Within the bounds of Utah Republican congenial politics, what’s happening now on Capitol Hill between GOP Gov. Gary Herbert and Republicans lawmakers is about as bad as it’s been in recent years. Wednesday, members of the House GOP caucus basically threatened to sue Herbert before the state Supreme Court over whether he will call them into a special session to decide how a replacement for U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz will be picked. Meanwhile, House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, told an open caucus meeting that Chaffetz’s resignation could come as soon as next week, but surely before the end of June.
Mix in a “secret” plan by Herbert on how a special election will be run by his office (with Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, the official state elections officer taking charge), and state politics couldn’t be more up in the air.
UtahPolicy is also told by several sources that if Herbert goes ahead with his “secret” timeline for managing a U.S. House special election – and refuses to call lawmakers into a special session so they can put together a different plan – then the already-troubled SB54 candidate compromise law is all but dead.
Full Article: Legislators lobbing threats at Herbert in the fight over a special election to replace Chaffetz.