Tuesday start proposed for session

Utah's Constitution mandates that the Legislature convene on the third Monday in January. But that date is also Martin Luther King Jr. day, and many of Utah's civil rights advocates have long contended lawmakers should observe the holiday and start on Tuesday instead.

Now, House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, is hoping to amend the constitution so that the Legislature would convene the day after the holiday.

"People concerned about civil rights and justice in this community believe we should change the opening day out of respect for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and everything he stood for," Becker said of King, who was assassinated in Memphis in 1968.

Because the start date of the session is in the state's constitution, Becker's resolution, HJR8, would need the votes of two-thirds of both the House and Senate to move to voters for final approval.

A similar resolution failed in 2000, the same year lawmakers established the state's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Becker said he's been getting mixed responses from legislators this year.

Senate President John Valentine said Wednesday he hasn't yet decided whether he'd support the resolution. However, Valentine said he believes it's important to have the holiday recognized during the legislative session.

"It will put the Martin Luther King holiday in the back seat," Valentine said. By starting the session on the holiday, he said, the celebration of the civil rights leader "gets more coverage."

Otherwise, he said, "it gets lost in the the chatter of everyday life."

Becker said one reason he's running the legislation is to help lawmakers understand why many view the start date as inappropriate, "even though we take time to pay our respects."

Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake Branch of the NAACP, said changing the start date of the session would be a progressive change and help dispel stereotypes about Utah.

"I think it would show there is sensitivity and awareness for the work Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did," Williams said. "Right now people of color are very reluctant, especially the African-American community ... in moving to Utah."

Forrest Crawford, an education professor at Weber State University, who addressed lawmakers during this year's Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration Monday, said he understands concerns about the start date.

Crawford said he appreciates the opportunity the annual ceremony presents to share a message with lawmakers. However, he suggested there "ought to be a link between the Legislature's opening day and the types of actions that really provide opportunities and rights to people."

"If the legislators were more poignant about why this day is important to them, if they can show a link to this day and how they will inform this day to carry their actions forward," he added, "maybe people will be less concerned."

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Contributing: Lisa Riley Roche

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E-mail: dbulkeley@desnews.com