Utah Demos may see wishes realized in April 19 session

Utah Democrats released their wish list Friday for the upcoming special session of the Legislature — including several items that already have the support of the majority GOP.

"These are issues we have been promoting and supporting," House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, said. "This is not something that's new for the Democrats. If anything, we are pleased to see the Republicans may be joining us."

It's up to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. to set the agenda for the special session, expected to be called for April 19. The governor announced even before the regular session of the Legislature ended March 2 that he'd bring lawmakers back.

There's no shortage of requests for the agenda, especially since there is more money available to spend. Not only do the latest Utah State Tax Commission figures show a $68 million surplus, some $9 million extra has turned up in the budget.

Even Envirocare is pitching legislation for the special session. The low-level nuclear waste storage site in Tooele County wants to extend its state permit to recently acquired property for insurance reasons, according to a company spokesman.

But the spokesman, Mark Walker, said Envirocare has agreed not to actually store waste on the new site without permission from the governor and lawmakers. The soonest they'd ask, Walker said, is during the 2006 Legislature.

Envirocare announced the purchase of the 315-acre site in February, at the same the company's new owners said they would withdraw an earlier pursuit of a license to accept higher-level waste, allowing the state to ban it.

The only item that Huntsman has committed to for the agenda is the federal No Child Left Behind program. A compromise is being sought to settle concerns the program is an intrusion on states' rights without losing the federal funding associated with it.

The governor's spokeswoman, Tammy Kikuchi, said he will likely issue the agenda, or call, for the special session late next week. "The goal is to keep the call relatively short, but everything is still being considered," she said, including the Envirocare request.

Company officials met with the governor's staff Friday, Kikuchi said, and proposed the agreement not to store waste on the site "to make it more friendly to what the governor would want. . . . Whether it makes it more palatable to the governor remains to be seen."