Summer tour agenda: S.L. and Davis counties
This year will be different, however, coming as it does in many of the lawmakers' own back yards: Salt Lake and Davis counties.
And unlike previous visits to other parts of the state, legislative leaders have decided not to hold public hearings in either of the Wasatch Front counties when they make their visits in two weeks.
One state official who asked that his name not be used said that GOP leaders were concerned that — especially with the Salt Lake City mayor's race heating up this summer — a public hearing in Democratic-leaning Salt Lake City could turn into a bash-the-GOP-controlled-Legislature meeting.
Legislators began taking the month of August off 15 years ago from interim study committees to spend a few days visiting different parts of the state's large geographical area. So far, they have never officially visited Salt Lake and Davis counties, which together comprise about 45 percent of the state's population.
Lawmakers, most of whom come from the Wasatch Front, have said the far-flung visits allow them to hold two or more public hearings so that they can learn about problems and opportunities in those rural areas of the state. Legislative leaders discussed whether to hold similar hearings in Salt Lake and Davis counties, said Ric Cantrell, chief deputy of the state Senate.
"The question came up, who would come (to public hearings) and where would they be held?" he said.
Go to Panguitch and there is a defined community, enthusiasm for the visit and a good turnout, said Cantrell. In the high-population counties, such as Salt Lake and Davis, pick one or two cities and others will be left out.
And in any case, Salt Lake and Davis county residents can more easily come to Capitol Hill and voice their concerns during dozens of interim-day public hearings, as well as hundreds of public hearings held during the annual 45-day general session.
"There will be no public hearing in either county. We thought there would not be much of a (citizen) turnout," said Rep. Julie Fisher, R-Fruit Heights, who is helping plan the Davis County portion of the Aug. 15-16 visit days.
House Minority Leader Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, who is running for Salt Lake City mayor this year, said he has pushed for a visit to Salt Lake County for years. "I was surprised to learn that there would be no public hearings," he said. "I don't know why that decision was made."
Lawmakers first started traveling the state back in the early 1990s. The trips quickly became heady affairs, with local and statewide lobbyists and businesses picking up much of the cost, including free breakfasts, lunches and dinners, as well as local entertainment.
When a fund-raising letter went out to well-known lobbyists asking that they pay up to $5,000 per person to "host" a Wasatch/Summit county tour in 1999, some internal controls were placed on such contributions by legislative leaders, who professed ignorance of the fund-raising letter.
After school buses with no air conditioning were used to transport legislators around St. George — when August temperatures were well over 100 degrees — state vans with air conditioning, along with drivers combed from legislative staffers, started shuttling lawmakers around during the two- to three-day trips.
In some cases, local residents showed up to ask pointed questions. But on more than one trip, public hearings were dominated by local city, county and school-board officials, the same people who usually trek up to Salt Lake to attend regular legislative meetings.
Still, the trips were always heralded as successes, as Wasatch Front lawmakers learned about the problems and opportunities of rural and/or fast-growing areas in other parts of the state.
During the visits this month, Salt Lake and Davis county public officials will get an hour each to speak to legislators during specially hosted lunches.
This trip was partly organized by the Salt Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, with one of its clients, the political consulting/lobbying firm of Exoro, planning a number of the site visits.
"While we won't be having a public hearing, there is still the possibility of some kind of Web-based interactive operation, like sending in e-mails to legislators that could be answered over those two days," said Cantrell.
At the very least, residents of Salt Lake and Davis counties can get on the Senate's Web-site blog — at www.senatesite.com/blog/
index.html — to interact with senators about the two-county visit, said Cantrell.
E-mail: bbjr@desnews.com