August 2001

We're on the same course we alighted on before. It still appears we'll have to hold back. The last projections we had showed that the shortfall would be in the same area we'd be projecting it, as high as $80 million.

Reporters (in order of appearance):

KEN VERDOIA, KUED
DAN HARRIE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
ROD DECKER, KUTV
PAUL ALLEN, HERALD-JOURNAL
TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS
PAUL ALLEN, HERALD-JOURNAL
LEE AUSTIN, UTAH PUBLIC RADIO
BEVERLY AMSLER, KCPW

Transcript:

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, thanks for joining us today. Earlier this year, you ordered state agencies to trim their appropriated budgets by some 2.5 percent, to counter revenue projections reflecting a slump in the economy. Since that directive, has there been further information coming to your office that might encourage you to reconsider that or even enhance it and require agencies to cut more?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: We're on the same course we alighted on before. It still appears we'll have to hold back. The last projections we had showed that the shortfall would be in the same area we'd be projecting it, as high as $80 million.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: Will education share in that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Half of education's budget is in the Uniform School Fund which pays for the basic support of our schools. That will not be affected. There's another category that basically falls into individual line items outside the Uniform School Fund. That will be affected by the same 2.5 percent. Keep in mind this is not, however, a cut. This is just a hold-back. And we hope that if the revenues improve, we will be able to make those budgets hold. And it's also important to recognize we're not spending less money, we're spending considerably more, we're just spending a little less than we had originally planned.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: This will be under appropriations of 2.5 percent, and it's not final. You hope at some future date to be able to restore it -- restore the money. If things go badly, what happens? They just have 2.5 percent left in their bank account at the end of the year.

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: If things go badly, we'll end up balancing the budget. Probably just barely. If things go well, toward the end of the year we'll begin to release that money into the highest priority places first. ROD DECKER, KUTV: Vice President Cheney is coming to town to speak to the Republicans. As of late, the Republicans have been a rather unruly lot. And some of them are upset because -- evidently because they can't carry guns. Normally, Utah law would allow them to carry guns, but because of the Vice President, the Secret Service is there and they say you've got to pass through a metal detector and there are no guns. Are you afraid they're going to boo the Vice President?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: He'd be in good company. (Laughter.)

ROD DECKER, KUTV: Are you concerned about how Republicans behave? You think of Republicans as guys in white shirts and blue suits and stodgy. But they act like high schoolers down there.

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Let it never be said we're a group that lacks diversity and differences of opinion.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: On a more serious note, on the issue of the right to keep and bear arms, you have at times attempted to raise issues about what are considered appropriate places for weapons to be present and weapons not to be present. And I would put before you, is this visit of the Vice President one of those locations where you personally believe it is not appropriate for a person to literally keep and bear arms on their person?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I think common sense tells you there are times when you have the President and the Vice President of the United States, that unusual security precautions should be taken.

DAN HARRIE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: There are contested races in the Republican Convention, including for the chairman. Do you have a preference there or one that you're willing to express?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: No, I think the delegates will make that decision on Saturday. As a delegate, I will cast my ballot in the same way everyone else does.

DAN HARRIE, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE: One of the issues that those candidates have been questioned about is a lot about gun issues. And one of the issues is, should Utah adopt a Vermont style law in which any citizen without a license, if they don't have a criminal record, can carry a concealed weapon? Do you have a position on that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Well, I'm comfortable with the concealed weapon law we have now.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, we're several months into your Silicon Valley initiative to attract high-tech businesses to expand to Utah or perhaps even resettle in Utah. It would appear that the timing could not have been any worse. Here we are with a major turn-down and slump in the high-tech sectors. Big players are laying off sizeable portions of their staff. Is there any reason to be optimistic about this initiative? Or are we in fact in the wrong place at the wrong time?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I'm going to answer that question. I'm going to go back to Dan's and make sure I clarified that there are changes I would make in a law I've made public in the past. I just want to make certain you understand, my position hasn't changed. With respect to the Silicon Valley Alliance or the Utah Technology Alliance, I don't know that there's a better time than when the industry is going through a lot of change and turmoil. We have -- we'll be introducing our branding campaign within the next couple of weeks. It will focus on a group of economic ecosystems. Areas where we have a unique opportunity, where we have industries that have a substantial infrastructure, an ecosystem with all the pieces that can make something grow. And there are some great ones in the area of biotech, in the area of specialized banking, in the area of graphics and others. I think we can, using the Olympics, using this opportunity, and I see it as an opportunity time when there's lots of cards in the air, to reposition ourselves as one of the top technology markets in the country.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: You had an initiative this summer to get volunteers out and look at roads. And it's nearing completion, or it's well along. But in the meantime, the counties went to court and they got beat on roads. The judge ruled against them on that issue. Could you tell us where you stand? Are you counting the roads too late? Is the case already over? Could you explain that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: The case was on just one part of the definition. It was a definition issue. The state lost, but we'll appeal. We don't think the decision was correct. Even if we were not to prevail, we think what we're doing is the right thing. We're making great progress. I have reason for optimism. I've had conversations with the Secretary of the Interior about it. I think she's quite anxious to help us resolve the matter. There's a lot of cooperation going on right now between the counties and the Interior and being able to identify the roads that are clearly roads and how to resolve them. I still feel some optimism that by the time this term is up, we will have resolved if not all, a lot of roads in this state.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, we're going to turn our attention to our microwave location in Logan for a question from Paul Allen of the Logan Herald Journal. Paul...

