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Utah Legislature Reconvenes in Special Session to Consider Repeal of HB 477
Summary
Gov. Gary R. Herbert called a special session of the 50th Utah Legislature for March 25, 2011, to consider repealing HB 477, the government records amendment. The Senate opened with prayer and the pledge, established a quorum (23 present), adopted rules, and appointed committees to notify the governor and the House.
The Utah State Senate reconvened in a special session on March 25, 2011, at the Utah State Capitol after a proclamation from Governor Gary R. Herbert calling the 50th Legislature back for one purpose: to consider repeal of HB 477, a government records amendment. The proclamation and certification were read aloud by Greg Bell, Lieutenant Governor, who stated the governor's call "for a single purpose, to repeal HB 477 government records amendment, which passed during the 2011 regular session of the 50 ninth legislature."
Senator Howard Stevenson led the Senate in an opening prayer that asked for guidance in the decisions the body would make. Senator Jerry Stevenson led the Pledge of Allegiance. The presiding officer then directed the roll call; O'Connor reported 23 senators present, a quorum sufficient to conduct business. The certification read by the lieutenant governor also noted a vacancy in the Tenth District, County of Salt Lake.
Shortly after roll call, Senator Dayton moved that the Senate "follow the rules to which we adopt our previous accustomed as a change and adopted last session," asking that the body use the same rules as in the recent regular session. The presiding officer put the motion to a voice vote; no opposition was recorded and the president declared the motion carried, saying "Motion carries. The rules are adopted."
The presiding officer then appointed a committee to notify the governor that the Senate was in session, naming Senators John Valentine, Daniel Thatcher and Gene Davis, and a separate committee to notify the House, naming Senators Stuart Reid, Mark Madsen and Karen Maine. The presiding officer noted Senator Reid may be in caucus and asked the appointed senators to check his availability.
The special session was convened under the authority cited in the proclamation, which references Article 7, Section 6 of the Utah Constitution and was certified by Greg Bell on behalf of Governor Herbert. The Senate indicated it was "prepared to do our business" after quorum, rule adoption and committee appointments were completed.
The next procedural step was for the Senate to proceed with consideration of the item named in the proclamation—repeal of HB 477. No roll-call vote on HB 477 appears in this transcript excerpt; the Senate had adopted rules and completed notification procedures to start substantive action.
