August 2002

The glow of the Olympics really masked in a way the dificult economic times we were having. In the last 200 days some eocnomic progress has been made.

Reporters (in order of appearance):

KEN VERDOIA, KUED
PAUL FOY, ASSOCIATED PRESS
BRYAN SCHOTT, KSL RADIO
BRENT HUNSAKER, ABC 4 TV
JOHN DALY, KSL-TV
TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS

Transcript:

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, thanks for joining us today. Back in January during your State of the State address you outlined what you identified as a 1,000-day initiative, to look in the future, try to shape the economic future of the state, maximize the benefits of Utah hosting the 2002 Olympics, and you promised you'd get back to us after 200 days and every 200 days to let us know how its been going. Well we just passed the 200 day mark. It's been a tough 200 days economically for Utah, so what type of progress can you report?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well today is day 201 as we begin marking February the 4th actually, which was the first day the Olympic flame arrived in our state. It was a time of great celebration for the state, but also a time of substantial economic difficulty. The glow of the Olympics really masked in a way the dificult economic times we were having. In the last 200 days some eocnomic progress has been made. I think we're positioned as a state for recovery. Recovery is an economic term, it doesn't mean we're expanding yet, it simply means we're about to turn the corner. If I were to summarize our progress, I would say that we are poised for recovery, that our economic plans are on the right course and that if we continue to drive forward, once the national economy begins to turn, I think we are well positioned.

Our thousand day plan really has three strategies. The first is that we're investing in people, we're investing in human capital. That's a substantial change in our policy not in the last ten years, but from a period 20 or 30 years ago when we were focused almost entirely on natural resources and defense. The second part of the strategy is that we desire and aspire to become a capitol for high tech investment, employment and entreprenuership. Substantial progress is being made in that area. As many of you know we have had a number of large technology announcements, Seybold Systems, Cadence Systems, all high tech companies. We've had over 500 jobs created in rural Utah in our Smart Site initiatives. We've created a new economic ecosystem in the last 200 -- actually the last couple of weeks in medical informatics and those produce jobs between $30 and $60 thousand in rural Utah, so there are a lot of good things happening.

We're moving on our path to double the number of engineers and computer scientists. We'll be opening six high tech high schools. Those are just symbols of many other things that are happening. And the last part of our plan is to make certain that we don't loose the goose that lays the golden egg, and that's the quality of life we have here. We can talk about economics, but when it comes right down to it, people live in Utah because they love it here. People want to locate in Utah with their jobs because they find it a good place for workers. So we are focused on completion of our transportation system, assuring that we're preserving open spaces, other things that are human a - -a human condition, medical care and others, but in summary, I'm very optimistic about the future. This is a tough time, we're not there yet, but I think in time but we're building on what was not a landing with the conclusion of the Olympics, but a launch -- we'll be starting trade commissions all over the world -- but we're on the right course.

PAUL FOY, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Governor, if I could follow up on the point, the legislature has balanced and rebalanced the state budget several times this year, what do the revenue projections show now, or what do you think the next revenue projections will show.

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: We are, like almost every state in the country, suffering from a national economic downturn. We have had to balance our budget five times over the course of the last year, and rebalance it. The last economic figures that we had from the tax commission showed that tax receipts were stabilizing, and in fact, we're a little ahead of our estimate. But that was only a one-month report, and my guess is that we'll look with more interest as the year goes on. There's some economists believe that there's a fifty-fifty chance that we'll see the dreaded double-barreled recession. I hope that doesn't happen. It would complicate matters for lots of people. There are too many people right now in our state that are unemployed. Gratefully there are fewer in our state proportionately than there are in other states. But nevertheless there are nearly 60,000 people in our state who need employment. That's a big thing. And we're working right now to make certain that they have the basic services they need. In some cases it's just a help through a period. In other cases it's a complete retooling of their professional lives. It happens in economies, it happens in states, it happens in individual families and their lives, and we're doing our best to play our role.

