Gov. Herbert: Legislative scandals are 'coincidence'

SALT LAKE CITY — The resignations of two top GOP legislative leaders last session over unrelated scandals was just a coincidence, Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday.

And that means there's no need to respond to the resignations of former Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack and former House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, the Republican governor said.

"Is this an ongoing problem we're somehow ignoring and avoiding?" Herbert asked. "I think most of us think that probably it is an isolated situation, a coincidence more than anything else."

Killpack stepped down shortly before the start of the 2010 Legislature after being arrested on suspicion of driving drunk. Garn quit days after announcing in the final moments of the session he had gone hot-tubbing nude with a teenage girl 25 years ago.

The Davis County Republicans, both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had been seen as rising stars in their party and had been involved with developing legislation dealing with lawmaker ethics.

During his monthly news conference on KUED Ch. 7, Herbert said Utah is "a state of human beings, that have human weaknesses, that sometimes don't live up to their own standards of what they've set for their own personal conduct."

He said such behavior "has nothing to do with church affiliation. It has nothing to do with party affiliation. It has to do with human weaknesses and making bad decisions."

After the taping, the governor said those weaknesses should be addressed only if they become a pattern. But he had no suggestions about how that could be done.

"I don't know how you, in fact, control people's behavior in a free society. People make bad decisions," he said. "That happens all the time. It just so happens, in this case, it was a couple of legislators, so they're a little more high-profile."

Also Thursday, Herbert said he probably won't sign a bill increasing the state's tobacco tax, but instead will allow it to take effect without his signature.

"I'm not going to veto it," Herbert told reporters after the taping. "But I'm probably leaning toward just letting it go into law, because I didn't advocate for it. I'm kind of happy to take it in order to protect education."

During the 2010 Legislature, Herbert had threatened to veto the $1-a-pack increase, which is expected to raise $44 million annually, because he had pledged to not raise taxes.

Now the new tax will take effect on May 1, raising enough money before the new budget year begins July 1 to cover the cost of restoring some education funding that had been on the chopping block.

The governor also said he is taking a close look at another bill dealing with access to public waters on private lands, HB141. He said there is a lot of controversy surrounding the legislation and that "causes all of us a little bit of pause."

Herbert stopped short of saying he might veto the bill, but it was the only one he mentioned when asked about potential vetoes. The governor has until next Wednesday to veto, sign or allow bills to become law without his signature.

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