It's already the end of the end of the 2008 Utah legislation session, gentle readers, as Capitol Hill reporters Park and Demoss report in this morning's Standard-Examiner story. It seems like only yesterday that the legislature launched its annual 45-day session, which is even now drawing to its usual fevered close. Remember the old folke-ax... "Time flies when we're having fun." And as the final gavel falls at the end of this session a short three days hence, many bills will inevitably die undeliberated, (as is always the circumstance in our part-time legislature), without ever being brought before both legislative chambers for votes.
As per usual, there remain truckloads of legislation still pending in the legislature, including two bills which we've been watching very closely here on Weber County Forum -- both of which involve what we'll gently call "The Powderville Problem." Namely, there is the newly-amended SB-25 (which contains a retroactivity provision), and HB-164 (which does not.)
Alas, it was early last week when we lauded House Representative Froerer for successfully amending SB-25, to include the retroactivity provision. And what is the status of this -- and the other bill now? It's anybody's guess, we guess.
From the State Legislature's website:
HB-164 status
SB-25 status
Perhaps our gentle readers can soon decipher the meaning of the above gibberish provided by the Legislature's site. One thing is certain in the meantime however: neither of these bills has made its way to a vote in either the House or the Senate. And with three days remaining before the final gavel, let's just say we're growing a mite nervous.
Interesting comments from Senator Allen Christensen from today's Std-Ex article:
As for the last three days, Christensen said, the most important thing is to maintain focus and not rush things through. The hectic final hours of last year allowed legislation to get through that has resulted in the Powder Mountain Town incorporation battle, he said.Query: Will history repeat? Will this year's bumbling legislature manage to bring the 2008 session to a final close without ever correcting the problems of last year's HB-466?
“Nobody caught it. I did not realize the unintended consequences, and they were big. Hopefully, we don’t make mistakes like we did on a couple last year.
Just for fun, we've placed a new poll in our right sidebar. Perhaps our readers will let us know what they think about the prospects of the legislature's passage of proper remedial legislation.
Anybody want to comment about this?
