Utah Constitutional Revision Commission

the year to determine if a compromise can be reached, he said.

    Chair McKeachnie requested that the Labor Article be put back on the agenda for the commission to discuss.

    Sen. Dmitrich said there are many small towns that feel they do not receive the representation they need. He said he would like to see every county have a legislator in the House of Representatives.

     Mr. Strong noted this provision was litigated and struck down because it was unconstitutional. If another approach would yield an acceptable result, it would be a different story, but a strict population basis will never solve the issue, he said.

    Chair McKeachnie indicated this may be an issue the commission should discuss now since the census will take place in the year 2000 and any change could be implemented then.

     Professor Jones agreed that in rural Utah there are many people who feel their voices are not being heard.

    Pres. Beattie indicated that every economist, whom leadership spoke with, told leadership that if the Wasatch Front suffers, rural Utah suffers more.

     Ms. Allison said she is sympathetic to the issue. However, considering how urban a state Utah is, the commission's time would not be well spent dealing with it.

    The commission decided not to study the issue of the number of legislators this year.

    The commission decided it would not study the religious liberty or judges term limits issues this year.

    Ms. Baskin commented on the automatic special session. As a consequence of rule changes for both the House and Senate during the last session, it may be that the need for an automatic special session has been somewhat alleviated, she said.

     Sen. Hillyard explained that part of the issue had to do with the reaction of the governor. If the governor vetoed a bill, there was an automatic special session and the Legislature could control the agenda. If the governor calls a special session, the Legislature is limited to the governor's agenda.

    The commission decided it would study the issue of the automatic special session.

    Chair McKeachnie asked if the length of the session is an issue the commission should consider.

    Pres. Beattie stated that the Legislative Process Committee has been asked to address the length of general session issue. He explained that once that committee has developed recommendations, it should report its findings to the commission.

    The commission decided it would not study the public education issue this year.

    Pres. Beattie discussed the concept of a supermajority vote. Colorado recently passed this type of a measure, he said, and the concept is not representative government but is rather government by emotion.

    Sen. Hillyard pointed out that if the Board of Regents wanted to raise tuition, it would require a supermajority vote.

    Chair McKeachnie indicated that issue could be addressed with the local government article.

    Pres. Beattie suggested that one of the first things the commission should do is meet with those involved in the labor issue to determine if a compromise can be reached. He indicated that he would be willing to work with those involved and report back to the commission.

    Sen. Dmitrich suggested this is a legislative matter. He said legislative leadership could meet with legislators concerned and determine if a compromise can be reached.

    Ms. Allison agreed with Sen. Dmitrich. She felt something would happen only with the cooperation and collaboration of the Legislature.

    The commission decided it would not study the Labor Article unless it was brought back to it after legislative leadership meets with those involved in an attempt to resolve the problem.

    Ms. Baskin briefly discussed the following issues that have been recommended by the commission but have not been approved by the Legislature:

    .     The Executive Article - Chair McKeachnie stated the article dealt with whether the state attorney general represented all state agencies or whether state agencies could hire their own independent counsel;
    
    .     The Congressional Legislative Apportionment Article;

    .     The Public Debt Article - Chair McKeachnie suggested putting this issue on the agenda;

    .     The Labor Article;

    .     The Local Government Article;

    .     The Legislative Article - This article dealt with sessions and appointments;

    .     The Legislative and Separation of Powers Articles.

    Chair McKeachnie indicated the constitution provides that a person cannot hold an office of profit or trust and serve in the Legislature.

    Mr. Strong indicated that the House voted to seat Janet Rose and Mont Evans although the question was raised as to whether or not each held an office of profit or trust. The issue was taken to the Supreme Court as to whether or not the Legislature had the right to seat its members. The Legislature's authority to seat its members was upheld and the issue of whether or not the legislators held an office of profit or trust was never decided.

    Pres. Beattie said the issue is a regular point of conversation. It has also moved into the question of whether registered lobbyists should be in the Legislature.

    Chair McKeachnie stated that the commission had developed a compromise that at the time affected some specific individuals already serving in the Legislature. The Legislature declined to accept the commission's proposal.

    Sen. Hillyard explained that the issue needs to be addressed. If it can be handled in a way that is prospective so that anyone currently serving in the Legislature is not impacted by it, the personalization of the issue can be alleviated.

    The commission decided to study the issue this year.

5.     Other business - The following schedule was adopted by the commission:
    
    May 16, June 20, July 11-12 (in Logan), August 15, September 12, October 10, and
November 14.

    Ms. Baskin distributed a copy of the newly amended (and corrected handbook version) of

the Utah Constitution. She pointed out that dates have been added to give a history of when each provision was enacted or amended and each of the pages have headers to make it more readable, she said.