PAUL ALLEN, LOGAN HERALD-JOURNAL: Hi, Governor. Some controversy brewed last night a little bit at the Jordan Valley Conservancy District public hearing that was held. Vice Chairman Forsythe said the district's planning on $310 million for a Bear River dam planned through the year 2030. That didn't sit too well with some conservation groups up here. Ultimately, other trustee members said it would take a state move to bring these dams into the project. What's the Conservancy District's role and what's the state's role in planning for these proposed dams?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I'm a little flat-footed on that issue. I'd have to review the matter. It's not an issue that I deal with every day. I'd be happy to get back to you individually and respond to that. But I'm not certain I'm in a position to sort that out here on live television.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: Governor, could we take up that issue for just a moment. Because one of the issues that's been brought up regularly on this issue of the water conservancy districts is that of course they are appointed boards, as you well know because you get to appoint them. The issue of taxation without representation has been raised fairly vigorously at this point, that they are levying property taxes in order to perhaps subsidize the use of water. Given the fact that the American Revolution was fought over taxation without representation, what's your position, given the fact that you are very much a part of a system that appears to be patently unconstitutional. Where do you fit in that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I think taxes ought to be levied by people who have been elected. And not by others. That doesn't mean that the Legislature can't authorize within a certain category for the exercising of those. But for the most part, I think taxes ought to be levied by people who stand the test of a ballot.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: That group would be included? The water boards?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: That's a general statement that would apply. Yes.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: You spoke up several years ago about taxing in general for water, taking a general position that more fees, less taxes. Users should pay, if I recall correctly. There's going to be a bill in the coming Legislature which would either do away with or cut taxes. Are you going to support that initiative?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: It's a matter that I'm studying quite carefully right now. I do believe that there are two trends generally that speak to that. The first is, we're not going to have enough water over the next 40 or 50 years unless we're able to conserve water in considerable measure. If we could conserve 25 percent on the Wasatch Front per person in the next 50 years, it would be every year as much as the Jordanelle Dam holds back. It's a big amount of water, and we're going to have to if we double the number of people and don't have any more water. Part of that needs to be consideration of our pricing mechanisms. We've always had a cheap water policy. It's driven primarily by the fact that our state has historically had lots of agricultural involvement. I think it's a legitimate debate. I'm not prepared to make a statement on it today. But it is something I'm studying.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: How scared are you about water in the short term?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I'm not -- well, we've got a short-term as in the next three or four months, then the next 15 months. I'm nervous. I wouldn't say I'm scared; I'm nervous. The last rainstorms helped a little bit. But through September and October, we've got to conserve a bunch of water and then we've got to have a good winter. If we don't, next summer could be a tough year.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, let me ask you, to the average person sitting out there tonight, the notion of running out of water has never been a practical reality. So what does it mean to you, to the average person, when we face the prospect of actually running out of water? Would literally spigots go dry?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: We're a long ways from that point. And I think there are areas that are even more -- they find themselves in even more a dilemma than we are. And what happens is it starts to force us to conserve. We have to start parceling out water. But there are some common sense things we can do even in dry years. One of them is not to water our lawns, unless it's absolutely necessary for the protection of plants or whatever it might be, during the middle of the day. I've issued an order that affects state governments. They don't water the lawn during that period. An exception, however. I found out there's a bunch of plants on I-15 that if we don't put water on them, we lose the warranty on them. I told them to go ahead and water those. But, the point is, there are things we can do in the meantime. I don't think we'll have our spigots go dry. I do think in time, we're going to have to be more careful with it. I think that goes back to Rod's question. How do we price it? Is it reasonable for us to be pricing water? Where the more you use, the cheaper it is? Maybe we ought to be pricing it to where the more we use, the more it costs. And is it reasonable for us to be paying taxes to subsidize other people's water use? Or would it be better for us to say, let's have lower taxes and have water rates reflect our use? You can control water use. You can't control taxes. The average person has to pay them. Both those things make sense to me. So I think there's something to talk about here. Whether I'm going to support a particular proposal or a bill, I don't know. But as you said, this is something I've felt for a long time, and I think it will make progressively more sense as we move into the 21st century.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: On the subject of conservation, one of the programs that you've pushed this summer was the Power Forward electrical energy program. One of the questions that seems to be in the background would be that of course, we've had a fairly successful program of "no burn" and "no drive" days through the Division of Air Quality. In which case, it's the Office of Energy Services. But the program is actually being coordinated through a private public relations firm. Is there a reason why the Office of Energy Services professional staff isn't able to do this sort of job on their own where the Division of Air Quality can, and should we be hiring spin doctors to be the people in charge of an energy program?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: It's been a very successful program. And the Office of Energy isn't a very big office. And it had to happen quickly. It was funded almost entirely by private donations from the utilities themselves. And they felt that that was the best way to do it.