BRYAN SCHOTT, KSL RADIO: To follow up on that, one of the things you wanted to do the last time the legislature met in a special session was to find a way to rebuild the state's rainy day fund. That didn't happen. Are you going to put some pressure on lawmakers to try and do that the next time that they get together?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: We need to have more money in the rainy day fund. We were very fortunate to have put money aside to get us through what turned out to be a rainy day, and it'll be a priority in my next budget, as it was in my last budget. I indicated that there were certain one-time funds that I would have supported going into that fund, and I'm sure we'll revisit that, that we'll revisit that issue in February.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, on the subject of the legislature and the way they've been meeting frequently to deal with the budget crisis, there's another call that's going forward right now for a new special session. This to deal, not with budget, but with capital punishment statutes. Specifically to respond to the United States Supreme Court ruling affecting people viewed as being mentally retarded and the applicability of the capital punishment statute. Utah's Attorney General, Mark Shurtleff, says this special session is urgent because there are a couple of very high profile capital murder cases in which mental retardation may be an issue. They say we need to move. What do you think?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well, here are the facts. One, we are a capital punishment state. That is to say we have adopted a policy in the most heinous of crimes to apply that very, very serious and final penalty. Second, the Supreme Court has ruled that each state should come up with a definition as to how they would define mental retardation. It's clear that there are times when there's a line that has to be drawn, and it's a delicate line. Third, the lawyers for the state and others that they're retaining are studying this matter. The legislature is studying it, and if they conclude that we need to have a change in law in order to maintain our policy, and if the legislative leadership requests it, I will call them into session. Whether those things will happen, I don't know. My guess is that if it doesn't happen, that it will be dealt with in the general session in February.

BRENT HUNSAKER, ABC 4 TV: Governor, let me switch gears again. We're coming up on a big anniversary of, some would call it a black anniversary, 9-11. Does the state have any plans for commemorative events or memorials on that day? And how do you think we should, as a people, as individuals, as television stations, radio stations, and newspapers, how should we remember this horrible day?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I've actually given this a lot of thought over the course of the last couple of months. This is a new commemoration for us as a country. It's one that's very personal to every American, because we experienced this. It seems to me that there are three words that really define what at least I would aspire for this day to be. The first one is remembrance. People died, tragically. But beyond that, the country suffered a loss of our security, a loss of the belief that we live in a land that's protected. That's worth remembering. The second word would be unity. From that experience came a unity that is beyond anything that I have experienced in my 51 years, and reminiscent, I suppose, as others have said, of when Pearl Harbor was attacked, and a great generation was born, and protected our country. The third word is resolve. I recall a day or two after 9-11, driving through Cache Valley, and seeing a sizable American flag stuck in the turret of a sprinkler system on a farm, and thinking to myself, "There's something happening out here." And we've all had the experience. We see flags flying, people wearing them on their lapels, a new meaning to the Pledge of Allegiance. All of those things.

So that's what I aspire this holiday to be, is not just about reflecting on a dark day, but on thinking forward to the unity and the sense of patriotism and the sense of resolve as a country that it gave us. The state will be sponsoring an event, a series of events. At 10:00 o'clock on the 10th in the evening there will be a very simple but I hope profound lowering of the flag to half mast to signify the beginning of a day of remembrance. The next day, at 9:45 in the morning, there will be a march, or a parade of emergency workers, police, firemen, and others, that I will join as governor, and I have asked the state's schools to join in a--and the state employers and the state citizens--at 9:45 a.m. to observe a one-minute moment of silence, where we will unify ourselves as a country, where our hearts will beat together and our thoughts will join as one for that one minute. And then in the evening, at 10:00 o'clock, we will have what I hope will be a symbol of our resolve. The flag will be moved from its position at half staff to one of full staff. Choirs from our high schools will sing, and the military will be present, and it will be a moment of patriotism, and I hope carried on various television stations and radio stations, and I hope that it's a moment when, again, we will be unified, not just in our remembrance, but in also, in our resolve to make this a better country. It was a tragic event, but I must say, as we approach the anniversary of September 11th I think we're a better country.