    Ms. Baskin said that at the suggestion of the chairs, an ad was placed in The Utah Bar Journal for the upcoming vacancies on the commission. The chairs have suggested a subcommittee be formed to interview candidates. The individuals suggested for the subcommittee were: Alan Sullivan, Sen. Hillyard, Mary Anne Wood, and Rep. Bradshaw. Each indicated they would be willing to serve. Justice Durham indicated she would also be willing to serve.

6.     Local Government Issues - Mr. Linton requested that the commission be given a list of the problems that have been encountered in the past with the Local Government Article.

     Ms. Wood pointed out that the League of Cities and Towns and the Association of Counties have a vested interest in the issue.

    Mr. Strong explained the legislative history and rationale of the township issue. He explained the idea of the previous law was to freeze the practice of land-grabbing by cities so that unincorporated areas were not always being the prey for surrounding areas.

    Professor Jones explained that townships wanted to take the power to zone away from the county commission in order to allow the people most affected by the zoning to decide the zoning.

    Sen. Hillyard stated that the legislation also tried to provide that if a person owns land in the area in question, but does not live there, that the person would have some say in what happens to the area. In Cache Valley there has been much discussion about signing a petition to put this issue on the ballot.

    Mr. Strong indicated the constitution now requires the Legislature to provide for precinct and township organizations.

    Ms. Baskin stated the commission's current draft now provides that the Legislature "may" provide, rather than "shall" provide for township organizations. The proposal also deletes precincts, she said.

    Sen. Hillyard requested that Mr. Bob Rees, Associate General Counsel, meet with the commission to address the historical perspective and point out what constitutional problems may exist.

    The commission discussed the matter of water rights.

    Sen. Hillyard stated it was his understanding that the issue failed in the House mainly because the agricultural interests were concerned that cities would become such a large broker of water rights that they could control the market.

    Chair McKeachnie asked if the commission handles the issues of duties and power of cities and towns first, whether it would solve some of the other problems in the process.

    Ms. Baskin pointed out that there are special districts are problematic because they provide some city services and county services. If the commission outlines the powers and duties of cities, counties, etc., where do special districts fit in. When special districts are filling in for what cities or counties cannot do, how can that be reconciled, she asked. She indicated that charter cities are unique and an issue the commission can deal with.

    Mr. Strong indicated that the Legislature has created a Political Subdivisions Interim Committee as well as a Government Operations Interim Committee. They will be looking at special districts and many of the other problems that have been placed under state and local affairs.

    Chair McKeachnie requested staff to collaborate with the staff of the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee.

    Ms. Allison stated it would be appropriate for someone from the commission to approach the Political Subdivisions Interim Committee to make them aware of what the commission has done in this area and that it is being revisited again.

    The members discussed how they wanted to deal with the Local Government Article. Suggestions were as follows:
    .     begin with hard issues first and determine where the commission needs to obtain more information;
    *     address some of the more easily resolved issues prior to the July meeting;
    .     receive comment on past efforts as well as suggestions for the future early in the year;
    .     identify the powers of local government;
    .     invite individuals in state and local government who are scholars on the subject and members of the political science and law faculties from the local universities to make presentations to the commission;
    .     consider model constitutional language of other states;
    .     obtain input from such organizations as the League of Cities and Towns and Ms. Wood and Sen. Hillyard before their terms expire;
    .     request that groups invited to speak bring with them proposed revisions to the constitution and direct their comments to those changes; and
    .     bring in presenters from out of state to alleviate political allegiance.

7.    Charter Cities -

    Ms. Baskin briefly discussed charter cities. She referred to the analysis of state constitutions that was sent to the commission. All of them vary in different ways. Thirty states have constitutional provisions on charter cities, she said. Utah's constitution originally provided that there would be no private laws changing or amending city charters. That provision has since been deleted. Ms. Baskin indicated she would like to explore the rationale of that repeal. The charter city issue is fairly focused, she said. The commission could study other state constitutions to determine if they contain language that Utah may be able to utilize in developing its own constitutional language.

8.     Special Districts -

    Ms. Baskin explained there are many issues to be dealt with regarding special districts, including taxing and bonding authority, election requirements, certain tax exemptions that are provided, accountability for taxing measures, and administration of special districts. There are statutory procedures in place to create the districts, dissolve them, and administrate them, she said. Some special districts are independent; some are dependent. There are some states that have constitutional prohibitions of special acts creating special districts. She stated there is little current data on special districts available in the state.

    Professor Jones commented that special districts are established in part because of a failure by a city or county to address specific problems.

    Chair McKeachnie stated special districts usually have a lot of money and have trouble finding projects to spend it on. They report to no one, he said.

    Ms. Baskin said if the commission voted to change the constitution, it could limit special districts so that they had to provide audit reports, had limits on taxing authority, etc., prospectively. She questioned what vested rights special districts already possess.

    Dr. White explained that sometimes only two or three percent of the voters decide the trustees of special districts. Accountability is a very important issue, she said.

    Chair McKeachnie noted that a legislative study on accountability was done and should be used for purposes of discussion.

    The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 a.m.