMV to get the new petition before voters.
On other topics, the governor said:
— In a special session next week he anticipates he’ll ask lawmakers to take control of a section of Rio Grande Street between two homeless providers for at least until June 2019, thus providing a “safe space” the homeless need to stay away from drug dealers and other criminals.
— He said there is no need to deal now with moving homeless monies around in the state budget, nor is it now necessary to deal with giving the Utah governor more emergency powers.
Both items can wait until January’s 2018 general session.
— He said he would oppose (although he has no veto power over it) a legislative amendment to the Utah Constitution that would allow lawmakers to call themselves into special sessions.
Currently, only the governor can call a special session; only he sets the agenda.
Herbert said if lawmakers had special session convening powers, they could effectively bypass the current 45-day general sessions’ end date and just keep calling themselves into special session for months – perhaps even ending up with a de facto general session year round. And that would be bad, he said.
— He now favors a two-tiered DUI law – having a lower penalty for folks caught driving with a 0.05 percent blood alcohol level, with current penalties applying to the standard 0.08 percent level. The Legislature will likely take this up again in January.
— Herbert believes President Donald Trump could break up the current 1.9 million acre Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument into two or three much smaller monuments and let the BLM better manage other areas.
— Likewise, the new Bears Ears National Monument could be made much smaller (UtahPolicy has reported just 160,000 acres instead of Obama-designated 1.3 million acres). And special legislation could give local Native American tribes control over some of their sacred lands.
— Thursday was the final KUER press conference for veteran KUED TV reporter Rod Decker, who is retiring after covering Utah governors since the early 1970s.
