"Godfrey's Revenge" Arrives in the House

Senator Scott Jenkins' Senate Bill 229 has cleared the senate by an 18-9 vote, as was reported yesterday by the Standard-Examiner's John Wright:

SALT LAKE CITY - One senator called Ogden's Civil Service Commission Mayor Matthew Godfrey's problem, but that didn't stop the full Senate from passing a bill Wednesday that would allow the City Council to abolish the commission.
Sen. Ed Mayne, D-West Valley, said during floor debate that he couldn't recall Godfrey's name. But Mayne said representatives from the fire service and law enforcement, as well as the Ogden City Council itself, oppose the bill.
This is an Ogden issue that particularly impacts the mayor of Ogden, he said.
Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, the sponsor of the bill, reminded Mayne of Godfrey's name and said he is the son-in-law of former state Sen. Ed Allen.
It doesn't matter, Mayne replied. If it's his problem, let him deal with it. I'm just wondering why we're dealing with legislation to take care of one mayor's problem.
The Civil Service Commission oversees police and fire personnel matters and must approve hiring and firing.
Critics of the legislation argue Godfrey's administration requested it to remove a layer of insulation so the mayor can get back at Ogden firefighters, who did not back his candidates in November's City Council election.
But after the Senate passed the bill in an 18-9 vote, Ogden Management Services Director Mark Johnson said the Civil Service Commission is not Godfrey's problem, it's the city's.
Our ability to hire qualified firefighters and police officers is severely hampered, he said. This rumor that we're going to have mass layoffs is simply untrue.

For those gentle readers who are carefully following the progress of this bill, the following Real Audio files (from the excellent Utah Legislature Website) should be interesting:

Senate floor debate for day 30
Senate floor debate for day 31.

The bill has now been received and introduced in the House of Representatives, but has not yet apparently been put on calendar for debate. Thus, there still remains time to contact your house representatives, if you'd like to register your opposition to this bill.

For our readers' convenience, we are furnishing a link to the Utah House of Representative roster here, from which you can directly transmit your email message.

For those who have not been following this bill, you'll find a background article and many choice reader comments here.

Comments, Anyone?