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MINUTES OF THE

UTAH CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION COMMISSION

Friday, November 13, 1998 - 9:00 a.m. - Room 405 - State Capitol


Members Present:                 Mr. Gayle McKeachnie, Chair     Mr. Alan L. Sullivan, Vice Chair     Ms. Diana Allison             President Lane Beattie
    Rep. Afton B. Bradshaw         Speaker Melvin R. Brown
    Mr. Dallin W. Jensen
    Rep. David M. Jones         
    Mr. Morris Linton
    Sen. Howard C. Nielson
    Mr. Richard V. Strong                     
    Dr. Jean Bickmore White                    
    Mr. Kevin Worthen    

Members Absent:
    Sen. Mike Dmitrich
    Justice Christine Durham    
    Mr. W. Craig Jones                        

Staff Present:    
    Mr. Jerry D. Howe,    
     Research Analyst    
    Mr. Robert H. Rees,
     Associate General Counsel    
    Ms. Angela D. Kelley,
     Legislative Secretary

Note:    A list of others present and a copy of materials distributed in the meeting are on file in the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel.


1.    Call to Order and Committee Business - Chair McKeachnie called the meeting to order at 9:07 a.m.

     MOTION: Sen. Nielson moved to approve the minutes of the October 16, 1998 meeting. The motion passed unanimously, with President Beattie, Speaker Brown, Rep. Jones, and Mr. Linton absent for the vote.

2.    Local Government Provisions - Mr. Rees distributed a copy of the Utah Supreme Court case of Grand County v. Emery County, 354 Utah Adv. Rep. 30 (Utah 1998) as highlighting the general law vs. special law issue. He explained that the current draft of the resolution being considered by the Commission substitutes "statute" for "general law" and suggested that "general law" may have a different meaning than "statute." He also distributed a handout entitled "Utah Constitutional Terminology Regarding Local Government" that indicates the use of the terms "political subdivision" and "local government unit" in the constitution. He also referred to the limited use of the term "special district" in the Utah Constitution.

    Vice Chair Sullivan questioned whether "governmental entities" should be "political subdivisions" in Article XI, Section 9.
    
    Mr. Worthen suggested that it would seem appropriate to use the term "political subdivisions" in Article XI, Section 9, as well as Article XIII, Section 2.

    President Beattie said whatever change is made, it should be clearly understood that under no circumstance would the State of Utah be liable.

    MOTION: Vice Chair Sullivan moved to leave Article XI, Section 9 as written. The motion failed, with Sen. Nielson, Mr. Jensen, and Ms. Allison voting in favor of the motion.

    Speaker Brown suggested that "local" be deleted, but leave "governmental entities."

    Mr. Linton suggested that "local governmental entities" needs further clarification.

     MOTION: Mr. Worthen moved that "political subdivisions of the state" be inserted in place of "local governmental entities" in all places in Article XI, Section 9.

    Mr. Linton said that the term "political subdivisions of the state" should be defined further before voting on the motion. Mr. Worthen withdrew the motion until such time as the commission was comfortable in voting.

    Vice Chair Sullivan said that the commission will not be any better prepared to vote later than it is right now. He requested that the commission decide on the wording of Article XI, Section 9 at this meeting.

    President Beattie said that "local governmental entities" has a different meaning than "political subdivisions of the state." The word "local" invokes a grant of local authority, and "political" may not be limited to a county, suggesting that statewide entities could be created.

     MOTION: Mr. Worthen moved that "political subdivisions of the state" be inserted in place of "local governmental entities" in all places of Article XI, Section 9. The motion passed, with Chair McKeachnie, Sen. Nielson, Rep. Bradshaw, Speaker Brown, Rep. Jones, and Mr. Jensen opposing the motion.

    MOTION: Mr. Jensen moved to delete "only" in both places of Article XI, Section 9, and insert "other" in front of "political subdivisions of the state" in the last sentence. The motion passed, with Speaker Brown opposing the motion and President Beattie absent for the vote.

    Mr. Rees explained the technical changes to the Resolution Amending Local Government Provisions. He also distributed a copy of Article XIV, Section 3, and Article XIV, Section 8.

    Mr. Blaine Carlton, Bond Attorney, Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, said that he is concerned with the use of "revenue bonds" and "general obligation debt" because "revenue bonds" in a different context, can have a different meaning. He further recommended that the

kinds of debt required for an election be clarified. He also expressed concern that the amendment creates ambiguity.

     MOTION: Vice Chair Sullivan moved to insert "secured directly by property taxes may be created" after "No Debt" in Article XIV, Section 3. The motion passed unanimously, with President Beattie absent for the vote.

     MOTION: Sen. Nielson moved that the Resolution Amending Local Government Provisions be recommended to the Legislature as amended. The motion passed unanimously, with President Beattie absent for the vote.

    MOTION: Rep. Bradshaw moved that Article XI, Section 6, Municipalities forbidden to sell waterworks or rights, be presented to the Legislature as a separate resolution. She said that the commission has already gone on record as supporting that amendment, but she said, there is a possibility that the provision may bring undue criticism to the other local government provisions. The motion passed unanimously, with President Beattie absent for the vote.

3.    Review of In Re Young - Mr. Howe presented an historical analysis of the selection, retention, discipline, and removal of judges within the context of the Utah Constitution and three major Utah Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Legislature's authority to oversee certain aspects of the Judiciary. Mr. Howe discussed the Judicial Article prior to 1985, after the 1985 Judicial Article Amendment, and the implications to the Legislature concerning the In Re Young decision.

    The main points of the discussion were: 1) the Legislature, judging from the House and Senate debates of the Judicial Article Amendment, eliminated two provisions giving legislative oversight of judges and inserted the Judicial Conduct Commission with legislative appointment and legislative membership in 1985; 2) that the Supreme Court's ruling in In Re Young eliminates legislative appointment and legislative membership on the Judicial Conduct Commission; and 3) that the decision may also challenge the constitutionality of other boards and commissions with members from more than one branch of state government. Finally, Mr. Howe reviewed the remaining Legislative authority to discipline and remove judges from office, impeachment, which, he said, is too cumbersome to use in a normal forty-five day General Session.

4.    Resolution Changing State Election Cycle - As requested by the commission, Mr. Howe introduced a survey of several states that have changed election cycles. He distributed a handout titled "Gubernatorial Election Term History -- Mid-term State Survey" and explained what other state's experienced in terms of changing election cycles.

    Rep. Zolman said that the intent of this amendment is to increase Utah's political might in national politics by allowing the governor, lieutenant governor, and Attorney General to participate in national presidential campaigns without the burden of running their own campaigns at the same time, as the current election cycle requires.

    Mr. Worthen said that it would also allow voters to focus on statewide candidates because those elections would no longer coincide with the presidential election.

    The commission discussed the practicality of changing the election cycle, with particular emphasis on the date the amendment should take effect.

     MOTION: Mr. Worthen moved that the resolution changing state election cycle take effect in 2004 so the candidates running for office know well in advance that the 2004 election will be for a two year term. The motion passed unanimously, with President Beattie absent for the vote.

5.    Options for Commission Review of Constitutional Amendments Prior to Legislative Action - The commission did not discuss this item.

6.    Discuss Potential Study Items for 1999 Study Period - Mr. Howe distributed a handout titled "Proposed 1999 Meeting Schedule Constitutional Revision Commission," which proposes meeting dates for the 1999 Constitutional Revision Commission.

7.    Adjourn -

    MOTION: Speaker Brown moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously, with Rep. Jones and Mr. Jensen absent for the vote. The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.

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