House revotes SJR 102 to accelerate settlement payout, 53-17

The Utah House of Representatives voted to pass Senate Joint Resolution 102 after Representative Swallow asked members to reconvene the measure for another vote to speed payment of settlement proceeds.

"We just passed this bill out a minute ago with 49 I votes. If we can get it to 50 I votes, then we can avoid paying interest for 2 months on the money," Representative Swallow said, urging colleagues to approve the resolution immediately so the state could pay settlement proceeds by June rather than wait 60 days.

Representative Daniels asked whether the funds were already held in an interest-bearing federal account and whether immediate payment would make a material difference; Swallow and others said a settlement agreement includes a timing benefit if monies are paid by June and the bill takes effect immediately on the governor’s signature.

Representative Aaron pressed on the dollar figures and objected to aspects of the resolution, noting an amount of "$9,950,000.00" and saying he was concerned about paying high attorney rates: "I still think this is a very bad resolution that we should not be paying over $2,500 an hour for attorney's fees," he said.

After debate, the Clerk announced that SJR 102 had received 53 yes votes and 17 no votes and that the resolution would be publicly read by title, signed by the Speaker of the House and entered on the journal.

What happens next: The House record shows the resolution will be signed and recorded in the journal and processed according to legislative procedure; the text as passed makes the earlier payment timing possible pending final execution and any gubernatorial action.