BRENT HUNSAKER, ABC 4 TV: Do you think this is something that we should remember every year on September 11th for years to come? Should it become a national holiday?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I don't believe that it will ever be forgotten by those of us who were alive on that day, whether it's a national holiday or not. I remember as a child having my father explain to me the significance of December the 7th. It's not a day that meant much to me because I wasn't there, but it meant a lot to him. It changed his life, it changed the life in their community, it ultimately led to his brother going off to war, it ultimately led to their community life changing in dramatic ways. That's happening in America as well. Our lives will never be the same. Those of us who lived from September 11th forward. And slowly those changes are beginning to unfold, and we live in a country where we could see national defense as being a place, having to do with generals and missiles in foreign lands. Now national defense has to be used in the same phrase as homeland defense. Now we're living in a time that's far less naive in a way, but it's changing our lives, and it's changing our outlook. And so whether it's a holiday or not, our lives won't be the same after.

JOHN DALY, KSL-TV: And now I want to ask you about the land swap between the state and the BLM. Controversial, somewhat under fire now. What was the rush in getting that done? It seems like the BLM is saying that one of the reasons why there were some problems with it is that they were under intense pressure to get it done, and make it happen. What was the rush there?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well John, let me make clear that it's not the BLM saying that. The BLM was at the table negotiating the deal, and it was an arm's length transaction of negotiating land for land. The BLM is there, support the deal, think it's a fair deal. They're the ones who negotiated it. You've got a couple of folks who are saying, they're appraisers, and they should have gone through their process. The reality is, it's very difficult to be able to determine what the value of a mineral might be 25, 30, 50 years from now, based on the fact that some technology may or may not be developed. And for that reason we have learned, after having probably more experience as a region than any place in the country on these land swaps, that the best way to do it is to sit down, as reasonable people, and say let's take two parcels of ground, one you want and one we want, and see if we can't find ways to trade them. And that's what we did. The land swap is fair and equitable. More importantly, it benefits both sides. It puts land that--I think this is ironic--those who would challenge this had in the past said, is priceless, and therefore ought to be protected because of its priceless nature. And trades it for some land that would put mineral benefits into the hands of school children. So I feel good about the arrangement.
The hurry was that it was a good thing to do, and we're trying to- - We've been working on this for months. This is the third one we've done actually. And I might add that every one we have done and completed, this same thing happens. Somebody steps up and says we've got to do more, we ought to get more.

I remember the first land swap, actually it's kind of a funny story. I went down to talk to the county commissioners about it to tell them I thought we were getting a fair deal. And as we talked there were lots of conversations about it, and they were starting to question whether we got our fair share just like the other side was. And I said they recommended me of my dad. When I was first in my business career I'd go off and negotiate a deal and when I came back my dad thought I should have done better. And a lady sitting in the back of the room said, just loud enough for me to hear, "We should have sent your dad."

JOHN DALY, KSL-TV: Let me follow up on that. What do you think happens now? Is it possible to go back to the table and discuss some more? Do you think- - What are the chances of this getting through Congress this fall?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well, it's probably fifty-fifty. I don't know at this point. I'd like to get it through this year, because we've got Jim Hansen sitting at the chairman of the resources committee, and we won't have that next time around, and it'll be tough to get it on the table. This is Congressman Cannon and Congressman Matheson in a bipartisan way that are leading it, so I think there's a good chance that it'll happen, again. But this happened with every other land swap we've done, and I think ultimately we were able to demonstrate that it was not just reasonable, but fair and mutually beneficial.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: Governor, I want to ask sort of a background question in that same direction. Right at the- - This year, the Utah Buyer Association elected as its environmental lawyer of the year Heidi McIntosh of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. Her organization represents somewhere around 14,000 residents in this state who are members of the organization. And I was wondering, because I think the Buyer Association voted her that award simply because she's been effective in court, as you know because it's usually against the state. Why, because obviously anything that happens to do with wilderness is, they are a major stakeholder in that issue, why not employ in libra in such a way as to make sure that they're there when the issue is being dealt with initially, as is possible on the San Rafael Swell National Monument, but why not pull in everybody who actually has a stake in it, rather than say, "There's a group that we have to meet in court after we've done what we're going to do"? What's your feeling about that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: You're talking about the land swap?

