Governor Gary R. Herbert took action on the last of the 477 bills from the 2012 General Session of the Utah Legislature. He signed SB 134, State Water Development Commission Amendments, sponsored by Senator Margaret Dayton, and vetoed HB 414, School Bonding for Seismic Purposes, sponsored by Representative Gage Froerer.
Overall, the Governor felt the outcomes from the legislative session were good for Utah. “After reviewing every bill, I recognize and thank the Legislature for the hard work and consensus-building that goes into each one. Both political parties came together on critical issues to find common sense solutions,” he said. “Most importantly, we prioritized correctly and funded education efforts. We also spurred further growth in the economy by reducing taxes, eliminating unnecessary business regulation and empowering the private sector to succeed in the free market.”
The Governor has characterized his action on HB 414 as a “friendly veto.”В In his letter to legislative leaders regarding his decision, Governor Herbert wrote:
“Since the end of the Legislative session, I have been made aware of technical issues with HB 414.В Specifically, it appears that if HB 414 were signed into law, the requirement that bond revenues be used to fund seismic studies of existing buildings would impede a school district’s ability to issue tax-exempt bonds.В I applaud the efforts to ensure that school districts study the seismic safety of their older buildings and would support this bill in an amended form that corrects the technical issues.”
Governor Herbert Acts on Final 2012 Bills