DENNIS ROMBOY, DESERET NEWS: Governor, the State Alcohol Commission recently proposed new rules regarding wine and liquor advertising, on billboards, periodicals, that sort of thing. Have you reviewed that proposed policy and have any opinion about that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I believe that laws change in our country and our state. They change because the Legislature acts, sometimes they change because the courts act. This is one where it changed because the courts act. They're acting in accordance with what is now legal precedent. And from what I've seen, appears that they're acting responsibly.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, let's return once again to Logan and a question from Lee Austin of Utah Public Radio, Lee?

LEE AUSTIN, UTAH PUBLIC RADIO: Thank you, Governor. I guess that you have been following the redistricting process, the series of hearings around the state and meetings of the committee. And although it is a legislative function, I'm sure you're interested in the results. A lot of people are unhappy, particularly in Iron County, over the division of Cedar City between two state senate districts. They're threatening to sue. And people have said it appears to be more of a case of incumbent protection than rational redistricting.

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I'm going to be briefed by the members of the legislative committee or the leaders of the legislative committee. And I'll make judgments on my actions at that time. Reapportionments are by their nature almost always political processes. And to the extent they cross the line and become too political, then I think they're open to criticism. We're a long ways I think from reapportionment having been passed. I'll be able to make a better judgment when I've seen the whole proposal.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: You talked about energy. Today on your schedule, at any rate, you're going to go to Murray and open up a power plant. You had the green, yellow, and red days. They've almost all been green. Maybe we had a yellow. I can't remember. Is the energy crisis over? Can we go, whew, that was -- we dodged that bullet, and walk away? Or are you still going to be doing some initiatives on that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: If we did, we would be like a person who had a heart attack, laid in bed, got feeling better, and started moving around and eating the same way they did before. We have a problem. We've got to solve it. It will be a combination of conservation and new production. I'm going out to this power plant opening because I want to celebrate it. We've got to have more production. This is a good, clean, gas burning -- next to the demands, a good, smart thing to be doing. We'll have to do a whole lot more of them.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: Can you point to some things -- this is a small one. If we're going to get more electricity, we're going to need big ones or lots of small ones or something. Do you have a program?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: We've laid out a long-term 10-year -- I'm not going to call it a plan, but it's a policy. The policy says we'll have to plan, permit, and bring into operation somewhere between 1,800 and 3,200 megawatts of power in the next 10 years. The Hunter IV plant right now which we get a lot of our electricity in the state from is 400 megawatts. That gives you a sense of proportion. I feel confident we'll have to see a new coal fired power plant somewhere in the state in the next 10 years. I think we'll need to see a lot of gas fired power plants as well. I think we'll see some cogeneration coming from wind and some other alternative fuels. But we'll have to continue to recognize that you can't have a growing population, and even through conservation efforts, and not build it. We're not alone in this. The entire West, there's a lot of building going on. There are those who believe we may already be overbuilding. The market responds, sort of responds inexactly. But we'll have to manage it. That's why we go from 1,800 to 3,200. We don't know exactly how much will be built. But fairly certain some will be.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Can you see the circumstances that would ever lead you to support the construction of a nuclear power plant within the borders of Utah?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Don’t know of any proposals to. I’m not afraid of nuclear waste in and of itself. Rather, I am afraid of nuclear waste; I'm not afraid of nuclear power in and of itself. But they've first got to solve the waste problem. Not just for us but for everyone. We've got to find a place to put it permanently.

