Accord reached on McCoy issue

Questions are being raised about whether newly appointed Sen. Scott McCoy has been a resident of Utah long enough to fill a vacant Senate seat.

However, Minority Leader Mike Dmitrich, D-Price, said he and Senate President John Valentine, R-Orem, have agreed the issue won't disrupt the session.

It's an issue Dmitrich said probably never would have been raised if McCoy, D-Salt Lake, wasn't openly gay.

"It was all over Amendment 3," the Senate Democratic leader said, referring to the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that was approved by voters. McCoy headed the campaign to defeat the amendment.

The question arose over a state constitutional requirement that in order to qualify for the Senate, a candidate must be a resident of Utah for three years prior to the last date for filing for office, said M. Gay Taylor, general counsel for the Legislature.

McCoy, who took office Monday, moved to Utah three years ago. Taylor said "there is some ambiguity" when it comes to mid-term appointments. It's not clear whether the three-year residency requirement starts at the time of appointment or at the time of the general election, she said.

A senator could challenge McCoy's right to hold the seat and ask for his expulsion. It would take a two-thirds vote of the Senate to remove him, Dmitrich said.

McCoy replaced a longtime senator, Paula Julander, who resigned for health reasons, in a contested race among District 2 delegates. The district includes the Avenues, Capitol Hill and Central City neighborhoods of Salt Lake City to 33rd South.