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: Not the land swap so much as simply the principle. I think on the land swap, when I remember first talking to them, they were sort of neutral, saying, "I don't know we've got to go look at it." And it seems as if it would be a lot easier to sit around a table and argue it out there than having to go to court. What's your feeling?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Any time you're doing a public business, order has to be the first principle. And how does a person become a stakeholder? How does a person find a seat at the table? We all have that as citizens, and so we have processes that have been designed to give citizens and citizen organizations their place and their time. But we've also elected governments. That's the process through which we create real authority. And so the process is for those with real authority, elected by the people, who are the ultimate representatives of the people, to meet and to come up with the best proposal, and then we have a process we go through to measure how people feel about that, and then ultimately the proposal either has to be killed, or passed by the Congress. And they have that position. Now, they are, they're advocates. That's the system. They've carved out a place of, in the world of advocacy, and advocates admire good advocates. That doesn't mean we have to agree, it doesn't mean that, frankly, that their position is even right. But she should be congratulated for her skill as an advocate, but not necessarily for her position as a person who's moving public policy forward in a productive way.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, the last legislative session enacted a bill which was designed to make it a little bit more restrictive for out-of-state students to receive the benefits of lower in-state tuition. And one of the hoped-for end results was that there would be an increase in revenue for higher education. Well this week university presidents lined up to say that's not happening. Utah State University, for an example, says their out-of-state tuition-paying students are off by 33 percent because of these new restrictive tuition rules. Doesn't seem to be the achieving the tuition end. Is it achieving another end that you think is important to serve?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well, it's a messy policy and one that didn't happen in the best possible way. It's a defendable policy, but there was no transition, and I don't think we knew exactly what would happen, and we'll probably have to find out what did happen, and fix it if it didn't work.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Is that it? Is this a fixable- - I mean is this something that requires a fix?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well, I don't know yet. And school hasn't started, and so we don't have the complete picture. But I think it was always a legitimate question as to whether that money would show up. And I don't think it's unreasonable that we have said to out-of-state students that you ought to pay the full cost longer. If we don't have enough money to pay for all of the Utah students, there's no reason for us to be paying for out-of-state students. And so that was the basis of it, and frankly I think in some respects it was driven by our budget situation. I had hoped after it became law- - I didn't sign the bill but I let it become law because it was defendable policy. But I'd hoped we could fix it at the next, at one of the special sessions. Well right after that we end up with a $173 million additional deficit. So what would have been a good thing to fix, we just couldn't. And I hope we can re-examine it in that light. Again, I think the policy is defendable. I'm not sure that the transition was very good, and I'm not certain that it was very good economic policy, either. And we will have, in the true academic sense, we'll have learned some very practical lessons.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Well, in this quietude let me step forward with another question. The issue of Wendover and its placement, whether west Wendover remains a part of the state of Utah or is in fact consolidated into the greater Wendover of Nevada, has resulted in a call for a referendum vote among the local community. But the transfer of land involves many layers of government. Specifically how does the governor of Utah stand on the issue of ceding a portion of his state to the state of Nevada, ostensibly in the best interest of the people living there?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I support it. I think that it's the right thing to do. There's land on the south, an air force base that blocks that area of the Utah part. There's the Salt Flats on the west, and mountains on the north, and Nevada east--on the west, rather, and you created two communities. It's inefficient, it's unfair, it creates inequities. There's really no other way to solve it. I think it will become an increasingly difficult problem, not just for Utah but for the citizens of Nevada. There's no reason to have two police departments, no reason to have two schools or systems. There's no reason to have two fire departments. This doesn't happen very often, but this is a situation where the circumstances call for it. It needs to be up to the citizens, and I hope they'll support it because in the long term it's in their interest, in my judgment.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: And on that note we will conclude this session of the Governor's Monthly News Conference on KUED. A reminder that a transcript of this and every edition of the news conference is available on line at www.uen.org courtesy of the Utah Education Network. Until next time, thank you for joining us and good night.

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