BEVERLY AMSLER, KCPW: The Jordan School District is having problems dealing with increased number of children from housing developments. Some officials would like to see impact fees reinstated to deal with the financial impact. What are your views on the subject? Should there be impact fees or raise property taxes?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I've chosen not to support impact fees for schools. I have supported impact fees for other types of community services. The difference being that we have a system of statewide school finance. And I believe that that -- that we need to deal with that issue on a statewide basis. And the impact fees really are an inexact way to deal with it.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: You've had to order a budget cut-back or budget hold because the economy's down. While you've been Governor, we've had unprecedented growth and we've cut some taxes and done some things. Do you fear that time's over? Do you fear that the Jordan problem is going to be a statewide problem? And we've had longer periods of time in the past where we struggled every year just to keep education level. Not to make advances. Do you fear that that's coming

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: If the economy does not pick up considerably in the next two to three years, the combination of that economic downturn or that flat economy and our rather spectacular increase in the number of students clearly would cause a collision.

ROD DECKER, KUTV: How much do you worry about that? How likely do you think that might happen?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: I'm quite optimistic the economy will strengthen. If not early next year, at least late next year. And this kind of downturn is normal. It's to be expected. We've been a long time without one. But history shows they always come back. Sometimes they're as long as three and four years. If we had a three or four year economic trough, it would be a big problem. But I don't think that's going to happen.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: Governor, I was talking to a visiting reporter the other day from well outside this area. The question came up that I thought was interesting. We collectively will deal with however many tens of thousands reporters. Most of them will feel they haven't done their job if they haven't done a polygamy story -- unfortunately for us, but this seems to be the fascination. And the way it was pitched to me, I thought it was an interesting question. We all know the constitution -- the demographic organization of Hilldale, a polygamist community by everybody's standards, or general agreement that that's what's there. In those terms, knowing that, if a reporter were to ask you, polygamy is illegal and we all know that, and polygamy is also in existence and we know where, where does that put you legally as an elected official, to know someone's breaking the law but not to be doing anything about it? I'm reasonably sure the question's going to surface during Olympics coverage in general. What's your take on it?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Polygamy's against the law, and it ought to be. If a prosecutor sees an example of a situation where they believe that it's a provable case and within the scope of what their priorities are, they ought to bring it. And we have examples in the recent future where that's occurred.

TOM JORDAN, METRO NETWORKS: In the case of something like Hilldale, many of them are going to go down there. There are a lot of reporters thinking they better make the trek down to southern Utah and check this sort of thing out. Where there's nothing that you could say about it, though, that says someone who might know of somebody committing a crime, you are not feeling as if you have a personal responsibility for that?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: We have prosecutors in every county who have the legal responsibility to enforce the law. And as I say, it's against the law. And it ought to be. And if there are circumstances where prosecutors see crimes or understand that crimes are being committed and they fall within provable areas, then it's up to them to make that decision.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Governor, we move into the last two minutes now of this time together today. I'd like to end with two questions and be selfish and hold them right here. The first one is the National Center for Youth Law has reportedly presented the state with a bill for $1.3 million in legal fees tied to their challenge of the state's child welfare system dating back to 1995. As part of the settlement agreement, I understand reasonable legal fees were to be considered by the state. Do you have opposition to the bill as presented?

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: It's been my experience with the Center for Youth Law that very little -- very few of the bills they present us are reasonable. I'm guessing this one won't be either. It's regrettable we're in this situation. That money ought to go to helping children and not to a law firm in San Francisco.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Second question turns completely in a different direction. This week, many people in Utah were stunned and saddened by the untimely passing of state Senator Pete Suazo of Salt Lake City. A man you knew quite well. I was wondering in the final minute if you could reflect on the passing of Senator Suazo.

GOVERNOR LEAVITT: Last evening, I sat on the steps of the State Capitol and watched what appeared to me to be 1,000 to 1,500 people gather for a vigil. For more than two hours, people spoke about Pete Suazo. It became clear to me that we probably underappreciated during his life what he meant to the community. Sadly, maybe we don't ever appreciate what someone like that means until they're gone. But he was a tireless advocate for -- he was a tireless advocate for minorities and for youth, and he will be gravely missed.

KEN VERDOIA, KUED: Thank you, Governor. On that rather somber note, we need to conclude this edition of the Governor's Monthly News Conference. A transcript of this program online at http://www.uen.org.

 

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