Huntsman is stingy with his vetoes

"I believe it is a complete betrayal of the citizens of Utah and that we will be marching into a new psychiatric state where the future generation will be drugged-out zombies," said Sandra Lucas, head of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.

Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, said he doubted legislators could muster the numbers for a veto override session for HB42, considering it fell short of the required two-thirds in both chambers on final passage. In the House, it fell 10 votes short of the 51 needed, and it was three votes short of the 20 needed in the Senate.

Overall, Valentine expected to see more vetoes, although he said the relatively small number was attributable to the communication Huntsman and his staff had with legislators during the session.

"I was surprised because I thought he would veto more since he had so many to consider at the end," Valentine said. "But he did his work. . . . He spoke to a lot of legislators about their bills."

House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, also doubted a veto override of HB42 would be attempted. He also credited the governor and his staff for constantly communicating with legislators and said that was a big reason for the lack of controversial vetoes.

Two of the line items appropriated money for HB18, the Transportation Investment Act, to provide $30 million for the expansion of portions of I-15 in Utah County. The bill failed to reach the Senate floor for a vote, however, so the vetoes will instead allow it to be appropriated by the Transportation Commission, which approved the funding last month.

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E-mail: jloftin@desnews.com