On Tuesday, Gov. Gary Herbert followed through on his threat to veto such balance-tipping bills and struck down two of them aimed at giving lawmakers more say and muscle in defending the laws they make.
The governor vetoed HB198, which sought to force the state attorney general to give the Legislature a written legal opinion when requested — as already required by state law. He also vetoed SB171, which attempted to authorize lawmakers to mount their own defense of state laws when challenged in court — a duty now exclusively carried out by the attorney general.
“This is contrary to fundamental notions of separation of power,” he wrote, adding that “the Legislature may not exercise executive authority even when the Legislature believes that the executive is not performing its role properly.