Put off Legislature until after King holiday

My daughter was incredulous when I told her I had to work on Monday. "But it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day!" she raged.

"I know, honey. But the Legislature's in session and we get really busy this time of year. I've got to go to work."

Driving to work, the conversation played over and over in my head. She's right, you know. This should be a holiday for all — legislators and newspaper writers, too.

But legislatures in Utah and eight other states were in session on Monday.

Here's why Utah does it:

Utah Constitution — Article VI, Section 2 (Time of general sessions.)

Annual general sessions of the Legislature shall be held at the seat of government and shall begin on the third Monday in January.

I'm not a big fan of constitutional amendments, but seemingly this one is a no-brainer. Postpone the start of the session and give the holiday its due. Starting later would give the Legislature the benefit of more accurate revenue figures, which would aid budget making. Talk about bang for the buck. Yes, it would require voter approval, but what would be the down side?

Instead of a day off, the House and Senate have scheduled 15-minute presentations from the state Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Commission. There's certainly merit in using the occasion to spread King's message of service, nonviolence and racial equality on Utah's Capitol Hill, but why stop there? Why not be one of the 40 state legislatures that take a day off from their labors to honor the slain civil rights leader?

After all, it's only been six years since the Utah Legislature — the last state in the nation to do so — changed the name of the January holiday from Human Rights Day to Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Although the Legislation passed, the debate was contentious, with some people making racist comments.

The bill to change the name of the holiday was co-sponsoredy by Rep. Duane Bordeaux, D-Salt Lake, who will retire from the Utah Legislature this year after a decade of service, and former Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake, who died in 2001 in an ATV accident.

Bordeaux, in an interview with Associated Press prior to the start of the Utah Legislature, said his goal and his challenge is "to get involved and carry Dr. King's legacy forward."