The mayor questioned why PEHP waited this long to raise questions. After all, he said, "They've been working with us for months on this."

The mayor is certain his plan is legal and called the move for a declaratory judgement "a waste of money."

City Attorney Ed Rutan agreed, saying "There's no question in my mind what the mayor wants to do is legal."

State Rep. Lavar Christensen, R-Draper, who has been an outspoken opponent of unmarried partner benefits, said he contacted PEHP some time ago to get more information about their policies regarding dependent benefits and how those polices might jibe with Anderson's proposal.

Christensen, an attorney by trade, said Anderson and Rutan are dead wrong about state law. The state's Marriage Recognition Statute prohibits what Salt Lake City plans to do, he said.

The law, enacted in 2004, reads in part: "This state will not recognize, enforce or give legal effect to any law creating any legal status, rights, benefits or duties that are substantially equivalent to those provided under Utah law to a man and a woman because they are married."

Christensen said Anderson's executive order is law in Salt Lake City and therefore violates state code.

"A mayor can't just go off by himself like a lone ranger and then just dare people to sue to undo what he does," Christensen said.

He also maintains PEHP's internal policies only define dependents in terms of marriage and therefore can't harmonize with Anderson's order. PEHP is different from private groups that offer similar unmarried dependent benefits because it is a state agency, Christensen said.

While at least one state school, the University of Utah, allows benefits for its employees' unmarried partners, those partners have to pay the full cost of those benefits so there is no taxpayer subsidy like there would be in Salt Lake City's case, Christensen said.

The mayor, Christensen said, has done too many things to anger conservative state lawmakers.

"You filed one suit (the Legacy Parkway lawsuit) that cost the state $200 million, you challenged the (Main Street) plaza deal and now you've got this," Christensen said.

He called the mayor's plan "a shortcut to advance his personal beliefs" and undercut the state's interest in preserving marriage as the bedrock of society.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com